Problematic Femininity in MCU’s Latest Instalment - Captain Marvel

Brie Larson stars as the MCU’s first film with a stand-alone female protagonist, and being released on International Women’s Day ... what a great touch!

MCU has finally released the film we’ve all been waiting for and whilst DC did it first with Wonderwoman, I beg the question: who did it better?

Personally, I preferred this film but each to their own.

Introduction

Captain Marvel was first introduced to us at the end of Infinity War when Fury sends a signal via his pager before disintegrating into dust - the result of Thanos, as we all know. But now we finally get to meet her, the infamous Captain Marvel.

The name has a lot to live up to, given that it's the namesake of the entire Marvel franchise, so I walked into the cinema with high expectations. I was not disappointed: Captain Marvel proves that not only does she deserve the name Marvel itself, but she also shows us that she could truly be a threat to Thanos and his tyrannical reign. This film offered an interesting break between Infinity War and Endgame and suggests that maybe she will be the wind that turns the tide in the favour of the Avengers. Maybe. I guess we'll find out in April

*Spoiler Alert :-)

Synopsis

The film begins on the planet Hala, part of the Kree Empire, and we meet Vers, a young warrior that appears to be haunted by disjointed memories from her past. We learn that Vers was taken in by the Kree Empire 6 years prior and her personal mentor, Yon-Rogg, helps to train her to control her emotions. He does this through sparring with her and encouraging her to fight with technique rather than anger. I suppose the suggestion here is that through achieving control of her emotions, Vers would gain control of her powers. Powers gifted to her by the Kree.

Vers joins a mission to rescue an undercover Kree warrior that the Kree fear may fall into the hands of the enemy: the Skrulls. The Kree and the Skrulls have been at war for a long time, and during this mission Vers is abducted by Talos (leader of the Skrulls). Talos probes into Vers' memories which brings fragments back into her conscious mind. Vers escapes and ends up on planet C-53, A.K.A. Earth, where she meets Fury (without the eye patch!).

Vers and Fury end up working together and during their investigations, Vers discovers that she was a U.S Air Force pilot that went missing 6 years earlier whilst testing an engine designed by Dr. Wendy Lawson (Dr. Lawson died during the crash). They both then set out to find Rambeau who, unbeknownst to Vers, is her lifelong best friend. All that was left of her name-tag after the crash was 'vers' from 'Danvers'. Here, Vers discovers her true name, Carol Danvers.

After meeting Rambeau and her daughter, Talos arrives and shows them that the Skrulls are the victims of the Kree Empire's cruelty. The Skrulls are not the enemy; the Kree are. Talos also helps Vers to regain her memory of the fateful day 6 years previous. Vers remembers that after the crash it was actually her mentor, Yon-Rogg, that killed Dr. Lawson and her powers are the result of an explosion she caused when trying to destroy the plane's engine.

The group then follow Talos to a hidden ship harbouring Skrull refugees, and the Tesseract. The Kree infiltrate and, obviously, a fight ensues. Carol is captured and brought before the Kree leader before removing her neck implant. Through this act of insubordination, Carol unleashes her full ability - a power that until now had been suppressed by the Kree. As you can imagine, there is more fighting and Carol proves that she is a badass when she singlehandedly destroys ballistic missiles fired from a Kree ship.

Everyone that survives gets back to Earth and Carol sends Yon-Rogg back to Hala with a warning that she will come back to defeat them all...

Carol then leaves with the Skrull refugees in order to help them find a new home planet, but not before giving Fury the pager.

I won't reveal the post-credit scenes but I will say that they added the much needed connection between the end of Infinity War and Captain Marvel's role in the next movie, Endgame.

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So, why have I titled this particular piece 'Problematic Femininity'?

One thing I will say is that it was a breath of fresh air to watch a film with a female protagonist without a love interest. Finally, a powerful woman on screen that isn't justified by a heteronormative love interest. Instead, we experience Carol Danvers' familial bond with her best friend, Rambeau, and her daughter.

However, there were some elements of the movie that I found particularly problematic, namely Captain Marvel’s ‘inability’ to control her emotions and her identity crisis.

Emotional Instability and Identity Crisis

With her initial introduction, Vers' emotional sensitivity is seen as her weakness. Vers is instinctive, easily distracted, and physically inferior to her mentor, Yon-Rogg. Yon-Rogg warns her about her emotional instability during their sparring match, and she proves him right when she shoots him into the air with an energy bolt. I couldn't help but think that this scene served to illustrate a heroine that lacks technique and is inferior to her patriarchal counterpart. Not a great start for the supposed most powerful individual in the universe.

We continue to see this motif throughout the movie, in particular when experiencing Captain Marvel's fragmented memories. Her emotional instability comes into the forefront of memories, especially when she is being undermined for being female: as a child crashing into the race course because she wanted to prove she could drive fast; as an adult training to be a U.S Air Force pilot. But, why does emotional instability become a factor at all?

Actually, I'd like to see it in another light; Captain Marvel's emotional instability is actually just an emotional intelligence that drives her towards success. Every time she fails, she stands back up again...

Furthermore, I'd like to add that Captain Marvel appears to attain emotional stability when she understands her power and her memories, when she becomes Captain Marvel. As Carol Danvers, and as Vers, she is fragmented, she is emotionally volatile and she is physically inferior to the men that surround her. As Captain Marvel, she is the most powerful individual in existence; she knows who she is and she chooses this existence.

Finally, by choosing to become Captain Marvel, she gains some agency and autonomy.

Conclusion

So, all things considered, this problematic femininity really isn't that problematic at all. Captain Marvel/ Carol/ Vers overcomes these patriarchal weights and she unleashes her true power! Her emotion fuels her strength and her identity crisis really is not a crisis at all but an allegory telling us all that accepting who you are, even if that person changes, is empowering.

*Images Courtesy of Google Images*