“
You just have to scan the spandex bulges in “The Avengers” to see that superhero movies remain a big boys’ club, with few women and girls allowed. Yes, there are female superheroes on screen, like Jean Grey from the “X-Men” series, but they tend not to drive the stories, while female superheroes with their own movies never dominate the box office. Most women in superhero movies exist to smile indulgently at the super-hunk, to be rescued and to flaunt their assets, like Scarlett Johansson’s character in “The Avengers,” whose biggest superpower, to judge by the on- and off-screen attention lavished on it, was her super-rump.
—
Manohla Dargis
While I agree with you on the marginalization of women - and of people of color, as they mention later in the article - in superhero films (that is a whole can of worms that we talk about a lot on Tumblr) Black Widow was NOT there to be rescued and not to be looked at.
- Did you know she actually helped save the day using Loki’s staff and jumped onto a flying alien moto-bike thingy to get to the top of Stark Tower to close the portal?
- Did you know she helped her friend, and fellow Avenger, Clint get out of a powerful mind rape, even after he tried relentlessly to kill her while under said mind rape?
- Did you know her outfit shows no cleavage whatsoever is actually tasteful and practical?
- Did you know she kicked Russian terrorists asses while tied up to a chair (in an awesome and not revealing dress)?
- Did you know she was a major part in getting Bruce Banner to join the team?
- Did you know she then outran him AND survived being chased by him as The Hulk in a small, enclosed space and STILL worked with him later to save the world?
- Did you know she was practically the only one of the SHIELD/Avengers team to not have a massive, immature temper tantrum on the helicarrier?
- And by the way, did you know we were looking at EVERYONE’S asses in that film?
You are a lazy critic and were clearly not watching the same film a lot of other people were. But what do you expect from a critic who complained that Jennifer Lawrence’s body was “too womanly” and big to be believable as a survivor in a dystopian world (which seemed to be a major point for why she didn’t like the film) yet said nothing about Josh and Liam’s bodies?
(via forelsket-blue)
Natasha drove the plot forward, individually, on at least four separate occasions in The Avengers. That’s unheard of for superhero movies. It shouldn’t be so fucking notable, because it should be happening more.
This reviewer was obviously not paying attention.
(via ouyangdan)
Reblogging for excellent commentary.
(via lifeofkj)
(Source: The New York Times)
