2. Women Are There To Be Ogled And Little Else - Every Comic Book Film Ever Made
Yes, I'm never going to complain about a sexy superhero in a movie, but couldn't we at least focus on giving them some agency as well? Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises seems to be one of the few films to feature a dominant, proactive female character, in Anne Hathaway's Catwoman; though her figure is championed throughout the film, she is assertive and manages to outfox both Batman and Bane on occasion. For the vast majority of superhero flicks, though, the female characters tend to be window dressing; take The Avengers - did you ever hear any straight male
not talk about how much they were looking forward to seeing Scarlett's posterior in 3D? Furthermore, her character is, alongside Hawkeye, the film's most incidental to the story. Just think of all the superhero movies out there; they cannot be unsexualised in the same way that male superheroes can. While a male superhero will probably be handsome, he doesn't have to have a shirtless scene or be scantily clad, whereas female superheroes almost always dress in a way that could be considered provocative or sexually enticing. Again, not that I'm
really complaining, but is it a good message for all the young ladies out there?