The 1990s and 2000s saw a surge of films directly engaging with gender as a theme. Thelma & Louise (1991) became a feminist milestone, showing two women rejecting patriarchal constraints. Independent cinema offered nuanced portrayals of gender fluidity and trans identity, as in Boys Don’t Cry (1999). Mainstream animated films like Mulan (1998) and Moana (2016) broke princess stereotypes, celebrating female agency without romantic subplots. However, backlash was also visible: romantic comedies often reinforced regressive gender roles, and the “manic pixie dream girl” trope reduced quirky women to tools for male self-discovery.
: The lack of diversity in casting, often referred to as "color-blind casting," can lead to the erasure of specific cultural experiences and identities. gendercfilms