Jennifer Lawrence faces criticism for claiming she is first female action movie star

In a recently published discussion with Viola Davis, Jennifer Lawrence made a claim that no woman played the lead in an action movie before her "Hunger Games" role. The statement was part of a larger discussion about acting, motherhood and inequities in the industry.

Lawrence reminisced about her role in The Hunger Games and said there were no women in lead roles in action movies before that, as it was believed that it wouldn't work. She says she feels immensely happy when she watches a movie that breaks through such beliefs and states that the beliefs are a lie that keeps certain people out of the industry.

Social media critics were quick to react that there have been many movies with female leads in the title role. Other people commented that though she was technically incorrect, she did correctly identify gender bias in the film industry. Franklin Leonard, who produced The Black List, agreed that there was and is a bias in Hollywood about women as leads in action movies because of the false beliefs about who identifies with who.




Interestingly, the conversation between Lawrence and Davis was released just after two movies in which they are the leads. Davis is in The Woman King as the leader of a women-only West African war unit. Lawrence is in Causeway, where she plays a US soldier returning home from Afghanistan after a brain injury.

FAQs:

1. Was Jennifer Lawrence the first female lead in an action movie?
   No, many females lead in action movies have existed before her role.
2. What are some action movies with female leads?
   Alien, Salt, Tomb Raider, Kill Bill, Magnificent Warriors, Yes, Madam! and Supercop.