The Modern Amazons
The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen is a non-fiction book documenting the evolution of the female action hero in cinema, television and pop-culture.
The Modern Amazons was written by Dominique Mainon and James Ursini and published by Hal Leonard/Limelight Editions in 2006.
Synopsis
From Barbarella to Barb Wire, the book surveys public reception and interest in the "warrior-woman" and the Amazon archetype in media. The Modern Amazons is written from Mainon's perspective and balanced with academic analysis from James Ursini.The book explores representations of warrior women in film, television, and pop culture including:
- Raquel Welch in the prehistoric adventure fantasy One Million Years B.C.
- Pam Grier in the blaxploitation genre
- Lucy Lawless as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess
- Lara Croft, as portrayed by Angelina Jolie, in the Tomb Raider series
- Ellen Ripley, as portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, in the Alien franchise
- Martial arts warriors,, as portrayed by Angela Mao, Zhang Ziyi, and Cynthia Rothrock
- Sexploitation films, including the controversial Ilsa trilogy
- Women as vampire slayers, superheroes, and supervillains
- Assorted television, cartoon, comics, and video game characters
- Relevant trends, style, and trivia