Sci-Fi Shenanigans

Gender Considerations, Part 2

[from an old journal I re-stumbled upon; glad I put this down for posterity somewhere]

I've been sitting in on a lot of discussions about how dependent the female characters are on men [on Heroes]. However, Robert Waltz has raised an interesting counterquestion.

Are any of the MALE characters really that independent?

The answers might surprise you.

Ribit doesn't think so, and he raised some good points. Nathan did rely a lot on his campaign staff, although that might have been a part of the running for office thing. Peter was generally very needy. Hiro relied on Ando a lot for much of season 1. Mohinder, well, I think his season 1 personality speaks for itself. And Sylar? Though he plays by his own rules and seems independent, he is not able to evolve as a character without help from the Suresh men. Likewise, in order to heal, he needs help from the Company. If you think about it, Sylar is less independent than we might think.

I will say that at least for season 1 (and even season 2 in some respects), the most independent characters are Matt, HRG and the Haitian (in reverse order). I think the Haitian has the following he has because he's a real lone ranger in the show. He has shown flexible loyalties and can move among the groups quite easily. He has proven to be the wild card on multiple occassions. In HRG's case, his independence from others stems from his instinctive desire to protect Claire. Aside from that, he's among the more world-wise of the characters, and his lack of abilities is actually emancipating. Since he doesn't have a power, he has an easier time pursuing his agenda under the radar. As for Matt, it's a little harder to say, other than his season 1 career fluctuations did show him being put in a position in which he has to fend for himself, and between him and Ted, he was the voice of guidance and reason.

Anyway, point is, the issue of character independence is very interesting. While it tends to focus on women more, I think we should look at independence for male and female characters. So discuss away!