The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Poster

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier highlights the timely relation between Thano’s snap and the real global pandemic. The show additionally dives into deeper topics.

I think the Winter Soldier and the Falcon’s friendship is underrated. At first glance, this comedic duo seems to have one thing in common: they are friends with Captain America. But, one of my favorite tropes is hate-to-love friendships/relationships. Although they fight like an old married couple the whole time, they always have each other’s back.

I truly appreciate this miniseries because it is so relatable to what we are going through with Covid. The series takes place after Thanos’ snap. The best part of the film is that the lens shows us the devastating effects on society. 

We see how the new “villains” rise up. There is a push back from people who finally adjusted to half the population disappearing. On the other hand, we see how the returning people struggle to adjust. Additionally, we witness the concept of human possession come into play. Returners no longer own their homes or have their jobs. Also, some borders have shifted, causing people’s citizenship to be questioned. 

This highlights how in real life, no one knows what to do with the pandemic. Do we work from home, how do students and employees quarantine, or even should we avoid other people? I find the parallelism between the Snap and COVID in the film to be a genius work of art.

The global pandemic was not the only main connection. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier brought up other problems within society, such as mental health and discrimination.

The new Captain America (at the start of the show) brings many issues to the surface. First, should Captain America be a figurehead to unite the American people, or should Captain America be a real fighter on the front lines? Second, John Walker (the new, temporary Captain America) suffers from PTSD. With being at the forefront of attacks and watching his best friend die, his uncontrollable violence takes over. This scares the American people as well as foreign individuals. On one side, it shows the devastating affects of PTSD that many great soldiers suffer. Although, I did not like that it portrayed someone with mental illness as dangerous and crazy. As a psychology major, I know how films can contribute to people’s misconceptions about mentally ill individuals.

The Temporary Captain America

This brings up the original problem of who should be the New Captain America? Sam Wilson (Falcon) said no one should take up the mantel and gave it to the U.S Government. But that did not last long before a celebrity took over. By the end, it is clear who best embodies Captain America. I will not spoil this part of the film in case you have not watched the miniseries.

Throughout the film we saw the Falcon deal with discrimination. FIrst, we see how the super serum was tested on black people, yet a white man was chosen as the face of America. To continue, Sam and Bucky get into a fight. A police officer intervied and thought that the Falcon (a black man) was attacking the WInter Soldier (a white man).

In the end, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a timley piece of film. To truly appraite the miniseries, you have to realize how much it reflects the real world.