"Having it both ways": containing the champions of feminism in female-led origin and solo superhero films

In this article, we consider the emerging trend of solo, female-led superhero films, and their repeated location in aesthetically distinct pasts or "closed moments." This pastness, we contend, serves to distinguish the concerns of the protagonists, which are often read as feminist, as redu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFeminist media studies Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 656 - 670
Main Authors Taylor, Jessica, Glitsos, Laura
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 17.02.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Body politics
Females
Feminism
historical settings
Motion pictures
Politics
postfeminism
Sexism
superhero films
Superheroes
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Summary:In this article, we consider the emerging trend of solo, female-led superhero films, and their repeated location in aesthetically distinct pasts or "closed moments." This pastness, we contend, serves to distinguish the concerns of the protagonists, which are often read as feminist, as redundant for the contemporary audience. This framing is in keeping with a postfeminist cultural context, wherein feminist values and successes are celebrated, while simultaneously declared irrelevant. We examine the historical or closed settings in Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Captain Marvel (2019) and Black Widow (2021), and consider how this collective investment in the past impacts and informs the films' engagement with sexism. We also explore how the bodies of the protagonists become implicated in this process, via the repeated framing of particular body politics as historically resolved. Overall, we signal the birth of a new subgenre, and signpost the continued containment of female superheroes, even as they, and their politics, become more visible.
ISSN:1468-0777
1471-5902
DOI:10.1080/14680777.2021.1986096