The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TCU chapter.
With March coming to an end and Women’s History month coming to a close (celebrating women is never over at all though!), I found myself wanting to write a piece on the women in film and television that had an impact on me as a woman and definitely helped shape me into the college woman that I’ve become. As someone who has a rocking single dad and an incredible grandmother as my role models, I also found that fictional women in television and media had a significant impact on me and I definitely saw and found myself in different female characters, especially these four.
- Princess Carolyn from “Bojack Horseman”. The first time I watched “Bojack Horseman” and saw the pink cat that was Princess Carolyn, I felt like I was looking in a mirror. I know what you’re thinking. What could I have possibly had in common with a pink cat who found herself in love with Bojack Horseman after years and years? Well for one, she always lands on her feet. Literally. I saw Princess Carolyn as the relatable Mary Sue. She’s smart, she’s professional, and she’s an incredibly hard worker. She’s witty, ambitious, and is the epitome of a girl boss. We see her put up with ridiculous clients, people, and of course, the hot mess that is Bojack Horseman. Princess Carolyn is an older woman who is single, has an incredible career, and works hard to get everything she wants. She’s charming and truly has the world at her fingertips. However, we see her insecurities come through. Maybe she isn’t as good of a agent as she thought she was. We see her begin crack under pressure. She’s about to turn 40 years old and all she wants is to become a mom. We see her idolize Amelia Earhart and dreams of achieving fame through her hard work. We see her work incredibly hard for years to become an agent and make it out of her small town and depressing home life to get accepted into UCLA. Regardless of all her struggles, insecurity, and pressure, Princess Carolyn always lands on her feet and is epitome of the girl boss that I strive to be in college.
- Nina Rosario from “In the Heights”. The first time I watched “In the Heights”, I was thrilled to get such incredible representation of the Latin community in such a beautiful musical. When I was introduced to the character of Nina Rosario through her beautiful song “Breathe”, I don’t think i have ever felt more represented in a movie. Nina was the girl from the low-income community where no one else has gone to college, let alone such a prestigious school as Stanford. Nina is touted as the star of her community, the one who “made it out”. Nina is placed on a pedestal in her community and all the pressure of her community and their expectations and dreams are placed upon her. Nina comes home from her freshman year and her neighborhood and family are thrilled to have her back. She is the star of her community and everyone touts her as the success and the best from her community. However, Nina comes back and has clearly been struggling. Her first year of college was not she thought it was going to be and upon hearing everyone gloat about her and her success, she is forced to disclose that she has dropped out of college. Nina was incredibly relatable as someone who was also touted on as the success, has had incredibly pressure on her, and found that her dream was not exactly how she thought it would be. Similarly, I had even considered transferring after my first semester at TCU. Luckily, Nina prevails and accomplishes her dreams.
- Tiana from “The Princess and Frog”. Tiana was absolutely my favorite Disney princess and someone that 9-year old me wanted to become. Tiana was an incredibly hard worker- similar to Princess Carolyn and Nina Rosario and knew exactly what she wanted. Tiana had incredibly strong values and knew the importance of family and accomplishing her dreams. Tiana’s dream wasn’t to find a man and even thought she did find one, she didn’t lose sight of her dreams and goals. Tiana also came from humble beginnings and never forgot where she came from. Tiana embodied success through all of her hard work. Tiana understands what she wants and what she needs and is able to accomplish both of these things.
- Amy from “The Big Bang Theory”. Amy is an incredible representation of a women in science who is incredibly educated and knows exactly what she wants to accomplish in this world. Despite having a PHD in neurobiology, other scientists often belittle her and her research is often disregarded. Despite experiencing ridicule and constant misogyny, Amy disregards it and continues to pursue her research with hard work until she finally accomplishes her goals and dreams. Amy is absolutely incredible and has inspired thousands of women to pursue careers in science and has especially inspired me to accomplish all my dreams, despite ridicule and misogyny.