Oh my goodness I just wrote out a huge long response and my clumsy fingers erased it by pressing back and it did not save FML. So I will try and type my response again.
In regards to the movies etc I have to go back in my movies to find that specific case. I just remember it sticking out to me as something being out of reach. Like random example The Rock trying to break down and door and can't and then along comes Black Swan days Natalie Portman and the door crumbles in one swift kick. There are for sure many exceptions to the power dynamic stereotype! And you have listed many fantastic ones. I just feel like if you are going present it make sure it is relaistic like those examples you gave or if they are outlandish then they are in more superhero settings or in satirical settings where you are poking fun at that power dynamic. I hope this is coming across right. I just feel like throwing in a strong female moment in a movie just to be woke is not the right way to do it. In regards to emasculation, in regards to who I think are having that opinion of emasculation are the "rah rah rah beat on your chest "masculine" individuals" who are note open to change. Showing empathy, compassion, emotion, and labeling them as feminine qualities also does a disservice. These are emotions that EVERYONE feels and experiences in addition to anger, aggression, and the also inappropriately titles "masculine" emotions. These are emotions and qualities we ALL feel and express. Just to varying degrees! This is was makes us all unique! So instead of thinking a male role is being emasculated because they are showing more emotion or empathy or that a female is showing more aggression and strength than a male, it should be seen and demonstrating the true diversity humanity has and what is possible across all gender roles.
UPDATE: Sorry I had to submit to make sure I did not lose it all again. So continuing on...
[/QUOTE]this response got LONG so I'll keep my own new note quick: there's all this talk of how much diversity in media is too much, when like... reality is diverse. it's actively unrealistic to keep hollywood as cis, straight, white, able, etc as it's always been. characters being LGBTQ+ or racial minorities when it isn't relevant to the plot isn't pandering or forcing anything - frankly what IS doing those things is making every character white and cishet by default. stories about minority group issues (coming out, homophobia & transphobia, racial injustice and prejudice, women's lib, the struggle of being disabled or raising a disabled child, etc etc etc) are of course important, but more important is letting people like that in on the fun stuff. i don't want to have to choose between my Genre Of Choice or seeing someone like me, and neither does anyone else! and looping back to the employment side, the only reason this hasn't been happening from the beginning is that the people making media have been so homogeneously non-minority that it never occurred to them.
I agree that it is unrealistic to keep hollywood/media cis, straight, white etc as you are right that is not reality at all. And I am loving seeing the changes Hollywood is making. As you mentioned earlier having white actors playing none-white roles, this is something that I feel is changing thank goodness and as well hearing those stories of those who did have injustices committed against them as well as having that stories shared by them and accurately told! I just wanted to clarify what you meant by " but more important is letting people like that in on the fun stuff. " Are you referring to making sure that those people are the ones portraying the roles as the "fun stuff" or is there more?