tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post5192509126439192951..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Much Widow About NothingSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-47228489690908777052015-05-08T23:14:20.834-03:002015-05-08T23:14:20.834-03:00Add me to the list of people who saw Widow's d...Add me to the list of people who saw Widow's description of herself as a monster as referring to being turned into a cold-blooded killer against her will. Pretty sure Winter Soldier's going to go through the same sort of thing when/if he gets all his memories back.<br /><br />Romance when she hadn't demonstrated any interests in that direction? Sure, unless that running gag of her trying to set Cap up with someone was a way of trying to live vicariously through someone else. <br /><br />As for Tony's little comment before failing to lift the hammer, Whedon seems to love getting sex jokes past the censors and much of the audience. About half the songs in the musical episode of Buffy qualify, as does a particular insult Loki tossed out in the first Avengers. And then there's Doctor Horrible, where he didn't have to worry about the censors.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06382811944483828955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-13939540005500900932015-05-08T20:53:34.034-03:002015-05-08T20:53:34.034-03:00When Natasha was describing herself as a "mon...When Natasha was describing herself as a "monster" it had everything to do with her feelings of remorse over the people she'd killed in the past (repeated flashback to the bound and hooded person who was part of the graduation process) and nothing to do with feeling like she was less of a woman because of the sterilization. Yes, she undoubtedly felt mutilated by the process; I doubt the guys in the Red Room were particularly empathetic or gentle for this process, after all.<br />But Nat doesn't even seem to care that much that she can't have kids. She even uses this fact to reassure Bruce when he says that he'll never be able to have kids.<br />People see what they want to see, but it's disappointing how so many people suddenly don't get Joss Whedon at all. How could anyone possibly think he was implying that a mature, savvy woman like Natasha would have a hysterical bout of self-loathing because she can't have kids? This isn't 1950.JohnFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09339402431610031589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-77413506229981596022015-05-08T19:08:24.958-03:002015-05-08T19:08:24.958-03:00I had problems with the idea of Natasha as the one...I had problems with the idea of Natasha as the one person who could calm Bruce down because there were other characters who seemed far more logical: Tony is the one who in previous films has seemed to get on best with Bruce on a personal level, Thor is a fantasy Norse warrior and hence presumably has personal experience and cultural knowledge about how to deal with people who go berserk, and Steve is just a generally trustworthy and reassuring person. It did seem to me as if the idea came from sexist assumptions that the female character obviously has to be "nurturing".<br /><br />And it's not just about Age of Ultron - a lot of people have been getting increasingly pissed off for years that Whedon still self-congratulates himself and is fawned on by the press about being the MOST FEMINIST MAN IN HOLLYWOOD on the strength of one show that ended over a decade ago, when his other works all have some serious problems in their depiction of women and he's done some seriously dodgy real-life things.LondonKdShttp://londonkds.dreamwidth.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-61614804712671191052015-05-08T15:17:27.452-03:002015-05-08T15:17:27.452-03:00Seems more like this is a matter of one group tryi...Seems more like this is a matter of one group trying to prove that they're more feminist than another group, and the new Avengers movie is being used as the launching pad for that argument. They can split hairs over the movie forever without one side emerging as the "winner."<br /><br />I personally didn't have any problem with the way the movie's characters were presented. I just enjoyed the characters as their individual selves, with their individual quirks. I was too busy geeking out over seeing Ultron and the Vision to worry about anything else!Sea-of-Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813600516703661200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-40634418807265266042015-05-08T08:02:00.227-03:002015-05-08T08:02:00.227-03:00I've not read that article yet, but that does ...I've not read that article yet, but that does sound like setting the film up to fail.Jayunderscorezerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16611897906121531154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-48466348349591798962015-05-08T07:57:34.246-03:002015-05-08T07:57:34.246-03:00Whedon at least set the record straight that he di...Whedon at least set the record straight that he didn't leave Twitter because of the tweet-rage, but that it had been his plan all along to go into writing mode. He's got to come up with an original project now, after all.<br /><br />But yes, I think you're right. We're more critical of those we believe should know better. It's no surprise when it comes from expected quarters (oh the director of Sucker Punch is a raging sexist? Wouldn't be much of a surprise), but in this case I genuinely think it's a case of using a "formula" as a litmus test. Does the woman get captured? FAIL. Does the woman have or want a romance? FAIL. The article I linked to, which is at least a reasoned response (as opposed to 140-character bait tweets), seems to be motivated by expectations (the enemy of the right-minded critic, in my view). The writer wanted and expected the "red ledger" reference from Avengers 1 to be fully explored in 2. It wasn't, and I for one don't need everything about an enigmatic character explained, as it diminishes their appeal (see Wolverine). It just wasn't the story the post writer wanted told, and that disappointment may have led to picking apart the Widow's actual storyline with a negative bias. <br /><br />I'm not in anyone's head here, but that's how it reads.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-33203575763240074792015-05-08T07:14:18.055-03:002015-05-08T07:14:18.055-03:00What's the name of that thing where people are...What's the name of that thing where people are *much* more critical of people within their group than outside of it? I feel like a large part of the reason there's such a desire to put this film through a feminist fine tooth comb is *because* Joss Whedon identifies as a feminist, whereas James Gunn or Zack Snyder wouldn't get the same level of backlash (a tutting at their excesses, but not the level of vitriol Whedon has received).<br /><br />I'm also just disappointed that I'm seeing self-proclaimed feminists behave, frankly, like gamergaters (don't like a piece of nerd pop culture? Harrass one of the people involved until they don't feel safe on the internet!). Any valid criticisms of the film aside, using those criticisms to justify a harrassment campaign *screams* fan-entitlement rage and the most toxic elements of nerd culture and internet pile-on culture. I guess I've learned that anti-feminist men don't have the monopoly on behaving in such a way.Jayunderscorezerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16611897906121531154noreply@blogger.com