One of my facebook friends was questioning the right of Katniss Everdeen, of Hunger Games fame, to serve as a female role model. She felt like Katniss's choices, which in the first book of the series, were brave and admirable, became exceedlingly less so as the series progressed. Her comment came the day after my daughter and I went to see Pixar's latest release: Brave . The movie tells the story of Merida, a fiesty, fiery, red-headed princess who does not want to be betrothed. She likes to ride horses, shoot arrows, and climb mountains. She abhors needlepoint and wearing restrictive queenly costumes. I couldn't help but note the similarities between Merida, the pixelized heroine of Brave, and the flesh and blood portrayal of Katniss Everdeen. Both of them have adoring, if sometimes misguided, mothers. Both of them are experts at archery. Both of them prefer male to female companionship. Both of them are fighting for the right to their own des...