'Aquaman': Amber Heard speaks on role and women's strength representation
What's the story
Aquaman, DCEU's latest movie directed by James Wan and starring the likes of Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe, has made a splash at the box office. Heard, who plays Mera, the Atlantean warrior princess in the movie, opened up about her role and how the strength of women is represented in films. Read to know what she said.
Mera
No damsel in distress here
Heard, who as we reported, agreed to take on the role of Mera only when she found out she was a warrior princess. She was elated that her character was no damsel in distress. Heard said she was averse to formulaic approach in films where women need rescuing and was glad her character was 'fierce, powerful, intelligent, driven' and had 'strength and dignity'.
Representation
As in real life, so in reel, for Heard
Heard's joy at playing a strong character stems from her personal belief that women are much stronger than they are portrayed on screen. The Drive Angry actress said that in her life the strongest people she knew and had learned from were women. She found it frustrating and an inaccurate 'reflection of real life' that such strength lacked representation in the entertainment industry.
Strength in sisterhood
Solidarity, not competition, is the rallying cry from women
Heard, not only spoke of women representation on screen but also about solidarity among women in times when discourse is rising surrounding issues of women empowerment and gender equality. Despite Hollywood's tendency to pit women against each other, making them part of imagined competitions, Heard believes that women are finding solidarity together. She brings this to the movie, supporting Nicole Kidman's character, Queen Atlanna.
Quote
Heard on the solidarity among women
Heard said, "In Hollywood... women are often put up against one another in this sort of competition which they didn't sign up for. We see it in magazines an architectural presentation of women -- whether it is blonde or brunette or thin versus curvy".
Heard's feminism
Heard likes to practice what she preaches
Heard is not all talk, as the actress from The Rum Diaries uses her stardom to support relevant issues that impact the lives of women in society. Her conscious choice to play an empowered and independent warrior princess on screen thus breaks the normal stereotype associated with princesses. Further, she joined movements like #MeToo, Time's Up and advocated for both LGBTQ and women's rights.