« Home | This DC editor does not belong in the company any ... » | This writer doesn't like Mr. Miracle, but does lik... » | That's who Gerard Way considers an inspiration » | IDW's still sinking financially » | Marvel studios seeks an openly homosexual actor to... » | The anti-Comicsgate crowd's lawbreaking continues » | Bristol Herald Courier insults Monica Rambeau » | If Disney did shut down Marvel's publishing, they'... » | The Ringer's tedious take on Heroes in Crisis » | A weak article about Ms. Marvel's history » 

Thursday, March 07, 2019 

Captain Marvel film is about "intersectional feminism"

As the movie is opening, with reviews both gushing and negative come in, we have here, for example, an interview in Entertainment Weekly where star Brie Larson gives more of an idea what the film is about, confirming further that this was all intended to make a political statement, overshadowing the entertainment value, if there is any at all:
This film is Carol Danvers’ story, but it’s also a story about female friendship, especially in Carol’s relationship with Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) and her daughter. What was it about that theme you wanted to explore?
LARSON: I think because it’s 2019, and what 2019 is about, really, is intersectional feminism. There’s just no question that we would have to show what it means to be all different kinds of women, that we don’t just have one type. It became a great opportunity, even with things like the love story. [We wanted] to make that big love— that lost love, that love that’s found again—be with [Carol’s] best friend. To show that, that’s incredibly powerful and gripping, and you could go to the ends of the Earth and fight till the end for your best friend. It’s perfect to me and so meaningful. To me, that’s a part of what the meditation of this movie is: It’s female strength, but what is female strength? What are the different ways that can look?
Well that would surely include strength in writing and personalities, which Larson doesn't seem to sport much of in this movie. And if they wanted better strength in that regard, they shouldn't have made it a movie where men are belittled, as one of the reviews I read said. On which note, Breitbart said:
Meanwhile, a fight is brewing among critics who seem to have watched two different films.

A compilation of reviews published by EW reveals some critics saying that Captain Marvel is a “mundane” film “marked by unimaginative plotting,” a “generic” superhero film, a film that does not “approach the ranks of top tier Marvel movies,” or a grim film where no one seems to be having much fun. But other critics who focus solely on the feminism of the film want to proclaim Captain Marvel a success based only on that feminist metric.
In other words, some fool critics think the politics make the movie, not the story merit in the finished product. Just plain embarrassing. On that note, let's turn to one of the more revealing reviews, written by Christian Toto:
And oh, does “Captain Marvel” wear its feminism on its glittery sleeve. The bulk of the ’90s songs featured here hail from female artists. We see flashbacks of Vers’ childhood, and at every turn a man is there to tell her she can’t do this or that.

Captain Victimhood? It gets worse.

Law’s nebulous character is always around the corner, telling Vers she’s too hysterical to make an impact. How did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez not score a cameo?

Maria (Lashana Lynch) arrives mid-film as Vers’ old pilot buddy to flesh out our hero’s back story and, of course, add even more Female EmpowermentTM. Naturally, Maria is a single mom with a young daughter who exists to serve up even more Female EmpowermentTM lectures.

Lynch even snaps at someone who tries to address her in a cordial manner.

“Call me young lady again!” she snarls, as if the character had insulted her maternal grandparents. [...]

For most of “Captain Marvel” it’s the female characters who save the day (fine!), while the male figures are either dressed down or neutered. It’s odd to see Jackson’s Fury have so little to do when the third act arrives.

What a waste of natural screen resources.
As noted before, a film that puts down men (including black men, as the part about the cinematic Nick Fury notes), and makes single parenthood look inherently better. Just plain dumbfounding. Is this what the Marvel movieverse going forward will be like?

It still remains to be seen how well it'll do at the box office, but even if it doesn't turn out a total disaster, it could still underperform, and for now, artistically speaking, it looks like it'll be the weakest result yet in the Marvel franchise.

And there's more eyebrow raising discoveries: when Larson was originally hired to play Carol Danvers, she not only knew little about her, she initially thought Carol was a man! Hmm, she must've first looked at all the art turning poor Carol into "Carl Manvers". No thanks to the artists who worked on the books with Kelly Sue deConnick and turned out such a monstrosity of an insult, a complete betrayal of artists like Dave Cockrum.

And Kevin Feige's wrong when he speaks of Carol as though she's always been one of the most popular and/or successful characters in the Marvel stables. Her original solo book only lasted during 1977-79, and was cancelled before the last 2 stories could see the light (they were later published circa 1990 in one of Marvel's anthologies), while both Spider-Woman and Dazzler both ran at least 2 years longer. So too, in fact, did Charlie's Angels on TV (1976-81), and I mention that because for the first half of the Ms. Marvel run, Carol was drawn with a hairdo inspired by Farrah Fawcett's from the times. By the late-80s (during which time she'd become Binary), she was largely on the sidelines, and didn't become more prominent again until the late 90s when she rejoined the Avengers.

By now, for anybody in the know, it's pretty apparent Feige and company are trying to spin us a riddle about something that could've been far more successful and iconic than it actually was, but unfortunately, wasn't. And now, they're foisting this terrible rendition upon us with an agenda that makes any in the older material look tame and masterful by comparison. No way to build up an icon, and no telling what this means for the next Avengers movie either, recalling Larson's supposed to appear there too.

Labels: , , ,

The real Captain Marvel says "SHAZAM!"

That's spin doctoring for you.

Feige's claim that CM has always been one of the most popular characters in the MU may have been aimed at movie-goers who are not into comics, and who do not know any better.

The "original" Mar-Vell was first published in the late 1960s, and was created mainly to secure a trademark on the name. And Carol Danvers did not become a super-hero until years later.

Marvel wants an iconic female super-heroine, comparable to DC's Wonder Woman. And they want a character named "Marvel" something, or something "Marvel," to promote the brand name.

'Hmm, she must've first looked at all the art turning poor Carol into "Carl Manvers". '

More likely, she was looking at the art turning Billy Batson into The Big Red Cheese, or the kids tv show about him, or the art about Mar-vell, or the art about Mar-Vell's son, or the art about the robot or android who yelled Xam! Captain Marvel has generally been a male character.

The "because Current Year" mantra has really become tiresome.

The real Captain Marvel had the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the courage of Achilles, the power of Zeus, the stamina of Atlas, and the speed of Mercury. Brie Larson has the power to make the MCU audience disappear.

I would agree that Brie Larson probably thought that "Captain Marvel" meant the "Shazam" character from the kids' TV series. Apart from comic book fans, most people had never heard of Carol Danvers (or Mar-Vell or Monica Rambeau) until recently.

Even a lot of comic book fans are probably unfamiliar with Roger ("Xam") Winkle.

Conservative media pundit John Nolte thinks Captain Marvel will make a ton of bucks, based on how crappy some of the early "Hulk" and "Thor" movies were but still made lotsa money. This isn't Disney screwing with something actually good like OT Star Wars.

Post a Comment

About me

  • I'm Avi Green
  • From Jerusalem, Israel
  • I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.
My profile

Archives

Links

  • avigreen2002@yahoo.com
  • Fansites I Created

  • Hawkfan
  • The Greatest Thing on Earth!
  • The Outer Observatory
  • Earth's Mightiest Heroines
  • The Co-Stars Primer
  • Realtime Website Traffic

    Comic book websites (open menu)

    Comic book weblogs (open menu)

    Writers and Artists (open menu)

    Video commentators (open menu)

    Miscellanous links (open menu)

  • W3 Counter stats
  • Bio Link page
  • blog directory Bloggeries Blog Directory View My Stats Blog Directory & Search engine eXTReMe Tracker Locations of visitors to this page  
    Flag Counter

    This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

    make money online blogger templates

Older Posts Newer Posts

The Four Color Media Monitor is powered by Blogspot and Gecko & Fly.
No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without prior written permission.
Join the Google Adsense program and learn how to make money online.