Morphology of the Action Babe Cinema : En strukturell studie av 2000-talets filmer med kvinnliga actionhjältinnor

The subject of my thesis is what I have chosen to call the “action babe cinema” of the 21st century, essentially action-movies featuring a female heroine in the lead role. Inspired by the theories of Vladímir Propp, author of Morphology of the Folktale, I have tried to reveal the underlying structure of these films. I have chosen eleven films which form my material, and from these extracted a number of functions (which means the actions of a character), that reoccur frequently. The heroines’ transformation can be seen as a central theme of the action babe cinema, and I have divided the films into two groups depending on the course of the transformation, either from soft to hard or the other way around. One of my findings is how there seems to be a constant need to explain the hard and tough characteristics of the female action-heroine, implying that it isn’t a natural trait for a woman. The functions have been further visualised and exemplified throughout the text, and I have found that the functions tend to be repeated in a similar pattern depending on which group they belong to. I also use the functions in an extended analysis of Kill Bill vol. 1 and Kill Bill vol. 2. The application of Propp is discussed and I present my point of view on the subject. Finally I discuss the results of my study, and what binds these films together and set them apart