Girl power? A look at summer blockbusters & lady superheroes

A SYTYCB entry

The summer blockbuster season is almost over, a time where (mostly white male) directors make epic films for teenage boys.  From this target audience emerges the consistent over-sexualization of women. But has this summer been different? With female superheroes invading films like the Avengers and the Dark Knight Rises, are things changing? Can ladies be superheroes too? Do studios care about women viewers?

The Avengers’ director Joss Whedon is the man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, both awesome female driven shows; he is also famous for the quote “Why do I write strong female characters? Because you’re still asking me that question.” So when I went to see the Avengers, I expected a pretty feminist film. While the gender dynamics were an improvement from other blockbusters (read: Transformers), I found the portrayal of Black Widow sexist in a dangerously subtle way; it was the sort of sexism that people love to mask as “female empowerment” to avoid any challenging discussion.

My problem with the beautiful, white female superheroes of 2012 is that sexuality becomes their main source of power and a tool of manipulation. We meet Black Widow as she is tied down in a chair being slapped in the face by a man. The threat of rape is very present. Then, a twist! It becomes clear that she is interrogating him and has complete control of the situation. She is choosing to portray herself as weak to maintain power. She is using her sexuality to achieve a goal by accepting submissiveness and inviting sexual violence. Black Widow then attacks the men in the room and escapes with grace, convincing us for a moment that what we just saw was okay.

Despite whatever strength and resilience we see in Black Widow, she has no superpower. Black Widow uses her female wiles to manipulate the enemy, and thus her physical strength poses no threat to her male allies. Although she believes “love is for children,” she embodies stereotypical female traits like manipulation and obedience. Hidden in the portrayal of a strong female character we find an emblem of traditional sexism. In fact, I worry that the mask is so well crafted that young girls and boys don’t see what is behind it. A 16-year-old version of myself watching Megan Fox bend over the trunk of a car would probably say, “That’s weird, I never stand behind cars like that!” But seeing the Avengers, my younger self might think, “What a cool woman, tricking those men and then beating them up.” That portrayal of sexuality misconstrues the very difficult issues of power and gender that most young people (and certainly a younger version of myself) struggle to understand.

Catwoman is also constructed as emotionally cold and  sexually manipulative woman, wiling to sacrifice whatever necessary to achieve her goals. Honestly, I liked Catwoman a lot. I thought she was the best part of the film; she was funny and smart and strong. She fought hard. But unlike Batman, with a clear sense of integrity and morality, Catwoman is unable to believe in herself anything. She needs Batman to lead her on the right path, to believe in her, guide her and tame her.  She necessarily uses her sexuality as a tool for gaining power.

Does all of this gender analysis matter? If everybody in the nation sees a sexy woman fighting on-screen, should we care about subtle gender implications? Equating sexuality with power becomes problematic when it suggests that a woman’s power lies in her ability to attract men. The elusive sadness and lack of empathy in both Catwoman and Black Widow additionally implies that women with power are unloving and unlovable. In fact, the only other powerful lady in the Dark Knight Rises (Marion Cotillard’s character) also uses her sexuality to get close to Batman, only to hurt him. When these are the only representations of women in a film, we beging internalizing females as manipulative, cruel or untrustworthy. Women’s dependence on men and emotional weakness become accepted into the cultural vernacular.

I know many conclude that these are summer blockbusters, and thus sexism is inevitable. At least there are fully clothed female characters defending themselves, they might argue. But why should we settle for that? These characters are a good start, but let’s demand better. We need female characters to be presented with power and independence that is unique from their sexuality. We need powerful women who love. Let’s challenge films that mask female stereotypes behind physical strength or a modest outfit. All I want is a cool, powerful superhero, who also happens to be a lady. Could somebody write that for me?