In this series of videos, I'm talking about the stereotypes of female scientists that
appear in film.
They fall into one of six basic types.
In the last video, we looked at the Old Maid stereotype.
Let's now consider the Lonely Heroine stereotype.
Dr. Eleanor Arroway, played by Jodie Foster, in the movie Contact is an astrophysicist
who shuns traditional research avenues for the more controversial program, SETI (the
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
Arroway is ridiculed for her choice of topic by colleagues who are studying black holes
and other celestial phenomena.
When asked what she'll be using valuable telescope time to look for, she replies...
Undaunted by criticism and loss of funding, she is relentless in her pursuit of evidence
of an alien intelligence.
Working at the Very Large Array, she ultimately discovers a signal from space, which puts
her center-stage in an event that could change the course of human history.
Her triumph is short-lived, however, as she is backstabbed by her former graduate advisor,
repeatedly marginalized or challenged by those in power, betrayed by her lover, and ultimately
subjected to a public grilling in which her professional competence and mental stability
are questioned.
Yet she perseveres and repeatedly outsmarts those around her who try to take her discovery.
According to research, which examined how women in science are portrayed in film, the
lonely heroine embodies all the positive qualities of a scientist: an insatiable curiosity, job
as a calling, moral integrity, modesty, and a strong belief in her vision.
She is a modern woman who outclasses the men around her.
She has taken on some of the characteristics of males (such as assertiveness), but her
main trait is an unfailing belief in herself and in her scientific goals.
Typically, she is attractive and unrealistically young.
In Contact, we also see that Arroway's success has been strongly influenced by the men in
her life: her father, her graduate advisor, a rich benefactor, her lover, and various
people in power.
However, she's often shown as being alone personally, that is, without parents, husband
or children, and professionally, that is, she lacks recognition by colleagues and those
in power.
In the film, her subordinate status is visually emphasized in several scenes where she is
shown seated or separated from those making decisions about her scientific discovery--and
in one case, she's literally sidelined.
The Lonely Heroine stereotype thus possesses many positive traits, but the overall message
we get is that she pays for her scientific single-mindedness with loneliness.
A more recent example of the Lonely Heroine is the character Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical
engineer and astronaut, played by Sandra Bullock in the movie Gravity.
She's on her first shuttle mission, which suddenly goes very wrong when debris from
an exploded Russian satellite smashes into the shuttle, killing all the crew except Stone
and Commander Matt Kowalski, played by George Clooney.
Kowalski is soon eliminated in an unbelievable and silly scene in which he sacrifices himself
to save the helpless female.
Stone is thus left alone in the vastness of space to figure out how to get back to Earth.
Talk about the Lonely Heroine!
You can't get more alone than in the vacuum of space.
The ultimate insult to the Stone character is having her hallucinate the miraculous return
of Kowalski, who proceeds to instruct her in how to save herself.
Of course, it's all a dream due to oxygen deprivation.
This contrived and clumsy plot device, known as deus ex machina, however, fits into the
typical pattern for the Lonely Heroine.
That is, she cannot succeed without the help or sacrifice of one or more male characters.
To sum up, the Lonely Heroine is one of the more positive stereotypes in this series,
being involved in exciting and fulfilling scientific work and overcoming obstacles in
her path to success;
however, the Lonely Heroine still conveys some negative messages that she needs a male's
help to succeed or that choice of science as a career means a lonely, barren life.
In the next video, we'll consider the daughter or assistant stereotype found in the movies.
For more information on the research behind female stereotypes in the cinema, please see
these references.