A young woman's perspective

 Films such as Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hunger Games have experienced overwhelming success at the box office. Each film has significantly impacted the life of almost every American teen/tween. I will admit  off of the bat that I have not read the The Hunger Games novels. However, I found major characters in Lionsgate's adaption of  Suzanne Collin's trilogy especially fascinating for it's portrayal of female characters. I saw Mockingjay Part 1 while on a date this weekend, I remember about half way through the movie, I realized that District 13 had a female President, Alma Coin. In the film, she lead the rebellion against the capitol. There was one point during the film where the capitol almost discovered the weakened District 13. Instead of continuing to fight with the capitol, President Coin did nothing. By remaining passive during combat the enemy couldn't find District 13s hide out. At this point,  her decision making process made me feel extremely empowered as a young woman. I have found that sometimes a women's best offense is a great defense. President Coin's passiveness is trait commonly associated with women, and negatively portrayed in popular culture. However, this film shows how passiveness can be a silent strength stronger that any direct weapon during combat.

I remember mumbling during the film, "Wow they have a female President" my date responded, "Yeah, a girl must've written this book"...I woman did write this book, in history I have never heard of a man writing about a female heroin or leader (to anyone reading this feel free to correct me on this statement if you know of one who has, I would actually like to be enlightened). I realized in this moment, how important good female writers are. I find Katniss's character so beautiful because she defies so many gender stereotypes and creates a new 21st century female heroine.

There are so many aspects of the movie that are really, really interesting I wish I could share them but I don't want to spoil the movie... When watching it, pay attention to how the women fight, and respond to crisis. I truly find the female characters in this movie diverse, strong and fascinating.