Black Widow and the Subconscious

I'm going to be a bit controversial here. I love Avengers: Age of Ultron. I think it's a great movie, and I think James Spader may be vying with Patrick Stewart for my favourite voice actor of all time (I didn't think I could like another villain as much as I liked Loki, but I was wrong). Now don't get me wrong, it's not a work of genius, but it's fun, it's clever, and has a rather wonderful moment when Iron Man and Thor are asked what their girlfriends are up to, and they respond, respectively, with "running my multinational corporation" and "earning a Nobel prize". And when Pepper is next mentioned, it's to point out she has the most control, of anyone, of Stark Industries; not even Tony Stark himself can override her. I do like those little touches...

Anyway, I'm going to be even more controversial here: I like what was attempted with Black Widow. Now, I'm not saying it worked, and I agree with a lot of the commentary out there, but I do like what it could have been.

Here's how I see it: Scarlet Witch's power seems to deal primarily with the subconscious. I say this because of Thor's dream; there were clues in it about the Infinity Stones. Thor has been chasing Loki's sceptre for some time at least, so an idea of what it might be must have been percolating in there. His inability to immediately interpret his dream further reinforces this; Thor's own mind is attempting to tell him something important, and he has to look for the answers. This is less obvious with Iron Man and Captain America, as their main subconscious concerns, the safety of Earth and lost chances, are also on their conscious minds.

Which brings us to Black Widow's subconscious, and her reflections on sterility. I think this works, but only in context of her budding relationship with Banner and the age at which she attended the spy school. Let's think about the first. What are the things to consider when starting a relationship? Well, the big things: do you find the person attractive? Do you like enough of the same things so you can spend time together, or does that even matter to you? And perhaps the biggest one: do you both want children? This, perhaps, is why she doesn't try to hit on Captain America; she knows he would like a family, and she's not going to have a relationship which can't last. Of course, she can't be sure Banner doesn't want children, but it's a pretty safe bet. It's reasonable of her to think this way; she's a smart woman and I can't imagine she'd waste her time on a long term relationship she knows is doomed from the start (and let's be honest, the children issue is probably one of the most common dealbreakers out there). So, subconsciously, she's thinking about how important this is.

Now let's move on to the age Black Widow was when she was sterilised. We can't be sure, but let's presume she was in her teens. I don't know about you, but I was pretty malleable as a teenager. Black Widow was told, during her training, they were turning her into a monster, and the sterilisation, as a part of her graduation, was part of that transformation. They could have sterilised her after her graduation, but instead it is integrated; it is intended to convince these girls they have been turned into monsters, used to convince them the loss of maternity makes them somehow less. This is a cultural stigma being enforced on them; I've been considered unnatural for not being pushed about having kids (at times in my life where intentionally having a child would be a terrible idea in many ways, not the least of which is financially). Black Widow's school is simply reinforcing this idea onto impressionable young girls; are we surprised it worked? In addition, Age of Ultron is full of references to whether or not the other characters are monsters. Black Widow still considers herself to have "red on her ledger"; monstrousness is on her mind. And when Banner brings up having children, of course this, which was already in her subconscious and brought forward by the Scarlet Witch, is how she responds.

Now, this, I think, is what Whedon intended. And you know what? We should live in a world where Black Widow can, occasionally, get a little down about not being able to have kids and not have it reflect on everything in her character. And I think the reason we can't have that is that she's the only woman on the team; as several other critics have pointed out, quite rightly, by positioning her as the only woman, she becomes the only option for heterosexual shipping with the male avengers. She becomes, by default, the sexual object, even though she is never in a relationship with anyone else on the team. It also gives us the problem with perspective; she's the only woman on the team, and she's thinking of how she can't have babies. The solution to this would have been another female avenger, and I'm hoping the addition of the Scarlet Witch will help to solve this problem in the next film. Because it would have been interesting to have another female perspective to balance Black Widow's; perhaps Wasp or Ms Marvel, both of whose powers could be considered monstrous (as someone with an insect phobia, I guarantee you there are people terrified of Wasp).

It is the omission of women in Marvel's cinema which causes Black Widow's subconscious preoccupation to be problematic; of the male avengers, we get at least three subconscious views: the hidden knowledge (Thor), the lost life (Captain America), and the fear of the future (Iron Man). Arguably Captain America's concerns are the same as Black Widow's; it's not only the loss of his own time, but also the married life he could have had with Peggy Carter, the children he won't have now. In fact, I'd be willing to bet, with the potential of a relationship with Black Widow, that Banner is having the same thoughts she is, that this disappointment at the impossibility of a normal life is what the Scarlet Witch taps into to unleash the Hulk. It is what Banner presents as the obstacle between him and Black Widow, and one she knows is not an issue. And again, given the age at which this happened to her, are we surprised she gets emotional talking about it? I wouldn't be surprised if that was the first time she'd ever said those words aloud.

So yes, I like what Whedon attempted, but unfortunately he did it in a franchise which is not one of his own, and that is the problem. If he were doing this in Buffy or any of his own creations, he would have enough other women with other viewpoints to balance anything like this. As it is, it becomes the sole female focus of Age of Ultron, and shows not as an interesting take on the character but as problematic all around.

Now, as for calling her a slut? Come on. She never flirted with Iron Man (in fact, when he hired her in Iron Man 2, everyone was worried about him behaving inappropriately, not her), kept suggesting girls for Captain America to date, doesn't seem to have ever had a conversation with Thor, and is so beloved by Hawkeye's wife that the latest baby is named for her (and let's not forget the kids love her too; this is clearly a good friendship and nothing more). The only avenger she has ever tried to date is Banner; clearly the woman is picky. Not to mention badass.

If only Marvel would realise that and give her a solo movie (or at least admit The Winter Soldier should be titled Captain America & Black Widow, because that's what it was).

The Return of the Shiny Nerd in Time for Marriage Equality!

So it has been an eternity since my last post, but I have emerged from the depths of the thesis an (almost) free woman, with only the viva. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

So what's happening here in Ireland at the moment is the referendum on marriage equality. Basically, we're being asked to vote on whether to allow gay marriage. I am strongly in favour of voting in gay marriage, because I believe in equal rights for all. You can read more on my thoughts here, on a guest post for Consider the Tea Cosy: http://freethoughtblogs.com/teacosy/2015/05/16/guest-posts-for-equality-its-about-recognition/ While you're over there, take a moment to read through the other guest posts, and the ones which are coming; this is an important issue and part of what we're trying to do it address the concerns of anyone still on the fence, so go read!

I won't write about anything else today: this is important stuff. So more fun stuff later, but for now, go look at this. If you're on the fence, see if we can't convince you :D