Hi everyone! I'm brand new to We're Alive. I'm only on
Chapter 10 and enjoying every minute so far! But on the topic of the female
characters, I did find it interesting that the series perpetuated subtle, institutional sexism in the way the characters interact with each other. I partly wonder whether it was intentional, but it doesn't really matter if it wasn't. I think if you pay attention to how the male characters interact with each other and with their female counterparts, the show actually highlights some of the major issues women face in a male-dominated society - specifically, the assumption that women are weak/unintelligent/illogical/lesser than.
It was very noticeable to me that our main heroes carry around certain assumptions. They assume men (in general) are capable until the men prove otherwise (like putting faith in
Datu to get certain things done and done right). They also assume women (in general) are incapable until the women prove themselves capable. The most glaring instance of this so far (remember - I'm only at Chapter 10!) is when Lizzie goes with
Saul and
Burt on their supply mission. Burt assumes Lizzie can't shoot until she decapitates a few zombies with three quick pops of her gun. Saul immediately dismisses Lizzie's hypothesis about the zombie driving a car until she proves it point by point. Then, it seemed like the very next opportunity the guys had to affirm their own beliefs that Lizzie is somehow inferior to them, they pounce on it. ("Educated idiot if you ask me...")
There's also the immediate dismissal of
Riley's abilities with a bow and arrow as useless. The men (
Angel in particular) demeaned the idea of using arrows until Riley proved that a bow could be a useful weapon on multiple occasions. Although this might be attributed on the surface to a preference for firearms and perhaps ignorance as to the usefulness of bows, I think Angel,
Michael and the others were very quick to dismiss the skill as useless without even inquiring as to why Riley believed it useful. They didn't give her the same benefit of the doubt that Michael afforded 16 year old
Tommy and his camera.
Anyway, those are just my two cents on the topic. Looking forward to what happens next!
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