more Captain Marvel thoughts that I had while driving to work today

[hafital]

When "Just a Girl" started during that one scene, and then later when they had that sequence of Carol at different ages picking herself up after falling or being knocked down, standing up again (after being told to quit or whatever), I too thought, well they're laying that on kinda thick, aren't they. You sort of want to roll your eyes at it.

But then I kept thinking of that sequence with Carol picking herself up -- and yeah, it's heavy-handed kinda...but what a powerful statement to say. Maybe it does need to be shouted.

And then, today I was thinking on how what makes Carol Danvers a legitimate big deal as the main character of the first MCU female lead superhero film (despite whatever one might think of the movie as a whole) is that she is genuinely the first of her kind.

I know Wonder Woman was the first female lead superhero film, but the difference between Carol and the other female superheroes we've seen so far is she started life as a girl growing up in a society that is inherently misogynistic, while most of the other bad ass women we've seen so far did not (I note the exceptions below). They did not get told they couldn't do something because they were girls. Diana Prince certainly wasn't told that. Valkyrie wasn't. Nakia and Okoye weren't. Whatever obstacles they overcame to become the heroes they are, their gender wasn't one of them.

I would also include both Wanda Maximoff and Natasha Romanoff, but in their cases, they were made into weapons. Wanda quite literally is a weapon of mass destruction, as Tony says. And with Natasha it's a lot more complicated -- but the point is, she didn't grow up being told she can't do something because she's a girl. More like she can't be a normal girl because she's special -- a black widow. It seems her gender is another weapon or tool or however you want to look at it -- elite killer girl squad. So, for Wanda and Natasha, I don't know how much free choice they really had; it's a different conversation. They both had to overcome forced ideology and/or twisted allegiances, to find out who they are and who they want to be, which includes bodily autonomy.

Looking at the female characters we've seen before in the MCU, besides Carol Danvers, we had Peggy Carter, Maria Hill, Hope Van Dyne, and Sharon Carter -- all women who grew up in western misogynistic society. And all unenhanced except for Carol. (I'm not including all the great female characters from the Netflix shows or AoS)

Peggy Carter started it all. But they didn't give her a movie; they gave her a TV show. And in that TV show we had one entire season where she was told she couldn't do anything because she's a woman and so she had to skulk around in the dark to get anything done. I'm not even gonna comment on the second season.

Maria Hill -- Unfortunately we do not have enough screen time with her. But seeing Fury with Carol in Captain Marvel gives Maria's friendship/mentorship/work relationship with Fury, which was already pretty interesting, a few more layers.

Hope Van Dyne -- Even if Hank Pym's reasons for oppressing and denying Hope her true talent and heritage were born out of grief and fear rather than misogyny, it's basically the same thing. He kept saying no to her for entirely selfish reasons. But she does get to have her name in the movie title! So that's a first.

Sharon Carter -- I really really like Sharon a lot. It's unfortunate that her entire reason for existence in the MCU is for weird awkward romance reasons. She's a pretty neat character on her own.

So, anyway, I do think Captain Marvel is a big deal. Like a really big deal. They did that. And yeah, maybe they overplayed that note a bit, but just thinking of all those girls watching Captain Marvel, and seeing Carol pick herself up again, I think that's pretty cool. Maybe it does need to be heavy-handed, you know. Louder, for the kids in the back row.

Well that was my morning commute. As everyone say these days, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Comments

[machinistm]

I'm listening to the soundtrack right now, and coincidentally Just a Girl started playing when I was reading your entry *g*

Basically, yes to all of this! I never quite thought about the other MCU female characters in this way before. Though there's just one thing about Diana: She wasn't brought up in a misogynistic society, but I felt that the scene where she crossed no man's land had the same emotional weight as Carol standing up again and again.

[hafital]

I felt that the scene where she crossed no man's land had the same emotional weight as Carol standing up again and again.

Oh for sure. That scene always reminded me of Ewoyn saying "I am no man." Which, you know, come to think of it, was an incredibly powerful thing for me to read as a young girl. I remember how transforming it was.

Anyway, yeah, for sure. Captain Marvel just builds on what has come before, really. And Wonder Woman laid some solid ground work.

[argentum_ls]

What if instead of “for the kids in the back, “it’s just “for the kids”? My 13-year-old daughter audibly gasped during that scene, and is now nursing the biggest crush on Captain Marvel.

[hafital]

that was certainly what I meant! And that is awesome and adorable. <3

[argentum_ls]

I figured, but it's worth the emphasis. :) Consider what that scene is showing: a normal girl, no superpowers, standing up from normal and routine knock-downs. It might feel over-played to us (though, honestly, I teared up almost as much as during the Stan Lee montage), but there's nothing like it in any other superhero movie. Even Diana's childhood scenes were the experiences of a goddess being trained as a warrior.

And now my daughter wants all the Captain Marvel things. I don't know if I can afford this.

[hafital]

but there's nothing like it in any other superhero movie.

There really isn't!

[shinysherlock]

Just reporting that the scene with Carol picking herself up over and over again was deemed "the best scene in the movie" by both my daughters; lots of good conversations sparked by that movie, so I'm fine with it being less than subtle. I think you're right, maybe it does need to shouted. :)
Oh, and, for me? The scene that got me teary-eyed was Maria telling Carol that she knew who she was, that Maria knew her history and knew that she was her friend. Women supporting women, gah. <3

[hafital]

On second viewing, I absolutely loved both the "I'm Just a Girl" scene and the sequence where Carol picks herself up!