There are times when I just get burnt out when hearing “strong female character” being using during interviews. It has sprouted up in a fair share of times in my career as an entertainment journalist. Refreshingly, thought, it was a pleasure see Battlefront 2’s Janina Gavankar shoot back at IGN’s interviewer, stating that the “SFC” is generic and we’re way past that point in entertainment now. The look on the face of interviewer does contain a bit of disdain when Gavankar completely dismisses and chastises the label.
The term “strong female character” has become devoid of any true meaning or substance. If we dissect ‘Battlefront 2‘ and closely look at Iden’s progression throughout the story it becomes quite clear that she is not strong. (SPOILERS) She has no doubt seen the Empire do unspeakable things, including the destruction of Alderaan and the Emperor’s choke-hold on many systems in the galaxy. So, this tyrannical rule was perfectly fine with Iden up until the point when the Emperor’s last command was to destroy her home planet. All those other folk (human and non-human) killed by the Galactic Nazis? They didn’t matter.
From that point, Iden decides to disobey orders and ultimately defects to the Rebellion. Her convictions were only set in stone until it did something that affected her. She just jumps ship, joins the “bad guys,” and goes on to kill countless stormtroopers and officers, some of whom she no doubt served alongside at one point.
Nothing about the way the character is written tells me she is strong. The character’s cut-scene model certainly has an intense “resting bitch face,” but I wouldn’t want her on my side of a battle given how quickly she is willing to abandon a team or ideology. Then again, the game’s story was co-written by someone who has even fewer IMDB credits than I do …
So, in short: I edited the interview video down and loaded it with overused memes to match the overused term.
Syxx Sense Media 