Strong Women
Foxy Brown is a strong, fierce woman. The movie was directed towards the women's power movement of the early 1970s as they struggled for freedoms that men took for granted. Foxy gave a new identity to strong women. They were sexy, bold and not necessarily the sweet little things that society wanted them to be. Foxy gave African American women in particular a new independence. Foxy was shown as brave, determined and vengeful. Foxy suffers a great deal at the hands of men; she is raped but instead of allowing this to demean her she fights back. Foxy was one of the first characters on screen to react in what was previously considered to be a masculine way, but they did it but harnessing their feminine strength.
Cultural Stereotyping
Foxy Brown herself is far from a cultural stereotype; in fact, she is not a stereotypical woman at all. She is a far different kind of heroine that that which was previously presented on screen. However, the majority of the rest of the characters are entirely stereotypical; the black drug dealers, who have absolutely no morals or regard for human life; women who have no options for making a living other than prostitution; the brothel owner female who exploits other women in a way that is even worse than the way they are exploited by men. Each of these cultural stereotypes is exaggerated in the movie.
Violence
This is a violent movie; it begins with a murder on Foxy's doorstep, and contains scene after scene of gun violence, violence against women including a graphic rape scene; the violence is not the subject of the movie, it is the backdrop against which the action of the movie happens, but it is not representative of Foxy's life before the death of her boyfriend. The violence is portrayed as a normal day to day part of life in the environment, which makes Foxy's victory over it seem all the more inspiring.
