I’ve been catching up with TV series “Chuck” recently and am loving female character of Special Agent Sarah Walker played by Aussie actress Yvonne Strahovski. If you’re a gamer you might recognize the name because Yvonne Strahovski also plays (voice and modeled) the character of Miranda Lawson in game “Mass Effect 2”.
What I love about “Chuck” – at least in the first two seasons – is the gender role reversal of Sarah Walker as the hero, forever rescuing Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi) from trouble, usually by kicking someones ass. The character of Agent Sarah Walker is offset by the other strong-arm in the team, Colonel John Casey (played superbly by Adam Baldwin), but she’s never really shown in a subservient manner, she knows how to get the job done and she does it.
It’s not many TV series / movies that do this, majority of the time they fall into the usual gender role types of the male hero rescuing the damsel in distress. Sarah Walker does not break all gender role stereotypes completely, given she’s still ultra feminized and sexualized throughout the series. What Agent Sarah Walker does do though is show it’s okay to be yourself. Chuck too shows this is the case with his uber geek ways seen as heroic, despite being rescued repeatedly by ‘a girl’.
Agent Sarah Walker is a great example of the female hero, if you like that sort of thing, I implore you to check out “Chuck” from NBC.
Other suggestings: Rizzoli & Isles and Warehouse 13.
If you’re seeing this at Tumblr and want to comment, head over to GirlyGamer.com.au as they’re the only comments I check and respond to xxx.
Sarah Walker used to be a better role-model for girls prior to season 3 of Chuck. She’s still good, but Chuck being the hero now sort of removes her from the lead action hero, back into a secondary position bookend female. This saddens me because there are very few female action heroines on television series.
Good article though.
Axe Chuck already.
It has lost its original charm.
Sarah Walker in Chuck USED to defy gender roles, the last season though she has slipped back into the role of wife and helpless female. Now geek Chuck does all the hardman stuff that Sarah used to do. She’s turned into just another support character and it’s ruined the show for me. I stopped watching it a few weeks ago because I couldn’t take any more Chuck as the intersect and Sarah as the sidekick. I hope it gets axed before they ruin canon anymore than they already have.
From feminist icon to Chucks bitch in the matter of one season.
I don’t watch it anymore. I’ll forgive your Sara Walker is a feminist icon role-model thing because you wrote it before the latest season aired. This season Sarah has barely done anything. Like some other people commenting said, she’s kind of become Chuck’s bitch.
What the frak is it with shows assuming if a woman gets in a relationship she suddenly needs the man to look after her, or rescuing, or helped all the time. Sarah Walker was more than capable to kick anyone’s ass and rescue Chuck left right and centre, it’s what made Chuck so good. Since her and Chuck got together her character have gone more and more to the girlfriend role. We get that on EVERY other show.
I like Warehouse 13, but it would be better if Myka and HG had gotten together, because frak knows if Myka gets a boyfriend she’ll turn into some weak ass.
I came here to see your props, but I started doing the infinite click from boredom and saw some of your earlier posts. This one jumped at me because I wrote about this on my blog too and we said a lot of the same things which is great. I still miss Chuck, though Sarah did get weaker toward the end. You should do some off topic posts like these, I know you’re a prop maker by trade, but your pop culture posts are cool too, don’t neglect us nerds!
Aww you know I have thought about it many times, I might slot one in now and again. Thanks for taking the time to make the suggestion 🙂
PS She did get a bit lame in the last season 🙁
Wow you people read way to much into this, why cant they protect each other? What is so wrong about wanting to be a good girl friend? She was a nothing but a spy and now she is learning how to be in a relationship this is all new to her, stop acting like its sexist because it is not, they are both equal and what is wrong with being a mother? Holy crap people you need to grow up.
Oh dear, someone needs to do a gender studies 101 class doesn’t he.
Try and book yourself in for one so you can learn all about the socially restrictive norming that goes on within television. Media studies course may also help. If you can find a media course based on gender, even better. Come back then.