The shots that weren't there
May. 6th, 2012 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
giandujakissSpoilers for The Avengers, again-
such_heights has a post expressing rage at the fans who have derided the Black Widow's role in the film - mostly, they insist she was there to look pretty and do very little.
Which is a shocking reaction, since it was obvious that she did a lot, both in terms of straight up action and in terms of plot and character development. As I said to such heights in the comments, one review killed me - it not only said that Black Widow didn't do much, it also listed what each member of the team contributed, and in her case, it was sexiness. I can only imagine that perhaps that reviewer saw a different movie than I did, because in the movie I saw, Black Widow was sexy in the sense that all of the team members are attractive actors, but her sexiness was not used by the plot in any way. (Yes, she wore skin tight clothes - so did Captain America. I also notice that Thor mysteriously lost his sleeves for much of the movie.*). It's as though for some viewers, they are literally incapable of seeing Black Widow's role in the film - their eyes just slide away (or slide to certain body parts) when she appears on screen, and they can't see anything else.
Anyhoo, I just want to echo what a lot of the commenters at such-heights's post have mentioned. Black Widow wasn't just fantastic because she played an integral role in the film; she was fantastic because of what we didn't see. We did not have shots of her body parts. We didn't have shots of her looking sexy in skimpy outfits. There was no point in the plot where she was called on to seduce someone, unless you count the vague implication that she was dressed for a dinner party in her opening scene, which I do not.
That's truly amazing. In almost all movies with ensembles and the "token" woman, that woman has some perfunctory fight sequences but her main role is to be sexy. She's always called on to go undercover or get information or escape a tight situation by seducing someone, at least once. At the very least, she has to strip down to her underwear (*cough*Uhura*cough*Moira*cough*) for no reason at all.
(Sneakers presents a particularly egregious example of this - the brilliant woman mathematician, who you'd think would be an invaluable asset in breaking codes and helping with computer stuff, only helps by seducing a guy they need something from.)
But for Black Widow, that never happened. Even when she was sucking up to Loki to get information, she didn't do it by trying to appeal to him sexually - which would have been the case in any other movie. She did it by appearing to be emotionally, but not sexually, vulnerable. (Sidebar: I loved how effectively the movie conveyed that she was using her real feelings to draw him out, but she was fully in control of them at all times.)
Now I just have to wish - futilely - that we'll get a Black Widow movie. We won't, of course - Iron Man 3 (ugh!), Thor 2 (ugh!, yes, I know, YMMV), and Captain America 2 (yay!) are in development, there are rumors that even (another) Hulk movie is in the works because audiences are so pleased with Ruffalo (sigh, it'll never work), but Black Widow? Silence.
Baby steps, I suppose.
*Well, okay she did have the same situation as this but since she never stripped down to her underwear, I'm giving them a pass
such_heights has a post expressing rage at the fans who have derided the Black Widow's role in the film - mostly, they insist she was there to look pretty and do very little.Which is a shocking reaction, since it was obvious that she did a lot, both in terms of straight up action and in terms of plot and character development. As I said to such heights in the comments, one review killed me - it not only said that Black Widow didn't do much, it also listed what each member of the team contributed, and in her case, it was sexiness. I can only imagine that perhaps that reviewer saw a different movie than I did, because in the movie I saw, Black Widow was sexy in the sense that all of the team members are attractive actors, but her sexiness was not used by the plot in any way. (Yes, she wore skin tight clothes - so did Captain America. I also notice that Thor mysteriously lost his sleeves for much of the movie.*). It's as though for some viewers, they are literally incapable of seeing Black Widow's role in the film - their eyes just slide away (or slide to certain body parts) when she appears on screen, and they can't see anything else.
Anyhoo, I just want to echo what a lot of the commenters at such-heights's post have mentioned. Black Widow wasn't just fantastic because she played an integral role in the film; she was fantastic because of what we didn't see. We did not have shots of her body parts. We didn't have shots of her looking sexy in skimpy outfits. There was no point in the plot where she was called on to seduce someone, unless you count the vague implication that she was dressed for a dinner party in her opening scene, which I do not.
That's truly amazing. In almost all movies with ensembles and the "token" woman, that woman has some perfunctory fight sequences but her main role is to be sexy. She's always called on to go undercover or get information or escape a tight situation by seducing someone, at least once. At the very least, she has to strip down to her underwear (*cough*Uhura*cough*Moira*cough*) for no reason at all.
(Sneakers presents a particularly egregious example of this - the brilliant woman mathematician, who you'd think would be an invaluable asset in breaking codes and helping with computer stuff, only helps by seducing a guy they need something from.)
But for Black Widow, that never happened. Even when she was sucking up to Loki to get information, she didn't do it by trying to appeal to him sexually - which would have been the case in any other movie. She did it by appearing to be emotionally, but not sexually, vulnerable. (Sidebar: I loved how effectively the movie conveyed that she was using her real feelings to draw him out, but she was fully in control of them at all times.)
Now I just have to wish - futilely - that we'll get a Black Widow movie. We won't, of course - Iron Man 3 (ugh!), Thor 2 (ugh!, yes, I know, YMMV), and Captain America 2 (yay!) are in development, there are rumors that even (another) Hulk movie is in the works because audiences are so pleased with Ruffalo (sigh, it'll never work), but Black Widow? Silence.
Baby steps, I suppose.
*Well, okay she did have the same situation as this but since she never stripped down to her underwear, I'm giving them a pass
no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 05:03 pm (UTC)YES TO ALL OF THIS. And additionally, I really loved Natasha and Clint's relationship-- this is something that Joss *occasionally* does really well, the platonic male/female team, and he *nailed* it here. The sort of amusing thing about it (to me) is that, more than any other two characters in the movie, Natasha and Clint have the Two Guys Action Movie Bromance Relationship (ironically, the most recent example I can think of is Jeremy Renner with Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible") -- right down to Loki mocking Natasha/implying that her feelings must be romantic. "Oh, you care about Clint! Do you LOOOVE him?" "No, we are BROS, no one else gets our manpain!" That kind of deep but platonic bond almost NEVER happens with a female action hero. I loved it.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 05:07 pm (UTC)*laugh* This, this, so much of this.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 10:26 pm (UTC)Yes! Natasha gets to have manpain! My god, the last female action hero with manpain that I can remember is Xena! It has been so freaking long....
(*Footnote that I never watched either version of Nikita, so maybe she had it too.)
no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 10:33 pm (UTC)The original Nikita TV series was ... different, she had her own pain but it was a different quality (and actually sort of awesome, but I am digressing and will stop now)