I spent a rainy Saturday watching Willard Smith’s latest summr blockbuster Hancock. As many of you have probably discussed, it was a rather subpar summer movie, cool premise, but relatively inept. Will Smith is a surly superhero, saves some guy who works in PR who insists on paying him back by rehabbing his image, takes him home to meet the wife & kids for Super Meatball night. It literally couldn’t have been more obvious that blonde wifey was hiding things, blah blah, cut to the chase- we find out the Charlize Theron, as happy blonde wife, is also a superhero, but in hiding and the wife of Will’s superhero. She whines and mopes, gets in a big fight with Will, mainly because she doesn’t want to be a super hero anymore. It’s been 3000 years and she just wants to be normal and have super meatball Thursdays.  Instead of portraying the superhero archetype, what we witness is instead a perfect manifestation of a weak woman unable to deal with power of any kind stereotype.

It’s a stereotype that seems to permeate many Hollywood films, specifically of the super hero variety.  In X- Men: the Last stand, once gain we are confronted with a female superhero who cannot bear the full capacity of her power.  Not only can she not control it, but manifests an alternate personality to deal with it, and turns into a whiny bitch begging for someone to kill her, afraid of her own power. If I recall correctly, Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four also was constantly struggling to get a handle on her power.

Then there is the real life example of yet another woman unable to deal with power.  While not celluloid’s superhero per se, many of you have grown to admire the blood lust of Griselda Blanco, finding strength in her ruthlessness. Fuck that. All she was was another bitch who couldn’t handle power, got out of pocket and fucked up a damn near billion dollar –albeit illegal- business. Her inability to deal with power responsibly was not gangsta, nor the stuff of legends. It was the stuff of a psychopath.

What. The. Fuck.

I mean for. Fucking. Real.  Are these really our heroes?  Our role models?  Or worse yet, how we are perceived?  As me esteemed colleague Rey pointed out, we women are fucked. 

At least, we are until we realize that these are NOT our heroes. That video vixens, Supahead, and other assorted golddiggers are not to be looked up to and emulated. That posting youtube fuckery of ourselves in our goofy and ass shaking glory is a not an indicator of intelligence and strength. That Carrie Bradshaw and her boy crazy cohorts don’t represent 21st century ideals. That desperation and sluttiness do not equal sexual freedom and empowerment. That our power is not solely in our rack, but our ability to have informed opinions about issues like Iraq.

Our heroes are not weak willed and afraid of power. Are heroes are go getters, vicious and competent.  Princess Leia and Uhura are heroes. Gem and She-Ra held it down. Hillary, Benazir Bhutto, Indira Ghandi, Cleopatra, Wangari Muta Maathai, Rokafella, Rha Goddess, Alexxyss Tylor, Tina Fey, MC Lyte, Mindy Kaling; they all shattered glass ceilings and paved the way for us to have it just a little bit easier. This is who we should aim to be. These are the types of women we should teach our daughters, sisters and friends to respect: fearless, driven, original, intelligent. Not the Hannah Montana’s or Kim Kardashian’s or MySpace hos of the week. It is not enough to respect the success of the Oprah’s of the world, but to recognize in their struggle our responsibility to carry the torch.

To turn away, reject power is an insult. To self destruct in fear of responsibility is a cop out.  Power isn’t supposed to be easy. Responsibility isn’t supposed to be fun. But rejecting the two for sparkly things stiffed with dollars isn’t the alternative. Women were built powerful, to give and sustain life. We can do this, ladies, we can do better. We fucking gotta. 

 

PS. Fellas, ya’ll aint off the hook in this either—stop celebrating mediocrity in the women you choose the surround yourselves with. Stop looking to field hands to treat you like Kings. Stop celebrating whorish behavior, then complaining about the low quality yoes on every block in America… I’m just sayin….