Womanhood – what a rollercoaster!
No amount of words can do justice to the joys and struggles of being a woman in a world that is slowly unravelling from the clutches of patriarchy, and a lot of credit goes to aspirational storytelling. It inspires us, it moves us, and every so often, it makes us say, “Yes, I relate!”
Producers aren’t just investing in female-dominated shows more than ever due to their whopping success on the hot charts, but also because they are extremely relevant in this time & age. The love for these on-screen narratives transcends gender and other biases, leaving only brilliant storylines and character-building in their wake.
While a lot of shows have made the cut to Netflix’s ‘Most Popular’ list, there are 3 that stood out the most, owing to their strong female leads and/or supporting characters.
Allow us to let you in on the women & stories we’re in awe of lately.
Bridgerton’s Eloise
Smashing The Patriarchy Since The 1800s
“If you desire the sun & the moon, all you have to do is go out and shoot at the sky.”
Women don’t need to be intimidating or get into ‘rebel mode’ to defy societal norms; they can do it all just as well with a smile on their face, quick-witted humour and quirky pastel dresses! If you’ve watched Bridgerton as ardently as we have, you’ll know that little Eloise fits the description, not Daphne. (While we loved watching her dramatic journey too.) Set in the Regency Era in England, the show’s portrayal of costumes might not always be on-point, but the social stigma was pretty darn accurate.
Amid the contractual marriages and incessant talk of potential suitors, it’s been refreshing to see Eloise Bridgerton boldly, and often sarcastically navigate her way through life. While everyone around her was somehow convinced that a great husband equals self & societal worth, she believed she was destined for far greater things. Lady Whistledown, whoever she is, would be proud.
Style
The show’s been a visual treat, to say the least. From breathtaking backdrops to candy-coloured streets, everything took us on a happy ride. While every character’s costume stood out in its own way, Eloise’s pastel bows and genius layering has all our votes. Quirky details like frills were also a common sight in most of her looks. They were complemented by the baby-bangs perfectly framing her face. The tone-on-tone ball gowns put elaborate & over-the-top silhouettes to shame, restoring everyone’s faith in understated elegance.
The Crown’s Princess Margaret
Made For The Modern World
“One learns, when one has the benefit of experience, that sometimes, time off is the best course of action.”
Word on the street is that there has been no better representation or show centred around the royal family quite like The Crown. We’d have to agree, because so do the critics. A lot of us began watching the show wanting to delve deeper into the early life of Queen Elizabeth II, and while it was intriguing at best, it’s really Princess Margaret that made us flip the pages. Her free-spirited yet tormented story paved the way for us to see the cracks in the glitz & glam. It was anything but repulsive, and made us all believe that the royals, just like us, are human, regardless of what the paparazzi want us to believe.
Strong-minded, individualistic, witty, rebellious, raw, and intelligent, Princess Margaret may have been second-in-line to the throne but not in people’s hearts. Popularly known as the ‘party princess’, she knew how to win a crowd over and never failed to question the norms. It’s difficult to distinguish fact from fiction when it comes to television. But, although we might never know her real-life story, we’re moved by the reel-life narrative. After all, the only way to live life fully is to be nothing but yourselves, right?
Style
Keeping up with the rebellious persona, Princess Margaret’s style wasn’t just sophisticated keeping in mind the royal dress code; but also edgy and bold. Think deep necklines, structured silhouettes, a lot of bare back and shoulder moments. Dark lip colours and sleek yet dramatic eyeliner was a huge part of her look. Since the series is divided into two parts, where the role is played by Leslie Manville in the first and Helena Bonham Carter in the second, one can spot some similarities and differences too as her character matures. We were able to see some iconic, overstated jewels on the young princess, and minimal or no jewellery on her middle-aged version.
The Queen’s Gambit’s Beth Harmon
An Imperfectly-Perfect Prodigy
“I analyze games. What actually happened, not what could have happened.”
Tragic tales and the protagonist’s rise to fame after being dodged around by life are a favourite for script-writers. So, it may have not come as a surprise when The Queen’s Gambit became an overnight success. Beth Harmon was different from a lot of other characters though. Mainly, because she wasn’t just on the road to becoming the world’s biggest chess player, but also to self-discovery.
With an alcohol and drug addiction that served as nothing but a crutch, our lead was flawed. She made a hundred wrong moves before making all the right ones. We’re sure we all can relate, on some level. The fact that there are far fewer women than men in chess is a solid giveaway of the amount of underestimation our kind has to go through when it comes to matters of the mind. Beth, however, with her competitiveness and sharp intellect even as she battles to stay afloat gives a lot of young girls hope for the future and us, inspiration for the present.
Style
If you haven’t picked up on the similarities yet, you’d be surprised (or not) to know that Beth’s closet was inspired largely by Audrey Hepburn and Edie Sedgwick. No wonder it’s timeless, understated, and comprises a lot of neutral tones! The 60s saw Peter Pan collars in all their glory. The Netflix series managed to portray fashion from the iconic decade beautifully. Bows, buttons, and boat necklines seemed to be a favourite for our chess champ. Her refined sense of style was in line with the nature of the game itself.
Image Credits: Pinterest