Let’s set the scene: one hundred years after a nuclear war, human society is surviving in a spaceship colony called the Ark. Air on the Ark is running out, and the Chancellor decides to send 100 imprisoned young adults, known as “Delinquents,” to Earth to test if the ground is survivable again. What the teenagers find when they land, however, is something they could never have expected: a fully-fledged society of humans called Grounders, with a culture drastically different from their own. This is the basic set-up of the 2014 CW TV show The 100, based on the book series by Kass Morgan. The show is a teen sci-fi, yes, but it explores important themes of cultural divides and gender norms. 

The group of people (Arkers) that the show first introduces live in a very traditional society with a strict code of law and leadership structure – a structure that is almost entirely patriarchal. The Chancellor is the “elected” leader (but the electoral system is full of corruption), and the position has mostly been held by men.

Once the Delinquents are dropped on the ground, they develop their own hasty governing system with a new leader: Clarke Griffin, who happens to be a girl. Throughout the show, the Delinquents are portrayed as consistently pushing boundaries and existing outside of the system, and the leadership structure they create on Earth is one more way that they differ from the Ark’s culture. Compared to the Arks’ society, the Delinquents establish more lenient laws, dole out fewer punishments, and quickly adopt the ethos of doing “whatever the hell we want.” They're more radical and willing to make change, so they want a leader who will do what’s best for the people – regardless of their gender. Later in the show, when the rest of the Arkers come to Earth because of the worsening air situation, they question Clarke’s authority because it goes against their previously established system.

Then, the Delinquents and other Arkers meet the third group of people: the Grounders. The Grounders survived the radioactive fallout of the war on Earth and created a tribal society based on clan warfare and lines of succession. The factor that makes Grounder society so unique, though, isn’t how well they are able to survive in harsh conditions, but that they are almost entirely matriarchal. The leader of the coalition of clans is a woman, the head of the army is a woman, and the god-like figure in Grounder religion is a woman, too.

The show explores the sharp contrast between the three societies: the traditional, male-focused society on the Ark; the radical, gender-neutral way of life of the Delinquents; and the hardy, matriarchal world of the Grounders. We see these differences when the three cultures clash, fighting wars over land usage, ownership rights, and the correct way to settle disputes.

Throughout the show, this fictional cultural trichotomy seems to suggest that matriarchal governments are the most functional and long-lasting. The patriarchal government of the Ark is riddled with corruption and instability and is already crumbling by the time the show starts, only 100 years after it was founded. By contrast, the Grounder’s matriarchal government is strong and thriving, with functioning training programs, markets, and political groups. Furthermore, the Delinquents demonstrate that when given the choice, people will revert to a matriarchal system, because as soon as they have a chance to pick their government style, they choose one led by a woman. 

This message is a complex one due to the nature of the show, as it simultaneously depicts the matriarchal government as immensely successful and extremely cutthroat and ruthless. However, at its heart, it discusses the benefit of a female leader for a society. It seems to me that a large factor why this message was being sent was the period at which the show was released. The first season of The 100 premiered at the end of 2014, months before Hillary Clinton announced that she was running for president. The discussion of a female-led government was therefore very timely and a topic of intense debate throughout America.

Personally, I find this message interesting, because I understand the intention of promoting a feminist-focused government in a time where that was especially controversial. However, at the same time, the demonization of male leadership sticks out to me as potentially harmful. By going so strongly against the mainstream norm of how to view a feminist government, I could see how the show could alienate fans who may have been more open to the idea of women as leaders if it was presented in a more neutral light. Since the focus is placed so heavily on the positive aspects of the Grounder’s matriarchal government (like the efficient policymaking and skilled military) and the negative parts of the Ark’s patriarchal one (like the corruption and instability), it fails to include the perspective of a more nuanced situation, where both styles of government have pros and cons.

Even though the message may be extreme, it is incredibly important to acknowledge the benefits of a feminist government, especially in the context of the current political climate we live in, where women's rights are constantly under threat. Overall, The 100 presents a compelling, yet flawed, argument in favor of a feminist system of government very different from what we have in America today.