Yeah, I think that can be a form of helpless heroine. I wrote a review of a movie callled “All Tied Up” about three women (they’re the women who do the tying up) whose zeitgeist makes them so helpless that they have no access to any resources … not even their own brains. I called this movie phenom a ‘bimbo cluster.’
You mean *almost * makes up for the fact that Seagal has to be in the film. 
I despise this sort of thing too. I came in to mention the first Indy woman, Willie Scott. She ruined half the movie with her incessant whining and screaming.
People always say how shallow Arnold action flicks are, and I don’t deny that…but if you pay attention, his girls are rarely whiny and always help out. I like seeing that. I also loved Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone, one of the few romantic comedies I love.
I still think Princess Bride is one of the best examples of this, but even better would have to be Fay Wright.
When I think of the helpless female, I think of Lois Lane. Movie or 1960’s comic version.
I always start rooting for the bad guy-- the whiny bitch deserves to die!
I’ve wondered on occasion if women in real life are victimized more often because of this stereotype, as they’ve been subconciously trained just to stand there and cry in the face of danger, as opposed to seeing women kick the asses of their attackers.
Maureen O’Sullivan, as Jane, in the old Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies. The plots seemed to be based on her repeatedly being attacked by wild animals or some such, and Tarzan coming to the rescue.
Actually, Willie Scott was the second Indy woman. The first was Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen) in Raiders of the Lost Ark. She was the daughter of Indy’s late professor. She was fiesty, tough minded and not afraid to take on anyone, quite the opposite to Willie Scott.
You’re both right. Chronologically, Temple of Doom took place before Raiders, so they were both the first Indy woman. But that’s just me being insufferable. 
I’m definitely casting my vote for Snow White. Didn’t do a damn thing except exactly what Grumpy told her not to.
I nominate Judith O’Dea in Night of the Living Dead. By the time the movie was twenty minutes old I was ready to feed her to the zombies myself.
Fixed in Savini’s remake where the Barbara cahracter becomes a badass by the end and is the only survivor.
Susan Sarandon as Janet ("SLUT!) in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Gillian Anderson as Scully in the X-Files movie.
Veronica Cartwright in “Alien” AND the 1979 version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
In the old, old Superman TV show, Phyllis Coates played the first Lois Lane as a much tougher character than Noel Neill’s later version. Despite her brassiness, when confronted by a bad guy, Phyllis-Lois could unleash a scream that put Fay Wray to shame.
Have you ever read the original Brothers Grim version? In the written story the wicked queen shows up in disguise THREE TIMES! offering magically death-trapped items for sale, and only luck keeps Snow White from getting killed. Even the poisoned apple was supposed to kill her but she lucked out by getting the first bite stuck in her throat where it only put her into a coma.
It’s true. I once crash landed on an island. I kept giggling and writhing. I sent a postcard to my mother (via message in a bottle):
"Dear Mom,
Crashed on deserted island. Uncontrollable urge to giggle and writhe. Succumbed to it. I met several possible saviours, but could only giggle and writhe.
Love, Stasia"
She wrote back:
"Dear Stasia,
Good girl! They will surely make a movie of your time on the island! Be sure to bathe naked. Scream often, especially over the smallest things. Good girls don’t defend themselves. They act like Lhasa Apsos and alert real heroes.
Love, Mom"
They pee on the bedspread?
Shelley Duvall came to mind immediately for her quivering, quavering, screaming, runny-nosed, squeaky-voiced tremblefest in The Shining.
That was too darn funny.
On what basis do you see Scully as a helpless heroine type?
Barbara Crampton from Re-Animator stands out as particularly great, especially the scene where the head is going down on her.
When all one does is giggle and writhe, it’s inevitable.
I’ve always said, the problem I had with The Shining is that, from the moment you see Jack Nicholson, you know he’s going to kill somebody, and from the moment you see Shelley Duvall, you hope it’s her.