I have been reading on quite a few disgruntled opinions online on the state of women's representation in the recent Super Hero movie trend. After writing a blog on woman in video games I thought I would try and see how my thoughts fit in and if there is a counter argument to the outcry.
One of the prompting factors of this was a lot of noise made about the treatment of the Black Widow in this years Avengers: Age of Ultron. There has been much made of her supposedly 'just' being a romantic trigger for Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner/Hulk. So much so that Joss Whedon, the director (and recognised feminist) has come under a barrage of fire for his handling of it which I think might be tad unfair on the guy. Are women underrepresented in the Superhero movie genre? Undoubtedly. Is it Joss Whedon's fault? I don't believe so.
I look at the Black Widow's resume and I think she has a grounding role in four of the most recent films and some great feats to get behind. We see her save the world in pretty much ALL these movies in the process laying the smackdown on an army of robots, an army of aliens, tricking Loki (the freaking God of Mischief) and generally being in control of her surroundings (and the men in them) probably more so than any other character.
There has been some criticism leveled suggesting it's demeaning to the Black Widow to be used as a method to calm the Hulk down. This is a guy almost broke the Planet with a single footstep he lost it so much... I think talking someone like that down is a pretty big deal - and since when has compassion ever been a weakness? Add to that fact that among all this utter craziness, she's 'just' a regular human. Batman get all kind of praise for what he does - hanging out with Gods, Aliens and defeating evil galactic empires and being just a regular man (albeit it with genius level IQ, ultimate martial art training and more money than God). And also the car, chicks apparently love the car...
This is by no means meant as a defense but there is a whole concept of women's roles in comics which has coined it's own terminology for using women not as fully fleshed out characters but a plot devices and triggers for the main character to head out and kick some backsides. The term is called 'Fridging' and stems from a Green Lantern comic where to set off the protagonist, the main villain chops up his girlfriend then chooses to surprise our hero by stuffing her body parts in refrigerator.
This has been a staple for a long while now and although the terminology was born from comics, films have been equally guilty for a long time now (just ask any potential Bond girl or look at the majority of 'one man crusade' action films.) So if we look at the source material it might be a way of understanding about the lack of empowered, fully developed women in this particular genre, which is to say, it still doesn't excuse it.
It's a notable point that by the time we get a film based solely on a female Super Hero from Marvel there will be 19 previous ones that have been 'male centric' which is a sad state of affairs. Does this make the female action stars we do have any less amazing though? I don't think so. Let's take solace, if we take a broader look and drop the cape and costume idea from the 'Super hero' tag then I think the picture looks much, much brighter.
First and foremost and burned clearly into my mind is Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) from 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road (who is also another big inspiration for the creation of this blog). Tough as nails, fierce, skilled, smart and attractive - Furiosa pretty much out-thinks, out drives and beats the seven shades of hell out of every other character in the entire movie, including the titular Mad Max! On top of this she does it with one arm! This isn't to say she is just a one dimensional wrecking ball, she resonates depth and compassion (which again, only adds to her strength) and is by far the most complete and complex character in the film. It is her will to do the right thing that literally drives the film at blistering pace from set piece to set piece. Furiosa, proves that despite the genderless clothes, the unconventional buzz-cut and clunky, steampunk inspired metal appendage that it is still possible to exude femininity even in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Whether it be while saving others' virtue or headbutting the crap out of crazed, roid-raging road barbarians she is an inspirational figure in a rollicking good movie. A bold statement but in my opinion she is by far the best character I've seen in films for years.
Number two for me is Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) from 2014 Edge of Tomorrow (based on the Japanese Novel 'All You Need is Kill - which is a MUCH better name!) In an unlikely combination of Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers, Vrataski even made me not care that Hyper-midget Tom Cruise is flying around with his usual perpetual impression of a dog hanging it's face out of a car window. What? You didn't know that was a 'Thing?' It certainly is!
There's a lot to like about Edge of Tomorrow, the fact that Cruise dies a lot is the second best thing next to how incredible Emily Blunt is as Rita. Powerful, commanding and able to easily comprehend multifaceted time problems which reset themselves every single day. Understanding time bending concepts is as easy as disarming crazed tentacled aliens for this woman. Rita is possibly the hardest woman I have ever seen in film, whether it be her impressive physicality, hewn from rock or her nerves of steel and an iron will. She also shows a calm and calculating demeanour that extends to be full blown stone-cold killer at one point. Breathtaking stuff.
This is by no means meant as a defense but there is a whole concept of women's roles in comics which has coined it's own terminology for using women not as fully fleshed out characters but a plot devices and triggers for the main character to head out and kick some backsides. The term is called 'Fridging' and stems from a Green Lantern comic where to set off the protagonist, the main villain chops up his girlfriend then chooses to surprise our hero by stuffing her body parts in refrigerator.
I'm sure there is a joke about raw meat not being on the bottom shelf here but I'm not sure I want to go there...
This has been a staple for a long while now and although the terminology was born from comics, films have been equally guilty for a long time now (just ask any potential Bond girl or look at the majority of 'one man crusade' action films.) So if we look at the source material it might be a way of understanding about the lack of empowered, fully developed women in this particular genre, which is to say, it still doesn't excuse it.
It's a notable point that by the time we get a film based solely on a female Super Hero from Marvel there will be 19 previous ones that have been 'male centric' which is a sad state of affairs. Does this make the female action stars we do have any less amazing though? I don't think so. Let's take solace, if we take a broader look and drop the cape and costume idea from the 'Super hero' tag then I think the picture looks much, much brighter.
Superhero Definition
'A character in a film or story who has special strength and uses it to do good things and help other people''Someone who has done something very brave to help someone else.'First and foremost and burned clearly into my mind is Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) from 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road (who is also another big inspiration for the creation of this blog). Tough as nails, fierce, skilled, smart and attractive - Furiosa pretty much out-thinks, out drives and beats the seven shades of hell out of every other character in the entire movie, including the titular Mad Max! On top of this she does it with one arm! This isn't to say she is just a one dimensional wrecking ball, she resonates depth and compassion (which again, only adds to her strength) and is by far the most complete and complex character in the film. It is her will to do the right thing that literally drives the film at blistering pace from set piece to set piece. Furiosa, proves that despite the genderless clothes, the unconventional buzz-cut and clunky, steampunk inspired metal appendage that it is still possible to exude femininity even in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Whether it be while saving others' virtue or headbutting the crap out of crazed, roid-raging road barbarians she is an inspirational figure in a rollicking good movie. A bold statement but in my opinion she is by far the best character I've seen in films for years.
Those eyes!! THOSE EYES!
Number two for me is Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) from 2014 Edge of Tomorrow (based on the Japanese Novel 'All You Need is Kill - which is a MUCH better name!) In an unlikely combination of Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers, Vrataski even made me not care that Hyper-midget Tom Cruise is flying around with his usual perpetual impression of a dog hanging it's face out of a car window. What? You didn't know that was a 'Thing?' It certainly is!
There's a lot to like about Edge of Tomorrow, the fact that Cruise dies a lot is the second best thing next to how incredible Emily Blunt is as Rita. Powerful, commanding and able to easily comprehend multifaceted time problems which reset themselves every single day. Understanding time bending concepts is as easy as disarming crazed tentacled aliens for this woman. Rita is possibly the hardest woman I have ever seen in film, whether it be her impressive physicality, hewn from rock or her nerves of steel and an iron will. She also shows a calm and calculating demeanour that extends to be full blown stone-cold killer at one point. Breathtaking stuff.
Okay, so she wins extra points for looking a little like a Ghostbuster in this image! McCarthy, eat your heart out.
Rounding out my top three would be Michelle Rodriguez who you could almost pick any character she's ever played but my recommendation would be her as Letty Ortiz from the Fast and Furious Franchise (856BC-2015AD). A hard edged, soft-centered woman regularly whipping men at their own game in the testosterone filled field of street racing and international heists/kidnappings/assassinations. A woman so confident and cocksure she spends as much time riding on top of cars as she does racing them. You know a woman is ultimately ferocious and intimidating when beating the snot out of Rhonda Rousey (before Holly Holm made it trendy) should actually rank as one of the more mundane feats that Letty has accomplished! Letty Ortiz proves she is equally stunning as she is tough, not letting wearing an evening gown hamper her ability to venomously kick people in the face with high heels. She also does have a very soft side too and in a movie series like Fast and Furious, (which is admittedly as complicated as folding a piece of paper in half) this makes her easily the most interesting and curious aspect of the franchise.
700bhp Skateboard ftw!
If I ransack my pop-culture addled brain then I can also think of a number of other woman who make up a fairly impressive list - ones that would be the very last selection of people to end up in the Green Lanterns fridge:
- Sarah Connor from The Terminator
- Ellen Ripley from Alien
- The Bride from Kill Bill
- Trinity from The Matrix
- Selene from the Evolution series
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Xena Warrior Princess
- Hermione Granger from Harry Potter
- Princess Leia from Star Wars
I can appreciate the type of characters I'm talking about and the very specific genre of film isn't everyone's cup of tea but in each instance these characters exude a form of strength and intelligence that fully qualify them in my eyes as bonafide superheroes. Fun to watch, interesting to listen to, impossible to understand - my idea of a great combination!
I should also point out that I'm not particularly fond of Katniss Evergreen from the Hunger Games, I can fully appreciate how she might fit the criteria in many aspects but after watching the third film I think she's probably #1 candidate for the top 3 movie mood faces. Conversely, 'The Bride' from Kill Bill would have made it onto the list had the film been a little more recent - possibly the only character that actually technically starts in the fridge (metaphorically, of course).
Over the course of writing this blog it did occur to me that the criticisms on female superheroes may have been a bit harsh in general... several sprung to mind as I continued to write this such as:
- Hit-Girl from Kickass (Warning, this is pretty violent)
- Jean Grey from X-Men
- Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy
- Mystique from X-Men
So we still eagerly await a starring Superhero role to bring us a stand alone film with a fleshed out female lead but I don't believe the landscape is as bleak as the naysayers and trolls online would have us believe. It might be a good time to mention the Netflix original series 'Jessica Jones' that debuts on the 20th November this year - if it follows the source material faithfully not only will it show a very different kind of female superhero but it will be a thrilling, frightening ride since she is pitted against a truly chilling adversary in 'The Purple Man.'
Please feel free to let me know if there's been any glaring omissions from my hastily cobbled together list or if one/some of the women didn't deserve a mention in your eyes.
Thanks for reading and I'll leave you with this (if the vid works!!)