Atwood, Margaret. (1998). The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1998.

This primary text tells the story of a dystopian society where fertility rates are dangerously low, resulting in a power hierarchy of women dictated by men. This source provided me with one of my main examples of a nonviolent portrayal of women in science fiction with its main character Offred, who is utilized as a sex vessel. I incorporate Offred’s perspective and the qualities that Atwood highlights in her to show what nonviolent portrayals of women have to offer.

 

Bainbridge, W.S. (1982). Women in science fiction. Sex Roles, 8(10), 1081-1093.

This article discusses the history of many feminist writers and their motivations behind writing science fiction. The content of this source aided in providing context for this paper, in regards to the relevancy and vitality in incorporating greater representation of women in science fiction and in general. The time period during which the source was published does not detract from its usefulness, for my main use of this source will be in the timeline and motivations that have historically driven feminist science fiction writers.

 

Barry, P. (Writer), & Rhodes, M.M. (Director). (1988, January 25). Angel One. Star Trek: The Next Generation. Los Angeles, CA: Paramount Television.

This television show episode revolves around a planet ruled by an oligarchy of women. This source provides me with a primary example of another strong woman in science fiction and the show’s nonviolent portrayal of her in a positive light. This source is a credible source in regards to its long history of producing episodes centered in science fiction.

 

Cameron, J. (Producer & Director). (1991). Terminator 2: Judgement Day [Motion picture]. United States: TriStar Pictures.

This science fiction film addresses a future in which time travel is possible and robots have advanced remarkably. I utilize this source for its portrayal of Sarah Connor as a violent woman, using her as an example of progress in associating women with physical strength, but I also discuss the shortcomings of solely focusing on this physical nature of power.

 

Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film. (2018). It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World. San Diego, CA: Dr. Martha M. Lauzen.

This report provides a plethora of statistics of the percentages of representations of women in television and film and compare these with those of men. These statistics are of vital use to me in my paper, specifically for setting the context of why we need greater representation of women in television and film in the first place. The source is credible, as it is endorsed by San Diego State University and regularly releases these reports every year.

 

De Line, D. (Producer), Krieger, K.M. (Producer), Farah, D. (Producer) & Spielberg, S. (Producer & Director). (2018). Ready Player One [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros.

This movie describes the future of virtual reality in our society led by a female and male main character. For my paper, I discuss Art3mis, the main female character, in the context of being an example of a portrayal of women that incorporates both physical and mental positive qualities.

 

DeRose, M. (2005). Redefining Women’s Power Through Feminist Science Fiction.  Extrapolation, 46(1), 66-89.

This source discusses the importance of portraying women in science fiction in the correct light, which involves not only portraying women as physically strong, masculine characters in feminist works of science fiction but encompassing femininity as well in these portrayals. I incorporate DeRose’s analysis to support my claim that if we simply accept violent portrayals of female characters as the depiction of power, we disregard femininity in entirety and fall back to society’s restrictive stereotypes of men and women. The author of the source is credible, with substantial research in the field of women empowerment and issues surrounding gender and power.

 

Fausto-Sterling, Anne. (1997). “How to Build a Man.” Science and Homosexualities (219-226). Great Britain: Routledge.

This source is a text published regarding the social constructions of gender and the intricacies of these constructions. Fausto-Sterling’s discussion of these constructions are ones I incorporate in my discussion of what certain gender stereotypes reveal about the construction of masculinity and its relation to power. This author of this source is a credible professor, and the time of publication has no effect on the source’s credibility, given that the climate regarding these issues has not moved significantly.

 

Flicker, E. (2003). Between brains and breasts—women scientists in fiction film: on the marginalization and sexualization of scientific competence. Public Understanding of Science, 12, 307-318.

This journal article discusses the portrayal of women scientists in film and the shortcomings of these portrayals. This source is helpful in providing insight in my argument for how some portrayals of women may be intended to positive but unconsciously influenced by sexism and implicit gender roles integrated into our social norms. This source has been accredited by its publication in a science journal.

 

Jacobson, N. (Producer), Kilik, J. (Producer), & Ross, G. (Director). The Hunger Games [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate Films.

This film is a primary source for my paper that envisions a dystopian reality in which there exists a tradition for people to fight to the death so that one victor remains. This source provides me with an example of a violent but subtly nonviolent portrayal of its main character, Katniss Everdeen, and I discuss her as a bridge between why violent portrayals are important but we also need the other perspective.

 

Kac-Vergne, M. (2016). Sidelining Women in Contemporary Science-Fiction Film. Miranda, 12.

This peer-reviewed article as part of a journal discusses how the majority of women in contemporary science-fiction films have taken on passive, secondary roles, and how we need more representation, particularly as of late. I utilize this source in the first half of my paper to discuss the importance of female representation in science fiction, as well as the benefits of more physical, typically masculine portrayals of women in the works. The source is especially helpful in its analysis of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 and Ellen Ripley from Alien, which I also incorporate elements of the author’s analysis into my paper for.

 

Monk, P. (1980). Frankenstein’s Daughters: The Problems of the Feminine Image in Science Fiction. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 13, 15-27.

This journal article discusses the shortcomings of the feminine image in science fiction and the implications of the stereotypes that elicit these shortcomings. I incorporate the author’s analysis of these stereotypes into the paper, and discuss this in context of the reason why these portrayals of women and reconstruction of power and masculinity is even more necessary now. The journal article has been peer-reviewed, and the time of publication does not make the source any less reliable given that the source discusses broad topics and themes that are still present today.

 

Rawden, J. (2018, June). How Wonder Woman Addresses Feminism And Gender Roles, According To Gal Gadot. Retrieved from https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1655390/how-wonder-woman-addresses-feminism-and-gender-roles-according-to-gal-gadot.

This blog post recounts an interview with Gal Gadot, the actress that plays Diana or Wonder Woman in the Wonder Woman film. I specifically utilize this source to pull what Gadot says regarding Diana’s belief that gender boundaries do not exist. The source is credible and historically has had many blog posts and opinion posts regarding different films.

 

Roven, C. (Producer), Snyder, D. (Producer), Snyder, Z. (Producer), Suckle, R. (Producer), & Jenkins, P. (Director). (2017). Wonder Woman [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros Pictures.

This film discusses the story behind Diana, princess of the Amazons, who is also known as Wonder Woman as she fights many battles—including the World War—and becomes romantically involved with the other main character. I focus on using Wonder Woman as the model of how we can unite the dichotomy between nonviolent and violent portrayals of women to simply form one positive strong portrayal of women.

 

Russ, Joanna. (1972). “When It Changed.” The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press.

This short story revolves around a planet named Whileaway that only women inhabit.when one day men return seeking to reintegrate themselves into society. The story is narrated by one of the women on Whileaway named Janet, and I use Janet’s perspective as an example of how nonviolent portrayals of women can be effectively achieved through writing from a female first-person perspective.

 

Shusett, R. (Producer), & Scott, R. (1979). Alien [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.

This motion picture imagines the development of an alien creature that murders everyone on the spaceship, leaving for a brief period of time one sole female survivor. This source is helpful in its focus on Ellen Ripley, this initial survivor, who I discuss as an example of a mostly effective female character with emphasis on her physical strength and violent image.

 

Wong, P.T.P, Kettlewell, G., & Sproule, F. (1985). Sex Roles, 12(7-8), 757-769.

This journal article discusses historically how sex roles have evolved in society for both men and women. The content of this source provided me with important context in my initial research for the paper, as well as specific details on the expectations of women in feminine versus masculine roles. This article has been peer-reviewed and can be deemed a reliable source.