Estereotipos femeninos en la evolución del género bélico. El nuevo rol de la «mujer soldado» en la Guerra de Irak

Abstract

Woman figure has been poorly treated in war film. Traditionally, this genre has present stories from the male’s perspective. A stereotyped image of the female characters can be discovered, in her role as the man’s companion: wife of the missing soldier, campaign nurse, etc. The war fiction is certainly prone to stereotypes. To narrate the reality of war, which is almost always confusing and chaotic, each cycle chooses certain themes and motifs; and, therefore, it relies on stereotypes. Thus, the cycle of World War I promoted the character of the «madonna», the World War II, the woman who suffers the return of the veteran; and the Vietnam War, the woman who discovered the meaninglessness of war.In the Iraq War cycle the woman character has a more active and powerful presence in the story: she guides the film story. Through the analysis of 13 films, it has been confirmed that the cycle has preserved previous stereotypes, while it draws a new and original role for the women: the «female soldier».