So my wife and I love movies, and have a shared fondness for superhero films. We prefer Marvel over DC for the most part (except for Burton and Nolan’s Batman films), but unless they are just gawd-awful (live-action “Spawn”), we’re watching it.
That said, we’ve fallen a bit behind recently.
There has been a lot of hate thrown at certain films and shows, mostly of the Marvel and Star Wars variety, and that sadly dissuaded us from watching them. With so much else going on, who has time to waste on films and shows no one likes? It just made sense to watch something else.
Anyway, recently we re-watched “The Eternals” for probably the third time, and really enjoyed it. No, it isn’t high art, and no it isn’t the best superhero film since “Spiderman 2”, but it’s a fun romp. Not perfect, but still fun.
This got us thinking about recent films and shows we’d skipped.
So last weekend, my wife and I sat down to watch “The Marvels”. We both enjoyed “Captain Marvel”, and found “Ms. Marvel” to be a really charming show, plus I liked “Wandavision” (which features the origin story for one of the Marvels), so why did we skip this movie? Like I said before, there was lots of hate for the film, and we just missed it.
Now then, don’t get me wrong. “The Marvels” isn’t a perfect film. The writing is formulaic, as is the villain, but it is still a fun romp. After considering the film thoroughly, I asked my wife why it got so much hate on release?
“It was led by women”, she said.
Well, I have to concur with my wife’s opinion here. Other than the lead characters, it was just another Marvel film. Not the best one, but not the worst (I fall asleep everytime we try to watch “Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania”). It was funny, had lots of action, and told a decent story.
I just don’t know why people try to make superhero films into more than they are, which is the modern equivalent of 1980’s over the top action films. Some featured Chuck Norris, or other manly men, others featured Cynthia Rothrock.
They were basically the same, only Rothrock was a better actor.
This isn’t fine art. This is just big, colorful entertainment. Even the best Marvel or DC films are still relative trash, cinema-wise. But we love them for the big stories they tell, the action, and the fun. No, it doesn’t make any sense, but who cares? The Avengers beat Thanos, so AWESOME, right?!
With all that in mind, I think it becomes very clear why most of the superhero films led by female characters, or which feature lots of diverse characters (in a DEI sense), tend to do worse than those featuring the classic Straight, White, Male Superhero.
Chuds.
Let’s be honest here, I’m not saying something this audience doesn’t already know. Alt-Right Incel Pukes (otherwise known as Chuds) have always been a major force in superhero fandom, because before Trump, what else did they have? Tolkien? Anime?
It’s sad, really. All they have are their MAGA hats, Cybertrucks, and Anime body pillows left to make them feel like real men now. If I got a lobotomy, maybe I could fully understand their rage at their “losing” the Superhero genre of film!
Nope, not even then.
Superhero films, much like the bombastic 1980’s action films before them, are power fantasies. Everyone loves a good power fantasy here or there, with characters we can relate to, and see ourselves in the place of. There is nothing wrong with that. But for years, the vast majority of superhero power fantasy media – be it comics, films, or otherwise – were dominated by Cishet White Men. So I suppose Chuds just assumed this sort of media was theirs, and theirs alone.
Not true. Everyone deserves to be able to look onto the silver screen, and see themselves ‘saving the day’. As a non-Chud Cishet White Male, I have hundreds of examples I can look to in superhero films. My wife has only a few, and she really enjoyed “Captain Marvel”, as well as “The Marvels”. It literally angers her to see how badly “The Marvels” performed at the box office, compared to other films that were worse in our opinions, especially those led by men.
She has a point. If it weren’t for the smear campaign led by Chuds on Youtube, I believe the hate thrown at “The Marvels”, and “The Eternals”, and “Black Widow”, and so on would have been much less. Those movies would have performed better, and perhaps have seen more enthusiastic support from Marvel Studios. Instead, we get more movies led by men, and women in support or co-lead roles (the new Fantastic Four, being a great example of what is to come), because MONEY.
So, what can we do about it? Well, the answer seems fairly obvious, really: Don’t believe the hype (or lack thereof), when it comes to minority-led superhero films. Go see these films in theaters. Tell your friends to go, as well (unless it really sucks, like “Wonder Woman 1984”). Talk about these films on social media, let people know what you enjoyed about them.
Don’t let the Chuds control the narrative, or all we’ll get eventually will be Chuck Norris in spandex, and no one wants to see that.
