Self-Empowerment (In my own words): Taking control over who you are and who you want to be despite the odds being against you and/or what you believe in.
This is a very odd list for me to make. But I made it because we always here about female empowerment characters (I’m not criticizing, sort of) or other characters motivated for annoying reasons that I will not clarify . And I would like to see more of the regular underdog, ugly duckling, or zero-to-hero type character who became a stronger person as a result of their experiences and mainly their experiences. If they have tropes that I’m iffy about such as the ones mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, that’s fine. But as long as the trope does not completely define the character, I’m good. They’re selected because in a way they are inspiring towards me and their stories have something that either people can relate to or can easily root for. Movies, TV, live-action, and animated will be considered for this list.
#10: Mia Thermopolis- Princess Diaries
"Ugly Duckling" characters have always been a huge and decent example of self-empowerment. Mia Thermopolis is the classic nerd who finds out that she's actually a princess. While her time as a princess came off to a rocky start, she eventually sank her teeth into it. Her new position really did help her find confidence and even develop the courage to not only stand up to her bully, but also state her case in her engagement in the second film. Mia's character worked because her growth came naturally and she was a very likable person. In my personal opinion, we don't get a lot of characters like her anymore as a good majority of female characters nowadays are already empowered (Example: Black Widow, who's a great character) or just unlikeable (Example: Captain Marvel).
#9: Po- Kung Fu Panda
Po is obviously a "Zero To Hero" character. Our favorite panda started off as an employee for his father's noodle shop before accidently being declared the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway. Po went through different stages of self-empowerment, with the first basically involving him believing he can take down Ty-Lung despite everyone else saying otherwise and without a "secret ingredient". The second stage involved him realizing that his past is crucial to him becoming who he is and that at the end of the day you make a choice on whether or not you let it make you a better person, or a worse person. Po is still a moron, but he's our moron and is probably one of the most inspiring characters I've seen.
#8: Anne Boonchuy- Amphibia
One of the reasons Amphibia is well received is because of the characterization of its protagonist Anne Boonchuy. Anne started off the series as a very lazy and slightly selfish individual who's also a pushover and easy to intimidate. But upon being transferred to Amphibia, a world that consists entirely of frogs, toads, and newts, Anne learns what it means to be a hero as well as a few things about herself. As a result, she stands up to her best friend Sasha (who was more of a bully than a friend), and even becomes the hero of Amphibia. What makes Anne a self-empowerment character is that her unlikeable qualities were less about an agenda and more about her finding out who she is and learning to actually like and maybe even love herself. Start seeing herself the way others see her.
#7: Betty Suarez- Ugly Betty
Betty Suarez is another example of an "Ugly Duckling". From the very first episode of Ugly Betty, it is very obvious that Betty is pretty different from the others. Starting off as an assistant to Daniel, A majority of people, mainly Mark and Amanda, either often bullied her for her differences or saw her as an unlikely threat. But Betty truly pushed through all the setbacks, and eventually earned everyone's respect (some in strange ways) and went onto bigger and better things, moving to London by the end of the series. While I personally never saw her as ugly (America Ferrera is very pretty), her growing confidence is also represented by her glow-up, going from an obvious nerd, to someone who knows who she is while never losing her original charm. Betty is also just a likable character, it's hard to hate her and you can't help but root for her.
#6: Regina Mills- Once Upon A Time
Regina Mills is one of 2 characters on this list who started off villainous. She started off as the iconic evil queen whom you just want to punch in the face. But even during those times, she's not without her moments of sympathy. We're talking about someone who is constantly unlucky in love and was dealing with an abusive and controlling mother (who's actually responsible for killing Regina's first love). Don't get me wrong, Regina was a jerk, but we also wanted her to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually she does, learning to love herself (we can thank Henry for that) and becoming a better person. Hell, by the end of the series, she's crowned the "Good Queen". That's a little cheesy, but I was strangely proud of her at that moment. She had gone so far and finally got her happy ending. Way to go Regina.
#5: Miles Morales- Spider-Verse
Words cannot describe how much I love this kid. The 15-year-old finds himself thrown into the world of superheroes when he is bitten by a radioactive spider and now has to save the multiverse and take over as Spider-Man. The problem is the spider was from another dimension and was never supposed to bite Miles, making him an anomaly. As a result, he is constantly underestimated, looked down upon, and screwed over. The only good thing about that is that almost every time he is looked down upon, he proves his naysayers wrong and even exceeds expectations. This is more than apparent in Across, as he had to take on an entire army of Spider-people on his own. He may not be the perfect Spider-Man, but he sure as Hell is a smart one. And I know he probably feels alone, the anxiety takes its toll, and he's probably going insane right now. But somehow that has not destroyed his determination to protect the people he loves, take a leap of faith and do his own thing. That's my boy.
#4: Forrest Gump- Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump was originally not on the list and was added at the last minute. Forrest was born with a weak I.Q. and a relatively weaker spine. But the second those braces came off his legs, Forrest just kept running. From war veteran to ping-pong star to etc, this dude did pretty good with himself for someone who’s relatively stupid. And even with his setbacks, he almost always found a way to look on the positive side and make the best out of any situation. He never let anything hold him back from either doing what he wanted or from just simply being happy (If you know me then you understand the fact that even I admire that says a lot). So it’s pretty self-explanatory why I do consider Forrest a self-empowerment character. Also, his response to people calling him stupid is AWESOME.
#3: Mulan- Mulan
One of my favorite Disney Princesses (my all-time favorite being Tiana) Mulan also had a lot against her. Aside from women only being expected to marry and that's it; Mulan was also shown to be kind of a screw up, with the Matchmaker declaring that she'll "Never bring her family honor" and Chi-Fu claiming she'll "Never be worth anything". But when her senior father is called upon to go to war, she takes it upon herself to fight in his place. While she came off to a rocky start, not only did she also take on an entire army almost single handedly and save all of China, but earned the respect of others (including the Emperor). Mulan to me is everything that characters like Captain Marvel wish they could be. She to me is a correct representation of what female empowerment should be. It does not mean disrespecting the opposite sex, it means treating both sexes equally.
#2: Zuko- Avatar: The Last Airbender
The second character on this list who was formerly villainous, I've already mentioned my love for Zuko on another list (check out my Cartoon Princes list through the link down below). So this dude received a nasty burn from his father due to speaking out of turn during a war meeting, and was banished from his home only being allowed to return with the Avatar and restore his honor. Zuko is a self-empowerment character because he had learned what it really means to restore honor after being given a messed up idea of it almost his whole life. He learned that he didn't need the approval of his crappy father anyway, that he could restore his own honor by helping Aang and taking over as Firelord once his father was gone. Zuko is also a reminder that no matter how many mistakes you make (or how bad they are), it's never too late to do the right thing.
So here are some honorable mentions, and there are quite a few......................................
-By a grain of salt -He's an Idiot but we love him
-There's No One I'd Rather Be Than Me -You can thank Toothless for that
-I can go the distance -Pretty mature for a 6-year old
-Fight me later -Never thought I would actually like this series
-Only watched once
#1: Rocky Balboa- Rocky
Rocky is pretty much the definition of an "underdog" story. He starts off as a local fighter before being selected to fight Apollo Creed. The main thing that often held him back was either lack of self-confidence, or trauma from certain events (such as Mickey's death, Adrian's birth issues, or Apollo's death). But as he mentioned in Rocky Balboa, it's not about how hard you hit, but how hard you get hit. At the end of the day, he almost always chooses to get back up again. I won't deny he'll need a little push every now and then, but that makes him even more human. Rocky would eventually become the coach for Adonis Creed in the Creed spinoff (excluding 3). Rocky for me is the most iconic example of self-empowerment, an inspiring example of "zero to hero" , and the greatest example of an underdog.
Links are down below. Thanks for reading.
Google: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10tIqRLbjhAkLcXgSkuJPKnGnWlZRN4Vx8f9HN08iWNE/edit?usp=sharing
Cartoon Princes: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/03/top-10-animated-cartoon-princes.html
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