Damsel in Distress: The Lack of Female Superheroes in Hollywood
In the '90s, my parents encouraged my tomboy ways and let me play with the boys toys, as if back then letting girls play with boys toys was taboo. They’re just toys, right? Almost 20 years later, I went to Target to grab some superhero merchandise for the opening night of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. To my dismay, all of the merch was located in the boy's toy section; including the female superhero items, which wasn't more than a pen-sized action figure or two. As I picked up the last Captain America mask, I passed the bright pink aisles where all of the "female-friendly" toys were. There wasn’t a superhero Barbie, plush toy or action figure in sight. What gives, Hollywood?
After seeing the film, I walked out disappointed. Scarlett Johansson played Black Widow in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, a former USSR assassin trained from a young age who uses her skills for her own gain and later on for the good of mankind. As a big Marvel fan, I was excited to see the return of the strong, female superhero in a Hollywood blockbuster (besides the X-Men). Unfortunately, her backstory was watered down as her relationship with Bruce Banner (e.g. Hulk) in the film grew into a sappy "woe is me" superhero complex as she revealed she was unable to bear children. As if in the year 2015 this was the number one, sure-fire way to humanize a former Soviet-bred killing machine to American women. Why does her mystery have to be washed over by pointless sentiments of humanity? They’re superhuman. Then, in the end, it’s Banner who ends up leaving her behind, despite their plans to run away together. Whether or not this was an accuracy issue from the comics to the big screen, why couldn’t Black Widow be the one to leave? Left at the altar, even in fantasy, the woman is still portrayed to be more vulnerable than her male counterpart.
I’ll admit, there’s the occasional female powerhouse (e.g. Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, the ladies of the X-Men and Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises), but the damsel in distress routine is getting blase to say the least. These are the women who know they’re needed for a team to function and most importantly, vital in saving the planet if not the universe. In X-Men: Days of Future Past, without the women of the X-Men, the people of Earth would live forever in chains and the mutants of Earth left to be brutally murdered by robots. Without Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord wouldn’t have been able to save the planet. In the comic book world, there are plenty of women superheroes, but until those books come to life in a way that empowers us mere mortals on Earth, it’s a man’s universe; real or fantasy.
When comics started in the '20s, it was a man’s world. While the comic book universe is booming with female leaders, it's Hollywood who pass over these women like they're minor characters. But, in 2015, something has to change. The question is: what is Hollywood going to do about it?
Geoff's Top 10 Trailers of 2014
2014 was one of my favorite years of moviegoing, played in no small part by attending my first Sundance. While I watched less films this year overall than I have in my four years of officially being part of the film community, I still watched more than my fair share of trailers. I know people that live for trailers; I also know people who refuse to watch them. Both groups have very valid reasons, with the former embracing the snippets of story and style to help determine their film choices amidst the world of ever-increasing ticket prices, and the latter wanting to enter the film experience full of surprise and intrigue. Listed over the next few pages are some of my personal favorite trailers of 2014. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I did.
[Video] Guardians of the Galaxy's Final Groot Scene (SPOILERS)
Note: This post contains Guardians of the Galaxy spoilers. Continue at your own risk.
Guardians of the Galaxy has been one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer, bringing in $176m in domestic revenue as of Sunday. Obviously, a lot of the film's success is thanks to Marvel's influence, the source material, and an entertaining cast and script. Arguably the film's best scene, however, takes place towards the end of the film. Again, if you've bypassed the title and my extra warning above this paragraph, you know what you're getting yourselves into.
Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is a humanoid tree that can heal from any type of damage, so long as at least one sliver of his wood is saved. It's not explicably said in the film, but Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) ensures Groot will be okay by saving a piece of him following the film's climactic battle. Just as the credits begin playing, there's a fun scene featuring Groot and Dave Bautista's Drax the Destroyer in which Groot dances to Michael Jackson's "I Want You Back." Very fitting, no?
In an ingenious marketing move, Disney and Marvel have released the scene as a standalone clip. All they need is to create mini-plotted Groot figures that react to sound or something to complete the move. Even more interesting is that the film's director, James Gunn, provided the motion reference for Groot's dance moves, as he states:
Baby Groot dancing is 100 percent me. I was too embarrassed for anyone to be there, so I made everyone leave the room and I set up a camera and I videotaped myself dancing. Then I sent the video to the animators and had them animate over that. I begged them not to leak the video!
Enjoy!
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[Trailer 3] Guardians of the Galaxy
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Guardians of the Galaxy is Marvel Studios' biggest risk. It's so outrageous and comic book-y, it's going to have to work harder for the general audience's acceptance than any of the Marvel superhero films so far. But whether or not it hits the mark, Guardians will be fun to watch. This international trailer for the film, much like the other trailers released so far, is fabulously odd.
Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly, Karen Gillan, Djimon Honsou, Josh Brolin, Michael Rooker, Benecio Del Toro, Glenn Close, and every other actor ever, Guardians of the Galaxy is going big rather than presumably going home.
Guardians of the Galaxy releases August 1st (July 31st in the UK).
[Trailer 2] Guardians of the Galaxy
The next test in Marvel's plot for box office denomination comes in the form of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy this August. While the Guardians of the Galaxy isn't a household name in the comics industry, Marvel has amassed an incredibly talented cast to portray the Guardians themselves, including Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt, Avatar's Zoe Saldana, WWE's Dave Bautista, The Hangover's Bradley Cooper, and Fast and Furious' Vin Diesel, as well as Glenn Close, Karen Gillan, Benicio del Toro, and more rounding out the entire cast.
The previous Marvel films have focused more on individual films, but Guardians will be the first one post-Avengers to attempt to drive the team element across. However, the hybrid sci-fi action/comedy poses as a huge departure from the otherwise grounded films already released under the Marvel brand. I think the film has enough elements to bring in even more casual audiences that aren't aware of the original comic books. Could it make just as much as Captain America: The Winter Soldier? I'd hope so, but I think Disney and Marvel have realistic ambitions with Guardians to know that the film shouldn't be considered a failure if it doesn't come close to Cap's record breaking amount.
Guardians of the Galaxy will be out in theaters on August 1st.
[Video] Extended Look at Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord
After seeing Captain America: The Winter Soldier this past weekend, I walked out of the theater a bit underwhelmed. That's not to say the film wasn't good, but it didn't really take any risks. Guardians of the Galaxy, however, represents Marvel Studios' biggest challenge since the imprint started producing their own films. The team isn't exactly full of household names, and the space setting is vastly different from what's been established in prior Marvel films (even more so than the Thor films' Asgard). However, I think it's a gamble that will pay off exponentially for the company this summer. Following the film's first trailer, this first clip is an extended look at the opening scene featuring Chris Pratt as Star-Lord. There isn't much new footage in this clip, but it offers up enough to satiate anybody's curious interest.
Guardians of the Galaxy will be in theaters on August 1st.
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[Video] Meet the Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is at the top of my most-anticipated films of 2014 list, and with good reason. Not only does it represent a new frontier for Marvel and Disney, both in terms of scope and tone, but it also represents the comic book company's biggest cinematic risk since they properly entered the film industry with Iron Man. Simply put, while Marvel is setting its eyes on Guardians of the Galaxy being its next major Marvel Studios property, the characters and story aren't very well-known to both casual fans and comic book diehards alike.
Instead of keeping potential fans in the dark, Marvel has released a series of short videos that feature the film's primary actors introducing their characters, with some of the videos featuring even more footage not seen in the film's first trailer that released earlier this week. While the Guardians of the Galaxy may not be a household name on the same level as The Avengers, I believe that they'll definitely attain their own popularity come the film's release this August. You can also see the film's first official poster below, as well.
Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper)
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Groot (Vin Diesel)
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Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista)
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Gamora (Zoe Saldana)
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Star Lord (Chris Pratt)
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