I grew up watching films like Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and all of them had the same reoccurring theme; the lady was the damsel in distress and needed a man to come and rescue her. Being so young at the time of seeing these films, it shaped the way I thought about society and how I, a lady, should act.

I went through my younger years thinking that one day I would be saved by a handsome prince... a girl can dream, but I hope you understand my point. I was so entangled by what I was watching that I spent nearly every waking moment wondering how to impress these boys in the class, what could I do to get them to notice me. Let me tell you, the way Sleeping Beauty does it doesn't work. It was never a question of how could I be equal to the opposite sex.

I was constantly told that I was never going to be bigger, faster or smarter than my male counterparts and if I was, it had to be kept quiet so it didn’t offend their ever-growing egos. Sadly, I was ok with this.
I was so influenced by what I watched on TV or on my computer that I didn’t stop to think why?
Whenever a charity fundraiser came around the girls were always in charge of the baking, we made cupcakes, cookies, brownies, the lot. Now, just because I was going along with whipping up these delicious desserts did not mean that I was any good at it. What was supposed to be a cupcake turned into something that resembled ashes from a dying fire.
The boys, on the other hand, got to set up football goals and fill buckets up with water balloons. Pelting the innocent when they couldn't score from the Halfway mark on the pitch.

Looking back at my childhood, I realised that instead of trying to make the football team or putting my hand up to join the math club, I sat back and let "the boys" take charge. It was never “cute” to be strong, to think outside the box that society had drawn for us. If it wasn't for these things influencing me, I would have turned out a much stronger woman.

It is in today's society that we, as women, have realised what is so wrong with this male dominant culture.

Like I mentioned before, growing up I watched a lot of films and those films influenced me and everyone around me.

An example of this is the film franchise, Fast and Furious which has been releasing films nearly every year since 2001. As years went by both audiences and actresses realised that the franchise had not yet lost its “macho 90s vibe”, as it puts male characters story on a pedestal, leaving the women stranded in a petrol wasteland.
In a recent interview actress Michelle Rodriguez threatened to leave the franchise if they did not improve the roles of female actors. Michelle took her words onto Instagram, “F8 is out digitally today, I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise.”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV... 

I grew up watching Fast and Furious and I remember seeing all the pretty women in the passenger seat next to these macho men. But that's all they ever were, passengers.
Being so young and so easily influenced, it is easy to see how a girl can think that this is what she will amount up to, a passenger.

Now don't get me started on James Bond and his solo adventures. You can guarantee that his missions are interrupted by a woman in his bed who he then has to save later on in the movie or kill, depending on if she slept with him or not. Being 14 years old at the time I began watching the film franchise, I had my head wrapped around the fact that we, as women, were around purely to stroke men's egos. The films didn't paint the image that women are meant to be anything more than a disposable camera.

However, not all is doom and gloom for today's influential movie society.

Wonder Woman is back! In the 2017 adaptation, Wonder Women played by Gal Gadot is the lead role, surrounded by forgettable faces. Did you know she was pregnant while filming? Goes to show that you can still take on motherhood whilst killing it career wise. She claimed that by doing the film, she “wanted to show that women are empowered and strong and don't have to be saved by some male hero, but they can take care of themselves using their intelligence and their power.”

Whilst it is a step forward for females to be cast in lead roles, there is a problem of the unrealistic standards set by these characters. The women are usually, white, beautiful, with their bodies on display at all times.
However, it doesn't draw from the fact that Hollywood is trying to bring in more female lead roles. We’ve seen this in the case of Atomic blonde, Star wars: rogue one, Bad moms, and Hidden Figures which were all female lead movies.

Moana was the first Disney “princess” where there is no love interest, and the film strictly relied on her achieving her goals; to save the island. Her gender does not limit her possibilities. I was brought up on Disney so to see this change, it is a big step for equality.

From my own experience, I understand how important it is to see empowering women on the big screen. These women/characters become your role models and shape the way you see yourself and the world around you.