The worst examples of modern are found in low-budget B-movies and some anime OVAs where the damsel’s only line is a scream, and her only action is to be strapped to a doomsday device. These portrayals fail because they treat the character as furniture.
An exploration of the "space damsel" trope reveals a journey from the early days of pulp science fiction to modern reinterpretations that challenge old clichés. The Evolution of the Space Damsel: From Pulp to Power
Independent games and retro-pulp novels now use the "damsel" trope ironically. The video game Damsels of the Galaxy (2022) lets you play as the captive, where "escape" is a puzzle game, and "rescue" is a failure state. These narratives ask: Why did we ever think this was romantic?
Characters like Natalya Simonova in Goldeneye (while technically a Bond film, it highlights the transition) were shown as "damsels" who were actually highly capable in their specific technical fields.