Pacific Rim from a Feminist Perspective

Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) sorting things out.

"This is what I mean when I say that Raleigh is a 'strong female character.'" -- Deborah Pless, BtchFlcks.com


Bitch Flicks is a self-described website devoted to reviewing films and television through a feminist lens. The premise of their review is Pacific Rim flips the script on traditional gender roles in a movie while allowing Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) maintain their dude-ness and femininity respectively. This is quite a refreshing review and a must-read unique perspective on Pacific Rim.

Read an excerpt from Bitch Flick's post titled ‘Pacific Rim’s Raleigh Becket Is a Strong Female Character, and That’s Great.

"In fact, the central emotional story of the film turns out not to belong to Raleigh, but rather Mako. An orphan of the Kaiju War, Mako wishes desperately to become a pilot in order to avenge her family, but is deemed too angry and emotionally volatile to make a good pilot. As it turns out, it’s Mako, not Raleigh, whose grief and rage endanger their connection, and it’s Raleigh’s job to emotionally balance her out and soothe the tempers around him.

This is what I mean when I say that Raleigh is a “strong female character.” Raleigh’s role in the film is that of friend, counselor, and emotional support–commonly the role given to a girlfriend or wife in a movie like this. He’s the Peggy to Mako’s Captain America, the Jane to her Thor, the Katara to her Aang. Raleigh is the supportive, emotionally intuitive counterpart to his impulsive, rash, and angry best friend. His journey is over in the first 20 minutes of the movie. Hers has just begun."

You can read the rest of Deborah's Pacific Rim review at BtchFlcks.com