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| Michelle Rodriguez as Letty: mechanic, car racer, and thief in The Fast and the Furious series |
Written by Amanda Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez, famous for her roles in Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious series, and TV series Lost, is a cinematic conundrum. Much like most Latina actresses, Rodriguez is typecast. Unlike those Latina actresses who are typecast as extremely feminine and sensual, Rodriguez is typecast as the smoldering, independent bad girl who doesn’t take shit from men. In her roles, Rodriguez embodies many traditionally coded masculine traits (she’s strong, aggressive, mechanically inclined, independent, physical, etc). Despite this perceived masculinity, she is not depicted as a lesbian, and her butch attributes are actually designed to accentuate her sexual appeal. Certainly, several actresses have played this same kind of role before (though, with them, there’s often skin-tight leather or vinyl in the mix), but Rodriguez consistently plays this same role over and over again. Is this role progressive, consistently allowing a woman some measure of toughness despite maintaining her overt sexuality? Or is this role simply a variation on a well-established theme that won’t truly lead to a multiplicity of female characterizations independent from female sexuality?
Rodriguez’s breakthrough performance was in the critically-acclaimed independent film Girlfight where she portrayed an abused, impoverished, angry young woman who finds her peace in the boxing ring. The climax of the film has Guzman facing off with her male lover and defeating him in the ring. She is afforded the rare opportunity to be stronger and better than men at a male dominated sport, and while she’s tough and muscular, Rodriguez never loses her vulnerability and sex appeal. This film set the tone for the rest of Rodriguez’s career.
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| Michelle Rodriguez as Diana Guzman in Girlfight |
Among Michelle Rodriguez’s notable performances is the no-nonsense mechanic by day, car racing thief by night, Letty Ortiz, from The Fast and the Furious series. Though she is an impenetrably tough member of an almost exclusively male subculture, Letty embodies tenderness and self-sacrifice in her heterosexual relationship with Neck Muscles McGee (aka Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto). Rodriguez also plays the traumatized, gritty, untrusting cop with dubious morals, Ana Lucia Cortez, in Lost. Ana Lucia is the unyielding leader of the tail section of the plane, a significant contrast from the compassionate leadership of Jack Shepherd, who guides the remaining survivors on the other side of the island.
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| Michelle Rodriguez as Ana Lucia Cortez in Lost |
Rodriguez also portrays Trudy Chacon, the jumpsuit-wearing pilot who defies orders to defend an exploited people in Avatar as well as the rigid Umbrella Corporation paramilitary officer, Rain Ocampo, in Resident Evil. Not to mention her role as Chris Sanchez in the floptastic flick S.W.A.T where Rodriguez is a single mother who doggedly makes her way into S.W.A.T ranks despite the institutional sexism inherent in the police force.
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| A pre-zombified Michelle Rodriguez as Rain Ocampo in Resident Evil |
Of her acting career, Michelle Rodriguez has said, “Well, could you really imagine me playing the girlfriend that needs rescuing? Or the girlfriend?” She’s also said, “I don’t want people thinking of me sexually…I had a couple of offers to do some hot scenes in the shower with some guy and to make it real hot and sexy. The next thing you know, I’d be the next J.Lo or something. But that’s easy. I want [success] the hard way.” These quotes lead me to believe that she is consciously involved in the selection of her roles to the extent that she purposely eschews the quintessential eye-candy, sexualized parts typically offered to Latina women. Does that mean that the only thing left is shitty action movies that meld her fierceness to her sexuality in an almost paradoxically unique and formulaic way? Is her Otherness what allows her to fit into this strange niche, or does her Otherness essentially force her into this one-dimensionality? Do Rodriguez’s characters represent a link on an evolutionary chain, where she is still exploited for her sexuality but her strength and fortitude are the traits for which she’s truly valued? If so, will her characters eventually be given individuality in a non-exploitative way, or is this an evolutionary dead-end (much like her role as Shé in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete might suggest)?
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| Michelle Rodriguez’s sexuality is definitely at the forefront as Shé from Machete |
I don’t have the answers. I do like to watch movies just because Michelle Rodriguez is in them (which is good for her because, yay ratings, but bad for me because, ew bad movies), but I’m hard-pressed to fancy her roles as outside the patriarchy’s ideals for womanhood. Sure, she may be gritty and badass, but she’s still beautiful and sexy as hell. It seems more likely that patriarchy, like all extremely powerful institutions, continues to adapt in order to contain potential threats to its hegemony. I’ll continue to hope, though, that through her personal choices, a lone Latina actress can help even just a little to change the face of gender inequality.
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think another aspect of Michelle Rodriguez typecastness is the fact that brown women are genuinely seen as being less feminine. Harder. More street smart. How many dark skinned women get to play the princess or the love interest or get to be defended or fought for. The only thing coming to mind is the Cinderella movie with Brandy and Django unchained (please don’t get me started). Not many, is my point. She is Afrolatina. Black femininity is observed as less fragile/less feminine than the dainty white princess. So like, Michelle Rodriguez, although empowering to some, may be old news for a lot of dark skinned women, who have to be hard. Although, a lot of Michelle’s characters are still dynamic in that she falls in love and is vulnerable sometimes= huge plus. I also think Girl Fight is the only film that did that successfully and it’s also the only one made by a poc. Just a few thoughts, loved this article- very thought provoking. I’m a huge Michelle Rodriguez fan.
think another aspect of Michelle Rodriguez typecastness is the fact that brown women are genuinely seen as being less feminine. Harder. More street smart. How many dark skinned women get to play the princess or the love interest or get to be defended or fought for. The only thing coming to mind is the Cinderella movie with Brandy and Django unchained (please don’t get me started). Not many, is my point. She is Afrolatina. Black femininity is observed as less fragile/less feminine than the dainty white princess. So like, Michelle Rodriguez, although empowering to some, may be old news for a lot of dark skinned women, who have to be hard. Although, a lot of Michelle’s characters are still dynamic in that she falls in love and is vulnerable sometimes= huge plus. I also think Girl Fight is the only film that did that successfully and it’s also the only one made by a poc. Just a few thoughts, loved this article- very thought provoking. I’m a huge Michelle Rodriguez fan.
Good points all, @15ad87009153b561d04f280754e47880 ! Thanks for weighing in and enriching my article with your thoughts!
Agree with every word of this. Unfortunately I have to back out of most of the dreck she’s in. Despite the clichés, though, she still manages to be badass. It’s weird how she can be so – to me – infinitely watchable and her films so infinitely not.
“good for her because, yay ratings, but bad for me because, ew bad movies”
Haha, that sums it up so well.