Y chromosomes, and -- where are the women?

[frantyck]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., Alexander W. Hertzog wrote:
> Perhaps this is a dumb question, but am I the only guy on this 
list? 

Oi! Put those chromosomes away where nobody can see them! 'Tain't 
safe for the likes of us here...

:^)


> Someone suggested a while back that Helena Bonham Carter should be 
in > one of the next HP movies.

Helena B. Carter? As Amanita Lestrange, perhaps?

Alex, just wait for GoF and whoever will play Fleur. XX chromosomes 
will shrivel up and hide in dark corners.

Which brings this to mind: what are the HP moviemakers going to do 
for strong, visible female characters? Rowling hasn't yet provided 
very many. Petunia, McGonagall, Hermione, Molly Weasley, Trelawney 
and Madame Maxime just about exhaust the list of prominent females. 
We don't see much of McGonagall, and Olympe Maxime's a bit of a joke, 
really, whether or not Dumbledore respects her as a headmistress and 
a dancer. Molly Weasley: she's been growing in each book, and the end 
of GoF suggests something much larger to come, for reasons which were 
explored on the main list a couple months ago.

Does Winky count?

Kloves/Columbus might pick one of the female classmates for passing 
focus... but there's little evidence in canon that Padma, Parvati, 
Parkinson or Chang really carry much weight.

The war against Voldemort hasn't started yet, obviously, but I don't 
see even McGonagall as playing a great role there. Nothing specific 
occurs in the books to suggest that McGonagall is an especially 
powerful witch. Perhaps the subdued part she has played so far means 
that we should *expect* substantial revelations about her past, in 
the way that Neville was suddenly given depth by what Harry heard 
about the Longbottoms in the Pensieve.

Lestrange, on the other hand, might be a nice and scary role. Given 
what little we see of her in GoF, I'm *really* looking forward to 
more. She's icier than Snape, and she's female, too.

So, here's something that might change between book and film: more, 
and more prominent women.