New female images
Media gallery to demonstrate new female images
The appearance of new female images
With the development of our society, the concept of patriarchy has been weakened. Although male and female have not achieved gender equality completely, female status has been improved.
In Hollywood narrative commercial films, most female characters images are shown as innocent victims. In those films, they need to be protected by male characters. In marvel films, we can see the scene of male superheroes to save female characters. However, with the rising amount of marvel films come out, the phenomenon of the only male can save people has been changed.
New female images: they can save both of the male characters and the world
In marvel films, female images are updated. They are not just a symbol of sex and beauty. For example, in Iron Man3, Pepper Potts is a normal woman at first, she is the iron man’s secretary. One day, the iron man came out to kill the enemy. However, he was not able to destroy the enemy’s plan and save Pepper who has been kidnapped by the enemy. With the plot development, Pepper got a magic medicine. When she injected medicine and became strong, she can even save the iron man who has the superpower and defeat the enemy. Also, in Avenger2, scarlet witch changed her attitude to help avengers, which turned the result of the war directly. Although Hawkeye acted as a rescuer to persuade her to no longer serve for the evil perspectives, she saved all the avenger organisation as a rescuer.
In Captain American1, Peggy Carter found the forte of Steve Rogers. At first, Steve Rogers was not strong to deal with the dangerous situation, Peggy saved him and made him want to be better. She created Captain American indirectly and changed Steve Rogers’s life. No matter Pepper Potts, scarlet witch or Peggy Carter, there is no doubt that women characters in marvel films play an essential role in the narrative storyline.
From the changes for these female images, we can see that female characters are no longer to remain in the narrative films as male characters’ assistants or lovers. Female characters can finish the task which should be finished by male characters and their images are changed from the object to be saver to the rescuer. They not only save for the male characters but also save the world.
New female images：they are brave, independent and post-feminism
In Marvel and DC films, female characters are independent and brave. They are no longer attached to the men and they fight with male characters together.
In Wonder Woman, Diana Pairs can kill a large number of enemies by herself and save the people who encounter the problem. It seems that women are strong enough to protect both of themselves and other people. Similarly, in Black Panther1, the king of Wakanda uses women soldiers to protect their homeland. As Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther1 said in the interview: “These incredible women who are so multifaceted, they kind of carry society on their backs.”
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And in the recent DC film, Birds of Prey (2020), the trailer shows that Harley Quinn broke up with Joker, but she got rid of the past images: attaching herself to Joker. She lives by herself independently and find s her new life. The images of Harley Quinn is quite different than before. In DC films, she used to be an attachment of Joker. She is a psychological doctor when she treated Joker, she was gradually attracted by Joker’s criminal value and agreed with what Joker had done. She is a negative example to demonstrate that women are “the object to be controlled by men” (Mulvey, 1989,p.27). However, when Harley Quinn broke up with Joker, it changes this female image. From attaching herself to Joker to getting rid of Joker and being herself, the changing image of Harley Quinn reflects the waken feminist consciousness in superhero films.
New female cause a new stereotype: violent and rebellious
In Avenger3, the black widow was kidnapped by the military, when she was interrogated by the military, she presented as she is not aggressive. However, she used desperate measures to pump the enemy’s plan and when she achieved her goal she began to attack the enemy. In the video, we can see that she can defeat many male characters by herself. Such a kind of female image is no longer the symbol of beauty to attract the male gaze, she both has beauty and wisdom.
Besides, Gamora and Catwoman are also the representative characters of rebellious women images. The original goal for Gamora found Star-lord was to steal power to get rid of Thanos. At first, she fought with Guardians of Galaxy because of stealing, though she finally becomes as one of their members. Cat woman both has the quality of good and evil, she is a thief to steal treasure around the world, but she also helps Batman save people. Meanwhile, in X-MEN, Mystique likes fighting enemies by herself and she refuses to join in the X-MEN organisation.
These kinds of female in films are regarded as the embodiment of evil and seduction. They are beautiful and independent, violent and rebellious; however, there is no doubt that their existence is the menace for male characters in the films.
As Bourdieu (1977) suggested that female is the combination of attraction and seduction, which is constructed in the social relationship of sexual exploitation and domination, they gradually divide the world and practices by contrary and complementary physical fitness. In female superheroes films, when women characters get superpower and can fight equally with or be stronger than male characters, they may have some fields which are weaker than men to achieve complementary physical fitness. Though they are stronger than before, the films still “castrate” (Mulvey, 1989) some of their rights. If female superheroes characters get rid of the stereotypes of old female images: beautiful, sexy, puny, need to be protected. I have to say that violent, rebellious and menacing are the new stereotypes for female superhero images.
Marvel & DC superhero films 