Comment on TV and films turning to young girls for its new action stars

LOS ANGELES (AP) — From the murderous Laura in "Logan" to the mysterious Eleven in "Stranger Things" to the audacious determination of Mija in "Okja," opening Wednesday, powerful young girls are starring in mainstream action fare like never before. Though Nancy Drew was solving mysteries in the 1930s and Buffy slayed vampires all through high school in the late 1990s, young girls are rarely shown as heroes in programs aimed at general audiences, said Mary Celeste Kearney, director of gender studies and a professor of film, television and theater at University of Notre Dame. Writer-director Bong Joon Ho intentionally made his central human character a girl in "Okja," an international adventure film named for the genetically engineered six-ton "super pig" at its heart. Played by 13-year-old An Seo Hyun, Mija has grown up with Okja, and risks everything to protect the massive creature when the corporation that sponsored the super-pig program comes to claim its product. "Logan" writer-director James Mangold can't take credit for creating the young female mutant Laura — he mined the character from "X-Men" history. Kearney says it's more than just the "Wonder Woman" effect inspiring these empowered characters: "History has everything to do with this and the gender politics of different historical moments." The powerful women and girls onscreen reflect more progressive gender attitudes, she said, adding that some writers and producers may have been inspired to create such heroes out of a desire to see more real-life female leaders. Consider that "Billy Elliott," the charming, realistic 2000 independent film about an 11-year-old boy who learns about gender and identity through dance, became a sleeper hit that was adapted for the stage.