Kicking Ass

Well, this cheered me up a little after my Halloween tirade.

Who's number one on Pajiba's list of Ass-Kicking Heroines? That's right, my girl Buffy. Anyone who hasn't seen the show is probably laughing right now. But seriously, it's a wonderful show. Feminists, fan-boys, action-adventure lovers, and sci-fi geeks. The show is like food for them. And I didn't even mention the fact that it's incredibly well-written.

But this isn't just a gush-post. What really made me smile was the introduction to the list:

"This was supposed to be a Halloween Horror Heroine guide, but it’s been crafted into a fusion that includes kick-ass chicks of the sci-fi and comic genres for a few reasons: 1) These genres are incestuous; many films, like Terminator (a film that actually scared the metallic liquid out of me upon its first viewing), are hybrids of horror, action, and sci-fi genres and sub-genres; 2) chicks in horror movies are generally portrayed as weak-willed, simpering damsels who can’t do much but unwittingly impale themselves; and 3) in rare cases where females are allowed to kick some horror keister, their characters are largely one-dimensional Tn’A jigglers. Consequently, most lead female characters in horror flicks don’t qualify for the “Ass-Kicking” heroine title, so heroines have been borrowed from the action/sci-fi realm."

So if women are helpless and sexy in horror movies, maybe it makes sense that on Halloween, the night when the world is horror, women go for sex. Maybe we're all just playing a role. In which case, I stand by my tirade below.