Is the issue of negative gender representation towards women still relevant in today's films?

for my media coursework i need other peoples opinions and ideas on my question so any help you could give me would be great i'm also focusing on films starring the actress Zhang Ziyi and how she is represented in her films so if you happen to have watched any of her films (house of flying daggers, hero, 2046, memoirs of a geisha) then your opinions on how she is represented would also be greatly appreciated
thanks

erm....i guess ziyi zhang defies the stereotype of the tiny, demure asian girl by being feisty and aggressive, almost uncouth. she is one of the few actresses nowadays who trades on her charisma, rather than just her looks. she has a habit of playing the young, naive and immature girl in most of her movies, eg hero, crouching tiger and 2046. in a way her characters display the negative gender representation in movies today, as she is singled out for playing roles that allow her to face up to men, in a way that doesnt require her to simply be eye candy. it is her own little niche, especially in china where that characterisation is especially rare. the fact she occupies that niche by herself shows how rare it is for women to be cast in aggressive leading roles