Pop Culture's History Of Fridging Female Characters, Explained What set your character on their path through the story? What is 'fridging?'. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. It's better to have several women, with diverse skill sets, instead of having a single walking talking Swiss Army knife of a female character. [2][3] Simone and her colleagues then developed a list of fictional female characters who had been "killed, maimed or depowered", in particular in ways that treated the female characters as mere devices to move forward a male character's story arc, rather than as fully developed characters in their own right. For example, if she's in a wheelchair and the story only references her as a tragic victim after this, then she's fridged. Furthermore, characters who are fridged often have little to no personality or backstory. What John Wick proves is that audiences actively appreciate creators deviating from the fridging norm, and the reasoning is pretty simple; fridging is a great justification for a revenge thriller, its an immediate shot of rage and purpose, and if you do it without adding to or drawing from a legacy of sexist decisions, readers get to dodge the attendant guilt and just buy into the thrills. Tip: Being a "Mary Sue" isn't about basic details like eye color or sad backstories. Similarly,Earth 2's Lois Lane's death appeared to have been crafted solely to amp her husband up a few gears towards his noble self-sacrifice, but wound up giving her new robotic life as Red Tornado. Current Editor for Buzz Magazine. It seems like the Fridging trope and the Disposable Male trope are working at both ends of this either you do one or you do the other. Don't let femininity be seen as degrading. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers, and Bang2Write has appeared in the Top 100 round-ups for Writers Digest & The Write Life and is a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspots #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK. Unfortunately, despite the film's post-credits retcon, the image was already done, and no amount of jokes in the opening credits can make it go away. There's something wrong with your question. Case in point: "Deadpool 2.". Women in Refrigerators - Wikipedia Its the difference between valuing a characters presence in the story and just ensuring theyre unique while they act as a plot point. With traditionally marginalized groups, it can be better to either restructure the moment or else take care to ensure the character appears as an equal. So, the issue with fridging is not "characters should never be motivated by the loss of a female love interest." The issue is more about how, especially in certain types of literature, women characters tend to exist only as a plot device.All they are is a source of pain for the male MC.. [3] But not if she makes a comeback. His parents didnt even give him time to breathe after losing the wife he loved. The main character sees his loved ones being hurt and then he rages and almost kills the villain when he relies he stops by her love one. Some writers jump to "female" issues, like pregnancy or abusive men. In a way it's hard around that and it is going to depend on their relationship. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with our cookie use. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. It was the wife who asked him out in the end. 10 Things We Wish Superhero Movies Would Stop Doing In The 2020s Many beginning writers create Mary Sues, so don't feel bad if you discover that you have one. Providing character development for the protagonist is the writer's motivation (not because the writer is a sadist but because they're focused on pushing the protagonist's story forward; in either case fridging the female character is a means to an end). Absolutely its a particular problem when, in a franchise like Bond, it becomes a recurring device thats part of the recipe. Would this be considered 'fridging?' What exactly qualifies as fridging Gamora's murder in Avengers: Infinity War successfully builds Thanos into the mournful maniac that the Russo brothers promised us he would be. Thank you for the advice! Equal representation in the entertainment industry must take precedence in order to undo societys status quo. One of the most popular of these options is fridging a character, but it may be a choice that should be retired from your authors toolbox. Well, fridging refers to a character (usually female) getting killed off solely to further the story of a (usually male) character. Is it better to fridge a protagonists father than their mother? The main character of the film is male, and this act does end up propelling him to exact revenge in the film's climax. Men are allowed to need help from women too. I hope youre still active, or that somebody else sees my comment and lends some advice, as I really want to know if Im not fridging. And that if I am, not too badly. Early in the story, Wade returns home from a hard day of murdering and beating down bad guys to celebrate his anniversary with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). the supporting characters are the ones who suffer the more permanent and shattering tragedies. Thanks for commenting. Consider family troubles, school/career problems, health issues, relationship troubles, and other areas to explore. Don't just do a cursory scan of TV tropes on fridging and related tropes. Deadpool 2 and The amazing spider man 2 are examples but more examples are in the above post.There is even a website about it.Its usually considered a bit sexist. She did, however, buy him a puppy, and its the puppy who gets fridged by gangsters in order to set Wick on a journey of revenge. Yeah, but it's the same kind of angry one would get if they stole his car, or ate all of his chips. Its okay to not be ready. No. But she told him him hes not a killer. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. The only reasons as to why he doesnt love the woman in the slightest is due to the fact that he was forced to marry. Thats not to say that you need to kill or injure someone for this type of effect. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Of course, he still attends therapy for his grief, but he didnt get it immediately after his past wife died. Few people enjoy pointless death. Fridging but it's for women : writing So, before you start swinging the axe, take a look at these six times you should refrain from killing your darlings, and how and why such deaths should be avoided. Komada Jouryuusho e Youkoso - myanimelist.net This will help reveal those areas where you can make the story more about who your original character is. But in both cases, it boils down to female characters being disproportionately cast as disposable pieces of meat who can only contribute to the plot when they're stuffed inside a refrigerator. "Women in Refrigerators" or "fridging women" is a term coined by Gail Simone , which is used to refer to the disempowerment or maiming of female characters. They may be murdered, raped, disfigured, beaten up, or forced to suffer through overall horrifying things just so the hero can be sad. I just fucking hate when people use the word 'rape' in connection to this issue. So let's just say her advice is suspect. Fridging isnt always done to women, but for a variety of reasons, its definitely a pattern, and one that can lead to your work being tarred with the same brush as some genuinely ugly work. So, to avoid fridging, make the character, a character basically. 9) Stop thinking female characters only talk about men. Yes, they should have a goal, but why is that goal so important to them? While showing women who succeed in STEM is great, succeeding in STEM isn't the only way to be successful or strong. As with other codifiers for sexist trends in media, like Alison Bechdal's more recent Bechdal Test, and Nathan Rabin's Manic Pixie Dream Girl, fridging began as an observation about a particular medium. Anything but trendy. Could you give me a famous movie or book example where that happened? Finally, a little lampshading might be useful. This won't be long. Superheroes (of the manly variety) have a double dose of this problem because their superiority is right there in the name. [7], In 2000, several national newspapers ran articles that referenced the site, generating discussion on the topic of sexism in pop culture and the comic-book industry. Their son should be properly disciplined and taught right from wrong. Darren Shans Killers of the Dawnkills off Larten Crepsley, the protagonists mentor, in an incredibly effective moment that also transitions the hero into a new stage of life. The name was inspired by a storyline in 1994'sGreen Lantern#54, in which Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern) arrives home to find the dead body of his girlfriend Alex DeWitt stuffed inside his refrigerator. This act is not meant as a way to spur the MC on a revenge rampage, but as a plot point that leaves the MC with a child, and an aimless future. You already said it causes him to act. A talented author can turn pretty much any event into a justifiable reason to follow a character through to the end, but there are also stock options easy, tried and tested choices, that have benefits, drawbacks, and perhaps more problems than we realize. There are now Bond stories, and stories that homage/parody Bond, that use fridging not even because its effective but because its expected. Its not the sole motivation for the carnage that follows, but its a specific enough act that Wick pursues individual revenge against those who have it, killing multiple people during the opening of John Wick Chapter 2 in a symbolic reclamation. 6 Times You Shouldn't Kill Your Characters - Writer's Edit You can replace fridging with pretty much any slight, and as an author who can control the entire universe, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. We can't root for a billionaire tech genius in a bat suit without a couple of murdered parents in his backstory, or Kryptonian goodness incarnate without the loss of his entire homeworld. How could have an affect on the audience however if they form a strong attachment. incredible inborn magical talent, super duper rich) but may have tragic backstories to show how far they've come. Why is fridging female characters popular again? (Spoilers) - Page 5 - CBR Often these responses contained arguments for or against the use of death or injury of female characters as a plot device.