Avenging Women

"If I don't get pants, nobody gets pants!"

My roommate found this infographic online and showed it to me and she and I had a good laugh about it. But then it struck me that it would actually be funnier if it were more true. The top pie chart says women won't like The Avengers because it has a sexy woman in it, while the bottom chart illustrates how women will like the movie because it has a lot of hot guys in it. Both paint a rather limited, and inaccurate, view of how women view movies.


I saw The Avengers with a group of girl friends and we really enjoyed the movie. We thought it was hilarious, had a deep, meaningful story, and we loved the running, jumping, blowing things up. Sure, we noticed the hot biceps and chiseled features of the super-heroes, but it certainly wasn't the reason we enjoyed the film as a whole. If the men had been ugly, but all the other elements were in place, we probably would have still liked the film. Conversely, if the men had been hot but the movie crap, we would have walked out of the theatre. We cannot have a double standard, expecting men to stop being turned on by objectified female characters while we simultaneously swoon over the male physique on screen. It isn't fair for either gender.

Cobie Smulders as
Agent Maria Hill

That said, let us take a look at how women were portrayed in The Avengers. First of all, it does not pass the Bechdel Test. There are two women in the movie and I don't remember them ever speaking to each other. The first is Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders of How I Met Your Mother). Apparently she actually used to be head of S.H.I.E.L.D. but in this movies she's basically Captain Fury's second. Then there's the only female super-hero, the Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson. Although neither woman fills a sexually objectified role in the film, neither woman is in a position of leadership either. They both wear tight-fitting black uniforms which show off their curves, but I must admit it could me so much worse. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johansson described the traditional female superhero when she said, "They're always fighting in a bra, so while it might be exciting for a still photo, it's ridiculous. I do think superheroine movies are normally corny and bad. They're always, like, fighting in four-inch heels with their [thrusting out her chest] like a two-gun salute." While The Avengers certainly doesn't portray the Black Widow like that, there is still an echo of the old male-gaze voyeurism in the way the camera follows her, always positioning the viewer to get a great look at her backside.

Scarlett Johansson as
The Black Widow

In the same Entertainment Weekly interview, Samuel L. Jackson expresses the chauvinist attitude that is still present in Hollywood today:


     Jackson: They got to get The Pro to the screen! I love that book!
     Johansson: What's The Pro?
     Jackson: It's [a comic book] about a hooker who gets superpowers!
     Johansson: That is exactly the problem right there!
     Jackson: It's a totally dope book, though.
     Johansson: I'd have to wear pasties to greenlight any of these movies.


Director Joss Whedon gives a nod to The Hunger Games for taking a great step in changing how the film industry approaches woman as action heroes: "Studios will tell you: A woman cannot headline an action movie. After The Hunger Games they might stop telling you that a little bit. Whatever you think of the movie, it's done a great service."


It is clear that there is still a lot of progress to be made in promoting strong women on the screen. The Avengers does not regress into many of the failings of past superhero movies in how it presents its female characters, but it is limited by comic book characterizations that were developed in a time when women were not expected to take on more powerful roles. If Joss Whedon is correct in thinking The Hunger Games has paved the way for a more progressive female protagonist, I look forward to the superheroine movies to come.

The Avengers

In what Time magazine (May 7, 2012) calls the "first of this summer's ultra-expensive, apex-predator blockbuster movies," and the "Travelling Wilberys of super-hero franchises," six super-heroes assemble to defend earth against an alien invasion. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D calls together Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Rufallo), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to join forces against Thor's [adopted] brother , Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who has enlisted the evil Chitauri to help him enslave the human race. The film is directed by Joss Whedon, a super-hero among super-hero fans and creator/director of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and the most recent The Cabin in the Woods.

This film has some of the funniest lines I have ever heard in an action movie. The team of super-personalities is supported by witty, rapid-fire dialogue which keeps pace with the motion of the plot. If you have not seen the four "tent-pole" movies feeding into this one (Iron Man (2008,2010), Captain America (2011), and Thor (2011)), you might have some difficulty in understanding the background stories, and consequential motivations, of each hero. It can be tremendously difficult to keep track of who has what super-power and who is vulnerable to what. This can be especially puzzling when the super-heroes are quarreling amongst themselves. For example, who knew that Thor's hammer could send Iron Man hurtling through the woods but fail to penetrate Captain America's fancy-shmancy shield? Actually, one thing that sets this group apart from others like the X-Men or the Fantastic Four is that technically not all of them have super-powers. Iron Man just has a fancy suit, and the Black Widow, well I don't really now her power. She's a good spy? She can shoot really well? She looks good in a body suit (more on this later)? I would recommend honing your Avengers knowledge before attempting to understand exactly what's going on in this movie.

Director Joss Whedon

That's not to say that this movie is only for Marvel Comic fans. At bottom, each super-hero in The Avengers represents a distinct subset of American values. I think we are a conflicted nation, suspicious of our government, dissilusioned by the concepts of "freedom" and "democracy," insecure about our status as a world power, and cynical about our future. We can sympathize with Loki, who wants to quiet everyone down to submission, but we are tied to a history and a set of ethics that resists tyranny and encourages freedom of thought, speech, and action. As Joss Whedon (right) himself says in an interview with Time, The Avengers is "a story about broken people... about what we've lost that we used to have culturally, in terms of this sense of community, this sense of helping each other, this sense of sacrifice." We find strength in the idea that individuals of moral fortitude can summon the power to unify and defeat the foe. Because of this driving urge that lives at the heart of our civilization, super-hero movies like The Avengers come to have a much deeper significance for the American movie-going public.

Captain America

I'm always game for an old-fashioned superhero movie, though I am often disappointed at the theatre. We all need heroes but I've been a bit worried lately about the types of heroes modern audiences desire. In recent children's movies, we've had at least two examples of "protagonists" who are in fact villains: Despicable Me and Mega Mind. Both these characters presented themselves to the world as evil, but their inner good unfolded throughout the movie. I think the appeal for this type of "hero" is that the pragmatically realistic audiences of today's America, who have witnessed a bemusing socio-political military conflict in the Middle East, feel deluded by the John Wayne type of macho-hero of yesteryear.

However (that is to say: "to contradict everything I've just said"), there is room yet in our hearts for superheroes. I believe that part of the Harry Potter phenomenon is that the conflict between good and evil is fairly black and white and we are willing to suspend are lack of confidence in heroes because we have in fact entered a literally magical world where, just maybe, true heroes still exist. The movie business is going to great lengths to provide audiences with heroes. One way is to make the story so incredibly unbelievable that you'll believe anything that happens because you know it could never happen (?). Another way is to take traditional genres of adventure and modernize them (Cowboys vs. Aliens). Yet another method is transform tried and true literary adventures into modern action flicks (Sherlock Holmes).

The Marvel series, leading up to the ultimate super-hero film, The Avengers (not Emma Peel/John Steed Avengers), combines all of these techniques. They're incredible because the heroes possess super-human powers. It is a traditional genre because there have been super-hero movies forever, but it's modernized with a lot of new film technology (and some BIG bangs!). And one could even consider these classic comics as part of our popular literature; we must also remember that the new Tin Tin film will be coming out sometime this winter.

Captain America, and its predecessor Thor a couple months ago, are fairly traditional super-hero films. In some ways they are downright average. They're predictable and clichéd. But they are also, and most importantly, classic. Captain America contained some very witty dialogue; the humor definitely contributed to the enjoyment of the film. The hero is a good man, with a good heart and a strong conscience. That's the kind of hero I would like to follow - someone who still has hope, honour, humility. He's also terribly handsome.

The female lead in this movie is incredible. It's so refreshing to see a strong, independent, intelligent woman on the scene! Although the protagonsit is a male, Peggy Carter plays more than the sidekick role of "other" to Captain America. She has lines, most of them either terribly poignant or terrifically funny. Her character is respected by the others on the screen. And she definitely gets to kick some patootie!

There isn't too much else to say about this movie. It has a very interesting ending twist which surprises but doesn't shock. The love story is tender and romantic, if a little clichéd. The villain is ugly, scary, dangerous, and 100% evil - just the way you want him to be. The explosions are AWESOME! I'd say it's an all-around good movie, though it doesn't say anything very profound. It's a good movie for the kids and it's also a fun movie for people who like classic films because it certainly has a bit of a nostalgic vintage feel which is quite pleasant.

So, I hope you will go and see it. Then tell me what you thought about it - I'd love to hear what you have to say!