<p>The subject of my thesis is what I have chosen to call the “action babe cinema” of the 21st century, essentially action-movies featuring a female heroine in the lead role. Inspired by the theories of Vladímir Propp, author of Morphology of the Folktale, I have tried to reveal the underlying structure of these films. I have chosen eleven films which form my material, and from these extracted a number of functions (which means the actions of a character), that reoccur frequently. The heroines’ transformation can be seen as a central theme of the action babe cinema, and I have divided the films into two groups depending on the course of the transformation, either from soft to hard or the other way around. One of my findings is how there seems to be a constant need to explain the hard and tough characteristics of the female action-heroine, implying that it isn’t a natural trait for a woman. The functions have been further visualised and exemplified throughout the text, and I have found that the functions tend to be repeated in a similar pattern depending on which group they belong to. I also use the functions in an extended analysis of Kill Bill vol. 1 and Kill Bill vol. 2. The application of Propp is discussed and I present my point of view on the subject. Finally I discuss the results of my study, and what binds these films together and set them apart.</p>

The subject of my thesis is what I have chosen to call the “action babe cinema” of the 21st century, essentially action-movies featuring a female heroine in the lead role. Inspired by the theories of Vladímir Propp, author of Morphology of the Folktale, I have tried to reveal the underlying structure of these films. I have chosen eleven films which form my material, and from these extracted a number of functions (which means the actions of a character), that reoccur frequently. The heroines’ transformation can be seen as a central theme of the action babe cinema, and I have divided the films into two groups depending on the course of the transformation, either from soft to hard or the other way around. One of my findings is how there seems to be a constant need to explain the hard and tough characteristics of the female action-heroine, implying that it isn’t a natural trait for a woman. The functions have been further visualised and exemplified throughout the text, and I have found that the functions tend to be repeated in a similar pattern depending on which group they belong to. I also use the functions in an extended analysis of Kill Bill vol. 1 and Kill Bill vol. 2. The application of Propp is discussed and I present my point of view on the subject. Finally I discuss the results of my study, and what binds these films together and set them apart.

Denna undersökning berör de genuskonstruktioner som finns i skapandet av actionhjältinnor. Jag har valt att undersöka Salt (2010) Sucker Punch (2011) samt Resident Evil:Retribution (2012) Undersökningens frågeställningar är, Hur motiveras användande av våld då det utförs av kvinnliga actionhjältinnor? Vilka arketyper går att urskilja i representationerna av kvinnliga actionhjältinnors våldsutövande? Vilka symboler går att urskilja i kvinnliga actionhjältinnors utövande av våld? Min undersökning grundar sig i teorier om genus med utgångspunkt i Raewyn Connel, för att vidare knyta det samman till Stuart Halls representationsteorier samt stereotypifiering. Teoriavsnittet avslutas sedan med kvinnlig medieforskning från Liesbeth Van Zoonen samt Laura Mulvey. Min tidigare forskning grundar sig i en förklaring till hur den manlige hjälten genom tiden har representeras och vad som är representativt för denne. Den andra delen som utgör min tidigare forskning berör Rikke Schubarts forskning om genomgående arketyper som kvinnliga actionhjältinnor genom tiden blivit porträtterade som, detta för att kunna undersöka huruvida dessa även i samtiden finns kvar i skapandet av kvinnliga actionhjältinnor. I min undersökning har jag kunnat framställa att motivet till våld faller tillbaka på de representationer som finns av kvinnor respektive män, våra förutfattade meningar och stereotypa bilder om vad som är manligt och vad som är kvinnligt. Kvinnliga actionhjältinnor porträtteras även i samtida filmer i form av genomgående arketyper, och de symboler som går att urskilja i våldet är rotade i manligheten.