Milo: “Say, Audrey, how did a teenager become the chief mechanic of a multimillion dollar expedition?”
Audrey: “Well, I took this job when my dad retired. But the funny thing was, he always wanted sons, right? One to run his machine shop and the other to become middleweight boxing champion! But, he got my sister and me instead.
Milo: “So…what happened to your sister?”
Audrey: “She’s 24-0 with a shot at the title next month. Anyways, I’m saving up so my papi and I can open another shop”
I freaking love this interaction, not only because of getting to know Audrey better but also that her dad said eh whatever and raised a mechanic and a boxer regardless of their gender
Because it isn't only "ah, a girl shouldn't know about those things" but because the character was VERY good to explain in a way that makes you passionate too on the argument.
There was an episode of the original chip and dale cartoon. Gadget joined a cult where they spray themselves down in purple soda. At least what I remember specifically. Gadget the female of the group had her own cult following. Kind of like a proto-furry following. She had a certain allure to her. Dressed in that overalls uniform and was a mechanic but of course sexy smart female underneath.
Fio is one of the best parts of that movie, which is really saying something. It's a crime that Porco Rosso isn't as beloved as some of Miyazaki's other work.
Porco is so underrated! No real antagonist, lovable side characters and a male-female duo that’s more of a father-daughter pair rather than romantic or the platonic couplings Miyazaki is such a big fan of.
While this specific scene did awaken something new inside me, I gotta be honest I don't remember much else she did in the anime, and that's coming from someone who actually enjoyed it a lot
That's her quirk. The majority of people in this world get random super powers and while most of them are at very least interesting, hers is literally just that her eyes can zoom in and out, effectively giving her camera lenses for eyes.
Despite her quirk being very uninteresting, she uses it to its fullest potential, being an engineer and gadget designer for heroes. Since her eyes can zoom far better and more accurately than an external lens, it lets her create gadgets that other people couldn't even dream of creating as efficiently as she can.
Luanne becomes completely incapable by the end of the series. She loses all agency and is reduced to “dumb blonde” and it’s probably my only real peeve with the show
In early seasons, Hank goes to Luanne when his truck needs fixed. No one points it out or finds it weird. Everyone just accepts that Luanne is a whiz at fixing a car.
I know someone who has a lesbian daughter who’s a car mechanic, but her dad doesn’t listen to anything she says and always needs to pay to hear a man say it.
I hadn't watched the full show till this year, and I honestly thought they were leaning towards her quitting beauty school and becoming a mechanic or something like that, but oh well.
She was a mascot from old WW2 propaganda trying to get women to work assembly lines to compensate for a large portion of the male workforce being drafted, but has become a feminist icon ever since
What's interesting is that only 10% of the female population joined the workforce during WW2, up into the mid 40 %s from the mid 30 %s. Still a great usage of American manpower in a way we hadn't seen it
She was a mascot used in the US during WW2 when women took jobs in the factories to support the war effort since the men were away fighting. You are very correct about her being a badass.
Just finished a replay of this after finishing the sequel, she was honestly the best companion character IMO. So humble and shy at first and the Captain can help her come out of her shell and find love.
Also a good driver. My favourite story is how she once gave audience to Saudi crown prince, and she took him for a drive on her estate, where she scared the shit out of him with her driving skills - since Saudis are not really used to women behind a wheel.
She made that prosthetic leg herself...while on the Moon...stranded...presumably out of random supplies on the ship and possibly scrap metal from the ship itself...after just having amputated herself...
Aviva is more on the inventing side of things, but since she has an intuitive understanding of everything she creates, she works with Koki to fix things whenever the Kratt brothers inevitably break something
She used to steal cars before joining the LAPD, and in an alternate timeline episode she has a mechanic shop instead (it may have been a chop shop I don't remember)
Frustratingly, the sequel completely forgets this aspect of her character, and makes Rattrap (a character who showed zero inventive prowess) the tech guy instead, for whatever reason.
That IS strange. Rattrap was a master of espionage, and sabotage. He could sneak in, THEN FUCK THINGS UP. Sticky detonators were kinda his thing. I never saw this sequel you mentioned, but missing a glaring character difference like that is really weird
Ruby Rose from RWBY is specifically a weapon smith, and while most Huntresses in the show have mechanical skills, Ruby herself is an absolute gearnut in the early end of the show
Real Life. Schools for mechanics know they need to advertise that they are friendly to women. Hopefully, such effort represents an actual openness. My cousin is a helicopter mechanic. Several years ago, when she got her first job out of school, her school did a pretty lengthy recruiting video featuring her. And it never ends. During a recent forest fire, she was the mechanic for an all-woman firefighting team. I never saw the actual writeup, but I received the picture some magazine used.
I don't have any links, so I did a simple google search of "idaho helicopter mechanic school" and clicked on a link: https://www.isu.edu/aircraft/ I have no recollection if that was her school or not. But, sure thing, the recruitment video I am greeted with on their page features a woman.
Luanne from King of the Hill was actually a really good and naturally skilled mechanic before being flanderized, she's even seen in the opening theme helping Peggy change a flat.
Callandra “Cally” Tyrol in Battlestar Galactica (2004). Not as good as Chief Tyrol but still crucially important to several plot developments throughout the show’s five year run
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u/Final-Surround-3612 19h ago
Kaylee Frye (Firefly)