The Princess Mentality: The Barriers Smashed by Carrie Fisher

Growing up in the 1970's was not always a time of strong willed, confident, and opinionated female characters. Disney princesses sang about their troubles and always got their prince in the end. They rarely had to fight for a cause, defend themselves, or were allowed to speak their minds. The first princess I recognized not as a damsel in distress but as a force to be reckoned with was Princess Leia from Star Wars. In walks Luke, Han and Chewbacca expecting her to swoon and fall into their arms with gratitude, instead she simply, says "Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" Sass at the get go. She revitalized the role of princess into one of, I am a woman and I can take care of myself.

At the beginning of the movie, Luke purchases R2-D2 and comes across the infamous video of Leia, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." At first as an audience member you are, go Luke save the princess, she needs your help. But it is revealed very quickly that she is no ordinary princess, in fact she is the antithesis of any princess you had seen before. She needed help getting the plans to the Death Star not rescued. Being captured actually didn't seem to phase her that much at all. No pun intended. She had a mission and she needed to complete it, simple as that. In a male dominated universe, she seemed at first to be the underdog but quickly set herself as a main character and positive role model for any young girl.

Science Fiction set the stage for many strong female lead roles even Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager. Strong females characters are becoming more and more prevalent in film and television but the princess mentality is very much still in effect. Fictional princesses are slowly becoming more independent and strong minded but still seem to fit into a certain mold. But Carrie Fisher and her portrayal of a loud, foul mouthed, rebel set the stage for more like-minded female characters to emerge in cinema today. Thank you Carrie Fisher and of course George Lucas for creating such a plethora of amazing female roles that help inspire young girls to step out of the box and get their voices heard. To smash the stereotype of meek, desperate damsel and in its place create an opening for self-reliant females to charge ahead and literally change the future.