The Women Who Inspired Us

I've recently been thinking about the women who inspired me while growing up. In particular, female characters of television and film, and the actresses who so ably brought them to life. And I've realized that many of the on-screen crushes I had as a boy served to form the very bedrock for what I now consider to be the "ideal" partner, and by extension, the kind of women I tend to portray in my own work.

Some examples that spring to mind are Maggie O'Connell (played by Janine Turner in the TV series Northern Exposure), a plucky, strong-willed, female bush pilot who carved out a life for herself on the frontier of Alaska, and Loise Lane (played by Teri Hatcher in the TV series Loise & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), an independent newswoman who never let mortal danger (or super-powered villains) convince her to miss out on a good story. But, perhaps most inspiring of all, for me, was Barbara (last name unknown, played by Patricia Tallman in the 1990 remake of the film Night of the Living Dead).

The first time I saw this film on late-night cable, I was probably 14-years old, and it scared the hell out of me. But, I was also hopelessly enamored with both it, and the female protagonist at the center of its tale.

Barbara began her journey as a mousey, spectacled introvert who could barely tolerate her brother's joking taunts about the denizens of a local cemetery "coming to get her." But shortly afterward, her brother's jests proved prophetic as the zombie apocalypse truly did break out. And Barbara then finds herself pitted against the advance scouts of what will later become an army of the undead. And you know what? At first, the experience breaks her. 

Barbara is left nearly catatonic, and the audience is left to fear that her stupor may never lift. Until, that is, one of her co-survivors, Ben, puts a fire poker in her hand and inspires her with a rousing speech to "snap out of it" and start fighting back. Then, by a series of escalating encounters throughout the remainder film, we see Barbara evolve into a hardened and fierce fighting woman, who can wield firearms with deadly accuracy while dispatching the undead with aplomb.

And you know, now that I think about it, that character arc, one of a woman being overwhelmed by the brutality of combat and death, only to later find the strength of will to rise from those ashes and emerge stronger than ever before, is quite similar to the story of Brianna Morgyn from Sanctuary in Time. And, not for nothing, but they both have short, red hair as well.

Clearly, my boyhood infatuation with the character of Barbara had an influence on my later creative work in game development. And, maybe, you've been influenced in much the same way.

So, what women have inspired you from television, film, or other sources? What boyhood (or girlhood) crushes have stood the test of time and shaped the very foundations of what you consider to be the "ideal" partner. Let me know in the comments below. And, remember...

Above all else, have fun!

Max (Novus Operandi)