The tortured history of actionfilm heroines and their high heels
Colin Trevorrow’s 2015 reboot, “Jurassic World,” bagged a huge box office haul but also sparked discussion about one very controversial wardrobe choice: the high heels worn by Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, Claire Dearing. Wide shots show her clicking and clacking as she’s chased by dinosaurs in a jungle.
Women wearing unreasonable shoes in action films is historically common. But something about the sight of Claire striding in pumps captured our attention. “Was it really necessary for ‘Jurassic World’ to resurrect gender stereotypes along with the dinosaurs?” wrote Jada Yuan of Vulture. Parodies ensued, including one that digitally put pumps on the dinosaurs in the original “Jurassic Park.”
What became clear is that movie audiences are more attuned than ever to on-screen footwear, amid our culture’s greater scrutiny of gender norms in film. But a look back at the history of heroines in heels shows that the issue is more complex than it seems.
For instance, one reason “Jurassic World” caught flak is not just that Howard was wearing heels but also that Trevorrow didn’t hide them. Veteran costume designer Ellen Mirojnick (“Cliffhanger,” “Speed,” “Strange Days”) explained that it’s typical for characters dressed in heels to be shot in a way that their shoes are not visible during any of the action. Try finding a single frame of “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” in which you can clearly make out Gemma Arterton’s shoes in a fight.
“We do substitutes, where we might put a wedge (heel) on her, because you won’t be actually seeing her feet,” Mirojnick said. “So we build a … shoe that will have the right height for the scene, but the audience is never to assume she’s wearing anything but the heel we saw her in before.”
It’s often just too difficult to perform any stunts, even running, in a heel. Some films, such as “True Lies” or “Red,” show a heroine in heels and then make it a point to show her removing them, to represent her shedding that more feminine identity, which also makes the action sequences easier to perform.
Sometimes showing the heels during action scenes is a character choice. After the “Jurassic World” controversy, Howard told Cosmopolitan,”I feel really relieved at the amount of sensitivity that people have to women and women’s roles in films,” but she noted that “this character needed to seem ill-equipped to be in the jungle. She was somebody who looks like she belongs in a corporate environment.”
Think “Romancing the Stone” and the screwball adventures of the 1980s. Some might call such thinking retrosexism, reinforcing old stereotypes about women even as the films seek to lampoon them. In the sequel, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” which debuts this weekend, she conspicuously wears boots.
Heels as a weapon
Last year’s stylized Cold War spy story “Atomic Blonde” showed Charlize Theron’s Lorraine Broughton in heels to emphasize the stature and power of the female spy whose concentration is so focused that she can convincingly kick butt while balancing on blade-thin stilettos. She is clearly a more capable fighter than the men. The movie even contains a trope of action heroines flipping off their heels and wielding them as instruments of death, called “combat stilettos.” Though somewhat out of date, combat stilettos illustrate the weaponization of the feminine, as opposed to the outright removal of it by ditching the shoes altogether.
A classic example of this comes from Hong Kong cinema: Jackie Chan’s “Armour of God,” wherein four “Amazon women” in black heels challenge Chan’s character. The women use the shoes as bludgeoning weapons. Chan, however, defeats them by taking the fight to a bridge, where their heels get wedged into the cracks between the planks, debilitating them.
Asian action films generally don’t depict women in much of a heel. The three fighters of “The Heroic Trio” are fine in flats. This might be because there’s less cutting between shots in their fight sequences, as audiences prefer to see the totality of martial arts skills, including those involving the feet. American cinema has only just started catching up.
Ruth Carter found inspiration in the footwear of Asian cinema for the costumes she designed for “Black Panther.”
“We wanted to give the women all the elements that make up a fierce warrior,” Carter said. “One of them was flat shoes that would have a split toe that would allow them to realistically go into battle.” The split toe, called a “tabi,” shows up in Asian films such as “Lady Snowblood” and is borrowed from Japanese culture, where it’s believed to give more agility to wearers. Japanese construction workers don a tabi toe to maneuver on dangerous scaffolding.
Although there are a few valid reasons for dressing a heroine in heels, Mirojnick said that decision mostly has to do with directors and studio executives who want to see the women looking sexy.
That perhaps is why it seems that some actors, such as Kate Beckinsale, will be forever imprisoned in heels. Whether in “Van Helsing” or any of the “Underworld” films, Beckinsale is perpetually on stilts in thigh-high boots. Back in 2004, she let loose about how it took a full 30 minutes to pull on the boots, because the (male) costume designer was a “purist” who wouldn’t allow zippers. She’s even in heels in the 2012 “Total Recall” remake, in which she plays Lori Quaid, a character whose first incarnation had famously kicked butt in aerobics gear and sneakers.
An ongoing evolution
But, on the whole, footwear has evolved. You can see a marked difference in what women wore in the “girl power” 1990s and in the early aughts, when the stiletto gave way to the chunky heel in “Charlie’s Angels” movies, “The Long Kiss Goodnight” and the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” television series. In each, the heels tend to be heavy, blunt and far better for balance. (The female terminator of 2003’s “Terminator 3,” who inexplicably chooses to wear needle-thin stilettos, seems like a character from a very different era.) Mirojnick pointed out that chunky heels were also fashionable at the time.
Now the chunky heel has been supplanted by the wedge — as in “Wonder Woman.” But Mirojnick said we’re also going to be seeing more of her favorite female footwear, the knee-high black boot with a low-to-nonexistent heel, as Zazie Beetz wears as Domino in “Deadpool 2.” Mirojnick said it’s a versatile, practical shoe that’s both sexy and functional, while creating a beautiful silhouette.
But the decision as to which shoes a heroine will wear lies with the director. Carter described how shocked she was when Ryan Coogler, a 30-year-old man, told her that the women in “Black Panther” should be covered and in flats. (Carter did end up giving them a very small wedge heel, “just enough to pivot on comfortably” in battle, much like you’ll find in shoes of martial artists.)
“It was a breath of fresh air, and it shifted something in my brain, too” she said, explaining that even forwardthinking designers at the top of their game can fall into patterns. After “Black Panther,” she costumed Halle Berry for “Kidnap,” a story about a mother who goes rogue to track down her missing son. Carter and Berry had to fight for “mom jeans” and sneakers for the character. “My direction was to put her in a tight tank top and shorts, when Halle herself even said: ‘Listen, I’m a mom. I want to represent actual mothers out there.’ “
Like Carter, Mirojnick said she has been “lucky” to work with many directors who “saw no division between the sexes” when it came to costuming. Her work on Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 sci-fi film “Starship Troopers” may, in fact, be the most resonant example of de-gendered costumes in action-cinematic history.
“Practicality was of utmost importance to Paul,” Mirojnick said. “He was adamant that men and women were to be dressed the same.”
In the film, soldiers of the future fight an endless war against huge, weaponized bugs. There are equal numbers of male and female fighters, and the men and women even share the same showers.
It was only sensible that men and women would wear the same flexible combat boot, except for Denise Richards’s Lt. Carmen Ibanez, whose small wedge heel denoted her higher status among the troops.
Dear Dr. Roach: My husband had pacemaker surgery in December following a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Three weeks later, he developed edema in his lower legs. He was treated by his doctor with a diuretic. At his six-week pacemaker checkup, we brought it up to the cardiac physician assistant that the swelling was still there and that the medication had not been effective. At that time, he had only one more week on the medication. She told him to stay the course and not change anything. He was not on any other medications. Three days later, he passed away from ventricular tachycardia. Could the swelling have been an indication that things besides the myopathy were going on with him? I feel as if not enough attention was given to this symptom. He had eliminated salt from his diet. — A.K.
Answer: I am very sorry to hear about your husband.
There is no way to be sure about what happened. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a relatively common (1 in 500 people) genetic disease of heart muscle that causes changes in the shape of the heart. This puts people at risk for symptoms, especially chest pain, heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms.
Dear Readers: Today’s SOUND OFF is about the responses we got from a letter written by Wallace T. stating his belief that women don’t dress up anymore or take care of themselves. The reaction was overwhelming. Here are some of the voices of our readers. — Heloise
“It’s not just women who dress casually in this country. Men are just as sloppy, if not worse.” — Pam, Columbus, Neb.
“He calls out women solely for a change in custom regarding their choice of dress. Men do exactly the same thing.” — Mari T., Bakersfield, Calif.
“Most of the people in our circle don’t have the kind of money it takes to ‘dress up’ these days.” — Yvonne G., Watertown, Wis.
“If Wallace T. wants to pay for my wardrobe, I’ll dress in designer duds! But since he’s not paying for my clothes, I’ll wear what I can afford.” — Lana J., Avon Park, Fla.
Edema (swelling) of the lower legs can be a sign of heart failure, especially when combined with shortness of breath. However, many people with perfectly normal hearts can develop a bit of swelling after a medical procedure, often because they get more salt and water than they are used to during the procedure. I can’t tell whether his swelling might have been a red flag that should have been pursued more aggressively.
One other thought is that some diuretics can deplete the body of potassium and magnesium, predisposing a person to rhythm problems.
Ventricular tachycardia is a dangerous rhythm of the heart that needs to be treated immediately. Having hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a clear risk for developing ventricular tachycardia, and some people at very high risk (especially those who have had an abnormal rhythm or fainting) are advised to get an automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. In hindsight, your husband should have had one of those (they make AICDs with pacemaker function now), but I don’t see any way his doctor should
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a relatively common (1 in 500 people) genetic disease of heart muscle that causes changes in the shape of the heart.
Here are some additional uses for ice cube trays:
■ Keep an ice cube tray on a workbench for small screws and nails.
■ Place one in a desk drawer as a holder for paper clips and small items.
■ Use one to organize your change.
■ Use as an earring organizer.
— Heloise
Still not a good idea Dear Heloise:
I read a newspaper column where it was stated that it was all right to wear white to someone else’s wedding, so twice in a row I wore a white knit dress. What do you think? — Margaret M., Mission Viejo, Calif.
Margaret, wearing all white as a guest to a wedding is still considered a no-no, unless the bride requests an all-white ceremony. You can wear a dress or suit with a pattern that has a white background, but all white is not a wise choice. — Heloise
When measuring liquids using a measuring cup, I set the cup in the microwave (located over the range), and then pour in the liquid.
I can see the measurement lines straight on, and the light in the microwave also helps. No more trying to hold the cup level as I lift up the cup and pour. — Sylvia M., The Villages, Fla.
A nod to pods Dear Heloise:
I reuse my single-use coffee pods to start seeds. I rinse them out and poke a few more holes in them, and put one seed in each one. — Jo Ann D., via email