Focus on Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins)

[fannishliss]

I went to see "John Carter" last night, and so this morning I want to talk a little bit about how women characters are portrayed in the movie.

First of all let me say I did go through a bit of a Burroughs phase and read several of the novels, but it was a long time ago.  Burroughs initially drafted "A Princess of Mars" in 1911 (it was published serially in 1912, the 1917 date is for the collected novel), so it was actually before he wrote Tarzan of the Apes (1914). You have to realize that the book had quite a few of the not-so-progressive expectations of its day... Burroughs talks quite freely about the "Races" of Mars and color codes them to his heart's content -- the Noble Red Men of Mars, the Savage Green Men, the White Apes, the Therns (snow white) and First Race (ebony black)....  it gets to be a little much.  And of course John Carter is portrayed as the Confederate gentleman, and Dejah Thoris is something of a damsel. Being a lifelong comic book reader, I'm quite familiar with the lush nakedness of Dejah Thoris. 

So let me just say, that I was IMMENSELY PLEASED with how the character of Dejah Thoris was reimagined for this movie. I think we owe Andrew Stanton (writer and director), Lynn Collins (actor) and probably Michael Chabon (third screenwriter) a big round of applause.

Lynn Collins is a Juillard trained classical actor, known for stage roles like Juliet, Ophelia, and the like. (Apparently she was in the Wolverine movie and so was Kitsch?) She is exquisite, inhabiting the role as she says "100% mentally, physically and spiritually."  If you want to see an actor portraying a strong woman character to the best of her ability, then you owe it to yourself to go see Lynn Collins playing Dejah Thoris.

Granted, the movie is still primarily about John Carter, and Dejah is still just a bit of a Damsel, but when he calls her "Professor" my heart skipped a beat!  Making her a scientist and a tactician who is willing to deceive Carter for the good of her people was a neat twist for the character and adds a lot of dimension to the role. 

I never thought I would be pitching for Disney like "go see this film before it's too late" but I do think it's worth it.  They did the world's worst job with promoting this (they must've hired promoters from the CW!!!)  My husband points out that Disney will portray gender where the culture is at.  Portraying Dejah as a scientist and a patriot is cool; marrying her against her will is still the worst fate imaginable.  :P

I feel like I should also mention Sola.  If you have ever read the books, you might remember the Thark Female.  She rocks in this movie.  And she's not a mammal!! I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for a non-mammalian female to be accurately portrayed in a movie.  Thank you Andrew Stanton!!