“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength”
G. D. Anderson
As any comic fan knows female led superhero movies have been a long time coming. Wonder Woman was a huge step forward for the genre, but Captain Marvel came out lacking.
Wonder Woman did feminism right. Our protagonist is strong because of who she is, a woman, an amazon, a warrior. She is her own greatest strength.
1 — A different perspective. As the amazons tell you constantly at the beginning of the movie, the war is man’s war. Diana, not being from that world (partially because she is an amazon and partially because she is a woman), comes into the war with pure ideas that human nature is ultimately good (initially believing the entire war to be the product of the god Ares). These ideals inspire all those she meets on her journey, especially those who do not share her unyielding faith, to believe a little bit more in humanity’s power to do good.
2 — Stayed away from cliches about women empowerment. There is a very powerful moment about halfway through the movie. Diana and Steve are in a trench with many unable soldiers unable to advance due to Germans firing on them from another trench. Diana begins to climb the ladder, and Steve tells her that one goes up there, it’s no man’s land. In many movies this would be the point at which the female protagonist says “but I am no man” or something akin to it. By avoiding this trope, Wonder Woman’s message shown through, she is strong regardless of gender, she is a warrior.
3 — She isn’t afraid to be female. Some feminist movies are so focused on portraying women as strong that they forget to let them act like women, resulting in their characters coming off as male characters. Diana lets herself be female, from the makeover montage near the beginning of the film to her dance with Steve. The movie and Diana aren’t afraid to let out her more feminine side.
Captain Marvel tried hard to be what what Wonder Woman was but ultimately lacked the same spirit. Here the protagonist is strong in-spite of the fact that she is a woman.
1 — Reinforces negative stereotypes. There are many stereotypes in media (books and movies alike) that are harmful, and that of woman as the weaker gender, is definitely one of them. Now, as empowering as it can be sometimes to watch women overcome this stereotype time and time again, it is still harmful because it keeps this negative idea about women in the forefront of the collective consciousness.
2 — Too focused on hammering the point home. At every possible point there could be in the movie, Captain Marvel was shown as a powerful character, and this did not always make sense to the plot. Even defeating the ultimate villain of the movie with a single blow. At times making the movie’s conflicts feel too quickly and easily solved.
3 — She’s too powerful. Now Wonder Woman is a god, but even her powers had limits. There were threats too large for her to take on alone, but Captain Marvel’s powers as shown in her own movie and later, in Endgame, were limitless. This makes it very hard for her to have any real character development, because there is nothing she can’t do. So there’s no moment where she must sacrifice her pride and ask for help, no risk of death. This makes it hard for the character to grow and evolve at all. And goes a long way towards making the character feel flat.
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