The Modern Amazons

The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen

Paperback edition of The Modern Amazons.
Author	Dominique Mainon and James Ursini
Language	English
Subject	Film history, warrior women, cinema, pop culture
Genre	Gender studies
Publisher	Hal Leonard Press/Limelight Editions
Publication date	April 2006 (USA)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	400
ISBN	0-87910-327-2
OCLC	63703060
Followed by	Cinema of Obsession: Erotic Fixation and Love Gone Wrong in the Movies

The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen ( ISBN   0-87910-327-2) is a non-fiction book documenting the evolution of the female action hero in cinema, television and pop-culture. ^[1]

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. ^[2]

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. (1966)
• Pam Grier in the blaxploitation genre (including films like Coffy, Foxy Brown , and Sheba, Baby )
• 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 ( Enter the Dragon ), Zhang Ziyi ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ), and Cynthia Rothrock
• Sexploitation films, including the controversial Ilsa trilogy ^[3]
• Women as vampire slayers, superheroes, and supervillains
• Assorted television, cartoon, comics, and video game characters
• Relevant trends, style, and trivia ^[4]

Ursini and Mainon also examine feminist readings and sapphic text and subtext in media such as: the Powerpuff Girls, Tank Girl , G.I. Jane , La Femme Nikita , Alien, Pippi Longstocking , Pepper from Police Woman , and Clarice in The Silence of the Lambs .

Reception

According to reviewers, The Modern Amazons has "an authoritative style... free of pretension and stuffiness." ^[5]

See also

• Cinema of Obsession: Erotic Fixation and Love Gone Wrong in the Movies

References

1. Alicia Eler "Women As Warriors" (Windy City Times, July 3, 2007)
2. Staff - "The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen" (Books to Watch Out For: The Lesbian Edition)
3. J.R. Taylor - Packed, Stacked and on the Attack (Mr. Skin, July 1, 2006)
4. Mary Cowper - "Reviewer's Bookwatch" (April 2006, Volume 6, Number 4)
5. Gary Dowell - "B Movie Magic: Celebrating the Silver Screen's Tough Broads and One Mutated Superhero" (Baltimore City Paper, June 7, 2006)

External links

• Official Homepage Archived July 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
• Dominique Mainon's Web Site
• Baltimore City Paper
• Midwest Book Review
• Windy City Times Interview
• SirDotAlot Review Site