With actress Pam Grier's breakthroughs in Coffy and Foxy Brown, women entered action, science fiction, war, westerns and martial arts films - genres that had previously been considered the domain of male protagonists. This ground-breaking cinema, however, was - and still is - viewed with ambivalence. While women were cast in new and exciting roles, they did not always arrive with their femininity intact, often functioning more as a pseudo-male rather than female character. This volume contains an in-depth critical analysis and study of the female hero in popular film from 1970 to 2005. It examines five female archetypes: the dominatrix, the Amazon, the daughter, the mother and the rapeavenger. The entrance of the female into films written by, produced by and made for men is viewed through the lens of feminism and post-feminism arguments. Analyzed works include the Alien films, the Lara Croft franchise, Charlie's Angels, and television productions such as Xena: Warrior Princess and La Femme Nikita.