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| Black Widow
Please watch this video before you start reading (3:32 to 4:31)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBbSNnGmPfw
As you saw in the video, one reporter asked both Robert Downy Jr. and Scarlett Johansson a question, but the questions were very different in perspective. Robert Downy Jr. was given a question regarding his role as Iron Man and how his character Tony Stark developed. Scarlett Johansson was asked about what diet she had done to get into shape and what specific foods she ate. Tony Stark, being sarcastic stated that people were probably intersted in the question being directed towards Scarlett than his own. Scarlett seemed to be annoyed as she stated that she didn't understand why he got an interesting an existential question while she got the "rabbit food" question. She proceeded by answering that question very shortly by stating that since she does a lot of stunt work, she ate a lot of green foods.
Scarlett Johansson plays the Black Widow who featured only in Marvel movies. Black Widow is very smart, quick, flexible and she can defend herself without anyone needing to protect her. She does not like to be taking orders from other's and tends to makes her own decision. She is just as capable and strong as the other male superheros, yet does not have any superpowers. Her character seems to break away from the trend that women need to be protected and are weak, which is normally the first thing that comes to mind when people think about women. She is someone that almost every women would want to be like.
Although, through this movie, Scarlett Johannson seems is trying to break away the stereotype of women being weak and needing help from males, society still only seems to care about how she looks and how she got her healthy body. In the Avengers and other marvel movies, she seems to be a sidekick, helping the superhero's but not getting the equal amount of respect. She has the almost the same amount of action scenes as the male superheros, yet no one is really giving her credit for that. It seems as though she is in the movie, because the directors are trying to target the male audience. For women, having Black Widow in the film seems to be an accomplishment, since next to the four male superheros, she is the only female. What is sad is that society is quick to make comments, without knowing how much effort is put into her action scenes through the film. She is just seen as a model looking character in these movies.
Questions to Consider:
If Black Widow were to come out with her own movie without any of the other superhero's, do you think the movie would still be a hit? Why or why not? Why are people not interested in her character development in comparison to the male superheros? Do you believe society is moving away from the stereotype that women are in need of protection in movies? Also, would you personally prefer a superhero movie with a male lead or female? |
Friday, 9 May 2014
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Although I can agree with the fact that female superheros aren't as established as male superheros, it's not in my opinion due to discrimination. It is known by many that female superhero movies don't bring in as much revenue as Iron Man or Batman. In this instance although I do feel as though the interviewer made a mistake by asking such a irrelevant question, I don't feel her character needs anymore attention. Many people are treating Black Widow as though she was another superhero, but in fact she is just an agent of S.H.E.I.L.D. Her character within the movie has very little development and plays a minor role in the movie, therefore I feel although the question asked was mildly degrading it's not as if in-depth questions could be asked about her character.
ReplyDeleteIn an interview, it was stated by Scarlett that she and some other people spent the most amount of time in the green room practicing for her action scenes, so I would have to disagree with you on the fact that no in-depth questions could be asked about her character. I did notice that movies with female superheros do not bring in much revenue, which can also be seen as degrading since it shows that not many people think that women can be placed in those roles, since the image that sutis them best is the "protecting" image. Another example from the Marvel series could be Jane from Thor. She is definitely smart, but cannot protect herself, which is why she has Thor next to her. She is portrayed as a weak character. Why do you think that?
DeleteIn regards to your ideas about the revenue brought in through female superhero movies, I do not believe it is degrading at all. The way I see it is, these women weren't believed to not be able to play role such as batman. The issues is those roles don't exist, currently there is no comic book about a female batman. Due to the fact the female superheros just don't seem to have as much of an action movie stories as the male superheros, the movies tend not to generate revenue. Also I believe that the reason for there not being many exciting female superheros, is due to the fact that when comic book where ate their prime they were mostly consumed by men. This I believe is what has resulted in more male superheros then women.
DeleteI have the same thoughts as you Arsema. I believe that when these comics came out, they were mainly written and read by men, which may have made the writer of the comics target a certain audience. Also, when these comics were written, it was probably in a time where women really didn't have a role in society rather than staying and home,cooking, maybe working?
DeleteAlthough there probably would be no revenue coming from superhero movies with females, as I stated below, there are many movies where women are the main lead in action films. The women in Hunger Games, Divergent, Vampire Academy are all capable of taking care of themselves. They all have the personality of not taking orders from others, and taking care of themselves and the people around them. These movies also generated a lot of revenue, so although superhero movies with women may not work out, other movies can. Do you feel as though the "rabbit food questions" will always exist?
You have brought up some very interesting points, yes she is very strong but its as if the movie doesn't really focus on her. I believe that Black Widow was to come out, it could be a hit but it all depends on how they dress, how they look, what are they doing, is a lot of action in place. Female superheroes aren't always recognized the same way as male, this brings us back to history and that male superheroes are the dominant discourse, they are known to protect people, they are strong, powerful, dangerous, aggressive were as if a female superhero was to do the same thing, it goes against the whole idea that women need protection because they are weak. If we can change the idea that women are weak and men are strong, yes I do believe that female superheroes will be noticed but not the same way as male. It will take quite a very long time to change that idea because it has been fed to us for years. It even occurs right now that men are dominant and women are not, we can look into Pakistan, women are expected to walk with male members and they can't step outside without one.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your points Emel. History had shaped the way we think and what the dominant discourse is, which is that men are the ones who protect us women, and take care of us. Black Widow is the opposite of weak women needing protecting. I also believe that yes society is moving towards an era of women being just as strong as men, but at the same time there's this pull that we start right from the bottom again when I witness comments like these. Society has a long way to go to change their mindsets.
DeleteAs Arsema pointed out, the revenue of women superhero movies back in the days were not that good, which is why I think many productions are hesitating on whether or not to come out with them. The outcome would depend on how they look and what they do, but i believe that we won't really know until a movie like that comes out.
There have been movies were women are completely independent, strong, protective like I'm not too sure if you've eve watched the Underworld. Selena is a death dealer and she goes out to kill all the Lycans by herself and she is known to be dangerous, strong, powerful, can kill up to 6 Lycans in less than 10 seconds and people are afraid but worried for her. She is mainly the powerful one here who makes the decisions and decides when to act and when not too, she doesn't obey anybody and sometimes even disobeys her father because she is independent and doesn't like taking any orders from anybody aside from herself. This movie kind of ties with Black Widow but not quietly because she's not a superhero but rather a Vampire who makes her owns decisions and survives off on her own. In the movie her character is represented as wise an capable of anything. However, I do not think this movie is a huge hit but I do believe that it has been played on Show Case a couple of times.
DeleteThis is in relation to a non-superhero movie: I understand where you are coming from, since the movie "Hunger Games" was a huge hit, where the main lead Katniss was strong, capable, makes her own decisions, is outspoken and smart. To protect her own sister, she volunteered to go into the Hunger Games, knowing very well that she could die. In the end, she protected herself as well as her lover Peeta, into winning the Hunger Games. Peeta on the other hand, was not as strong, but was smart. This kind of goes against the dominant discourse that women are weak, since it was the opposite in these series, which is why women love her ! Do you feel that although there are movies like these, that women will always be one step behind men?
DeleteOne step behind man, oh no! Even studied show that there are more women attending university than men and the graduating number of women are higher than men! As Beyonce would say "who run the world? girls" back to the point, the dominant discourse can and will change but our next generation HAS to step up their game if they want to see these changes, they cannot just accept something that targets women negatively, we would have to speak up. It won't be hard in a democratic nation but countries that are ruled by tyrants will be very hard to change the dominant discourse because they want to keep the idea that women are weak and men are strong. Hunger game is a perfect example, there are many movies out there that present women as the powerful one but as long as the dominant discourse is here, our society - those who want to keep things the way they are women weak men strong - are bond to disagree and will not support certain things that goes against what they believe
DeleteI agree with what you said. The dominant discourse will very much be present with people who don't want change in society. The generations may change, but with the way our generation is, the fact that men are above women is still shown in some cases.
DeleteI think it would sell if they reduced what she was wearing and added a love interest in the movie. As sexist as it sounds, sex sells. Black Widow is a very strong and capable character throughout Marvel comics and movies but also is empowering figure among women. Movies nowadays dont do well without this method. As precedence, the movies Elektra and Catwoman did well but arent even main or highly popular characters in their respective comics. But putting the actresses in skimpy clothing eventually brought in male and female audiences
ReplyDeleteI agree partially with what you stated DJ, that in today's society women are presented in a way that but there are many movies with women are book based movies such as the hunger games or divergent, where the women are independent and do not wear little clothing. Although these movies are not superhero movies, they do include skills of survival. Many of the movies that are successful in that field are male dominant, and the dominant discourse portrays women to be weak and petite. Can you think of any non-superhero movies that were successful with a female lead?
DeleteI don't think that a solo Black Widow movie would do well because people associate her with The Avengers but the weird thing is that she is not officially a member of the group she is just an agent. In the terms of superhero movies with the exception of Wonder Women everything is male dominated. Just like DJ said sex sells in terms of women wearing revealing garments in these movies.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you on this point. Many people mistaken her for a member of the avengers, but she is actually an agent of Shield. What I was conveying was that although she has many actions scenes, more than the males in this movie, why does she get the "rabbit food" question? And i agree that with the way society is going, the movie will not be a success unless the women wears revealing clothing, since that is something that will attract the male population.
DeleteI love the idea of Black Widow having her own movie because she is such a bad-ass character who I think is worthy of having her film. However, looking at it from a more realistic angle I think it would not be positively received nor a block-buster hit like most of the Avenger movies. Personally I don't think it's because she's a part of the shield but because she is never given enough character development in the films compared to that of her male counterparts. I think producers have alot of potential for character development because she is such a complex character in the comics however I feel like she';s been downgraded to just the "sexy"female sidekick. And as for the interviewer asking her about her diet instead of something more relevant to her talents as an actress I think it's completely sexist but unfortunately this is the world we live in. Scarlett Johanson has previously stated she doesn't like the material aspects of being a n actress and not so thrilled that she is an object of desire for many men.Aside from highly sexualized female superheroes there is no real female representation in the world of action movies.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with what you stated, since when you think of people who save the world, Iron man, Batman, Superman are the main people you think of. Men have been presented in a way, where women are forgotten to be protectors as well. I feel as though slowly, there are more book based movies, where women are strong, independent and bad-ass, where they can protect themselves. Sadly, as you stated, Scarlett does not like to be an object of desire for men, but that is the main reasons directors take women who look appealing to men: For the profit.
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