If These Trailers Are Any Indication, The Era of Unapologetically Furious Women Is Upon Us

Over the last week or so, we’ve seen an influx of movie trailers that, despite their wide range of tone, genre, and subject matter, all have one thing in common: badass women refusing to take any sh*t.

First up, there’s the INCREDIBLY NSFW red band trailer for Little Hours, starring Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, and Kate Micucci. The women play 14th-Century nuns in this, um, creative adaptation of The Decameron, the classic collection of bawdy Black-Plague-era tales.

Keisha already gave you some definitely really real reasons to be excited for The Beguiled. Straw feminism aside, this movie–with Colin Farrell catching the wrath of a group of proclaimed “vengeful bitches” at an all-girls boarding school during the Civil War–looks intense. I’m not sure I totally trust Sofia Coppola to avoid or completely subvert the sexual/romantic jealousy issue that appears to be the basis of the story, but I’m hoping to be wrong.

We’ve also talked about Atomic Blonde before, and whether or not the movie lives up to our expectations, Charlize Theron fits right in with this trend of unapologetically aggressive women.

And of course, we can’t leave out The Handmaid’s Tale. While the protagonist, Offred, is outwardly conforming to the new dystopia she finds herself living in–requiring meekness, near-silence, and sexual submission–her inner monologue, heard through voiceover narration, is rooted in bitter anger and determination.

Finally, check out Siren, another show coming to Freeform, the network giving us Squirrel Girl and Cloak & Dagger. The show looks like a (hopefully deliberately) campy thriller, portraying mermaids as real-life creatures that are anything but the docile, romantic creatures they’re so often portrayed to be.

It can’t be a coincidence that this new trend is hitting all at once, and right now, in the era of Trump and his renewal of socially acceptable misogyny. From “nasty woman” to “vengeful bitch,” women are embracing these empty accusations of misandry. We’re owning our aggression and delighting in provoking the patriarchy.

It also seems important to note that with the exception of Siren (which is itself most likely rooted in centuries of source material lore), every show and movie up there is an adaptation. From 14th Century novellas to 1980s dystopian fiction, to a 2012 graphic novel, female aggression has always been present. But right now, we want it all at once. Audiences have a thirst for women who have taken the filter off of their words and actions, reveling in raunch and violence. While we ourselves might not destroy a guy with our red stilettos, we apparently have a desire for that kind of vicarious fury.

(featured image: screengrab)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—