Of the 100 top domestic grossing films of 2016, only 29% featured female protagonists. This number dropped to 24% in 2017 and in action films, women made up only 3%. Despite these dismal numbers, there are many notable examples of high-profile, fan favorite female leads in superhero and action movies such as Ripley in “Alien” and more recently, Wonder Woman who took on the titular role in the 2017 film of the same name. But, as Martha Lauzen, the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film’s executive director, explained, “a few high-profile cases can dramatically skew our perceptions of how women are faring as protagonists or in important behind-the-scenes roles.” Even though there are many memorable female action heroes, the fact that they only comprise 3% of action protagonists should not be ignored.
In this passion blog, I hope to look at examples of good and bad representations of women in the typically male dominated genre of superhero and action films, providing analysis of the roles they play, their interactions with other characters, and their development throughout the story.
Captain Marvel
While I don’t want to devote an entire post to a movie that has not yet been released, I wanted to briefly mention the upcoming film “Captain Marvel,” which is premiering on March 8, 2019. This will be the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to feature a solo female protagonist. The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with the premiere of “Iron Man.” Over the course of the last ten years, twenty superhero movies within the MCU have been released, but none have been led by a solo female protagonist (although, 2018’s “Ant Man and the Wasp” did feature a female title character). At San Diego Comic Con in 2016, Marvel announced that Oscar-winner Brie Larson would take on the role of Carol Danvers in “Captain Marvel” and ever since, fans have been anxiously awaiting the film’s release. Hopefully, this movie will be the first of many solo female superhero films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, announced earlier today that there are plans for many more female-led Marvel movies in the works.
It’s very eye opening to consider that only 3% of action-films have female protagonists. I should probably know this, but is Captain Marvel a female in the comic books or is the character male in the comic books and Marvel is transitioning the hero to female in the upcoming movie? Also, are you going to cover female antagonists as well, or just protagonists? Definitely think this blog will be interesting.
While the original Captain Marvel was male (Mar-Vell), the character that the movie is focusing on is Carol Danvers, who currently holds the title of Captain Marvel in the comic universe. I hadn’t thought of covering female antagonists, but that’s a really great idea! Thank you so much for the suggestion!