When Women Were Women

The question of the year has to be, “what is a woman?”

Someday, long from now, when they’re digging up our shards of pottery, they will wonder about a civilization of people that were still wrestling with that one.

Anyway, we got off on an interesting conversation the other night, after actress Jennifer Lawrence had asserted in a “Variety” interview that her casting in “Hunger Games” was the first time a woman had the lead in an action movie.

Even the most casual moviewatcher knows that’s way off.

The KTSA phone lines jammed with people nominating movies and roles from years and decades earlier, with women as leads and co-leads in all manner of action and adventure movies. If anything, women have been on the “big screen” as long as there’s been one.

Many people mentioned Sigourney Weaver, who was incredible in the “Alien” franchise.

Thing is, when we went to the local cineplex to see “Alien”, it was still a time when “the first woman” to do a lot of things hadn’t yet done them.

Her character, Ellen Ripley, was written male, but director Ridley Scott wanted the still largely-unknown Weaver because she was kick-ass, like the role itself.

And that is who we went to see.

Not a “first”, or a statement, or a symbol. Just the “best”.