Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Hammer it Home, Hollywood: A Feminist Look at Thor

AKA: Hottie with a hammer.

First and foremost: I enjoyed this movie.

Please keep that in mind as you read these words. One can like something and still critique it. But since this is the Internet, home of trolls and newbies to critical thinking, I feel it necessary to state right from the start that it was a fine, entertaining, enjoyable movie. I am not personally insulting anyone who enjoyed this movie, because I myself enjoyed it. Also necessary: I'm only talking about the movie, not the comic books.

While there may be other problematic elements to the film (race, mythology, an abundance of vaguely British accents for Norse gods), this is only focusing on the characters through a feminist lens. And if I've missed something in that respect, please join in and comment.

It's spoiler free. If you've seen the trailer, you know the plot. All the action mentioned below can be gleaned from the trailer. But if you're the type that doesn't want to know anything about at all about a film before seeing it, I suggest you step away now.

Shall we then?

All images via Marvel.com.

Awesome: The character Lady Sif, played by Jaimie Alexander, is an equal member of Thor's inner band of warriors.

Flaw: Lady Sif was the first to fall down in the first battle.

Redemption: Luckily, this is a minor flaw. Lady Sif is an equal member of Thor's inner band of warriors. She is the only warrior to hit a major Big Bad other than Thor. Lady Sif is also the speaker, and one could assume, de facto leader of group when Thor is on earth. When introduced, the companions of Thor are called Lady Sif and the Three Warriors.

(Click READ MORE below for the rest of this article.)


Awesome: Natalie Portman's character, Jane Foster, is a scientist.

(Fanboy reaction: Yeah? So?)

So? So the last Marvel movie I saw was the first Iron Man. There was one female character, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and her main job was to take care of often inebriated Tony Stark. If I had a hypothetical daughter, I would rather her watch Thor and think, "Hey, when I grow-up I could totally be a scientist and calculate the movements of the stars!" rather than Iron Man and think, "Hey, when I grow-up I could totally clean Tony Stark's puke! And then maybe he'd fall in love with me!"

And for once, my hypothetical daughter would have a choice in which female character to emulate or play-pretend when out in the yard with her mates. Scientist or warrior? Who do you want to be today? Because both are better than secretary/puke cleaner.

Not only is Natalie Portman's character Jane a scientist, she is the head scientist. She has a team. Apparently, Jane is also a stellar grant writer, because she has a lab with a dozen computers, a van full of equipment and a mobile home. That, or maybe the rent in her small New Mexico town is dirt cheap; because the lab is in a retro building full of windows smack in the center of town, yet still has a landscape desert view. Fuck yeah, science!

More awesome? Jane's intern is Darcy, played by Kat Dennings. Jane and Darcy talk to each other about science, mythology and theory. Not just how cute Thor is. Find me another summer movie blockbuster with two women scientists talking about their jobs and NOT talking about the hot half-naked man in the room and I'll buy you a beer. Hell, I'll buy you a dozen, one for every computer in Jane's lab. Not because I'm loaded, but because that's a rarity worth celebrating.

Flaw to all this awesome: The male scientist (played by Stellan Skarsgård), who works with Jane, makes it clear at one point that he worked with Jane's father.
Sigh. Heaven forbid (or in this case, Asgard forbid) that Jane gain the respect and admiration of an older male scientist on her own merit. Of course not. Her father had to be brought in to it.

(Fanboy reaction: But, but the parallels! Thor and his father! Jane and hers! Living up to their fathers standards! They are destined to be together! They are the Edward-and-Bella!)

Had this tired trope been left out it would have made no difference to the film, and all the difference to the character of Jane Foster as a role model. Really, the revelation that Stellan Skarsgård's character worked with Jane's father adds nothing to the character but completely plays on the stereotype that men and women cannot be friends and that an older male only shows interest in a younger female in two capacities: as sugar daddy or father figure. It would have been entirely unique to a Hollywood movie and more plausible if he respected her work as a colleague based on her own accomplishments. It's like the filmmakers didn't trust the audience to be smart enough to realize that a male character can be around a female character and not fall in love with her.

To balance this, a bit of redemption: The scientific experiment the team works on is called the Foster Experiment, Jane's last name.

Large flaw and possible mild spoiler: Thor is insulted by being called a princess.

Groan.

As stated in this space before, if guys are taught the worst thing that they can be called is a girl, what does that say about girls? This quote by Tony Porter sums it up:
"I can remember speaking to a 12-year-old boy, a football player, and I asked him, I said, 'How would you feel if, in front of all the players, your coach told you, you were playing like a girl?' Now, I expected him to say something like, 'I'd be sad; I'd be mad; I'd be angry,' something like that. No, the boy said to me, the boy said to me, 'It would destroy me.'

And I said to myself, 'God, if it would destroy him to be called a girl, what are we then teaching him about girls?'"
And what makes it worse is that the gendered insult was totally unnecessary.  Prior to this, we're shown that Thor sees his female companion Lady Sif as an equal.

Without spoilers, here's a vague run-down.
The insult was thrown at Thor by a Big Bad. At that point in the movie anything the Big Bad said would have caused a reaction from Thor. The only reason the Big Bad spoke was to goad Thor. So sometime in the production, someone in writing (in a film that boasts screenwriter Ashley Edward Miller among the writers) or in directing or editing or ad-libbing, someone had to make the decision, "What can be said here?" knowing whatever is said, no matter what, will move the plot forward. No matter what. Does the Big Bad say something about the weather? Or have a nice day? Or fuck you? Or your head looks like an ass? No. The Big Bad calls him a girl. Because nothing's worst than that.

(Fanboy reaction: But! But! That's pre-character development Thor! He's hot-tempered! He hasn't gone on his hero's journey and discovered himself!)

Fair enough. But? It is entirely possible (and this may be a foreign concept, so hold on to your brains), to have a hero go on a journey without enforcing gender and sexist stereotypes in the telling. I know. Crazy, right? Especially, as stated before, it is an unnecessary choice of words by the filmmakers just to reinforce the idea that nothing is worse than calling a big man a pretty princess.

Redemption:
Well, um, hmm. Yeah, no redemption for this one. Thor grows as a character, but looks like even while making noble attempts, Hollywood is still stuck in the same sexist rut.

10 comments:

Pam said...

Well, o well Ms Nat,

interesting review I have to say.

Even though I do believe that the character Stellan plays, has more than a father figure affection for Jane. I found he was much more interested in her work, as you might believe.

Of course they have to bring it a 'connection', hence Jane's father. Other than that. I do not think he would stick around for all her experiments just on that fact alone. Plus, not wanting to spoil anything; the man will play a significant part in the avengers, anyone who'd stayed until the end of the credits will attest to this. Also, I don't think that there's any mention of Jane's father disapproving of her work or Stellan's character insinuating this.



Lady Sif is a character I do appreciate, especially that Thor and the others see her as equal. Did not remember her being the first one to go down, but that might have been due to full frame. Too many things going on at once.

What I also appreaciate is the fact, that she is not fighting for Thor's affection, I was a bit worried about that.

Regarding the the 'princess' comment, must have escaped me as well, I usually pick up on that bullshit.

Flaw yes, wish they would stop with this nonsense? double yes. Did it ruin the whole film, for me personally? no. Then again, I did not pick up on it this time. Guess I was enjoying myself too much.

What also should be mentioned is that Thor appreciates, no respects, Jane's intelligence the most. The guy spents more time listening to her and her findings than anything else, without feigning interest. Plus he recognizes how important her work is to her.

I guess gods have to foresight, even the arrogant and hot headed ones.

He learns through her, what he should have learned from his father. In certain ways he did, but only realised it upon meeting her.

And and the end, we see her trying to find a way to build a certain something, so the responsibility to find a way and take initiative lies in the hands of a womand and her team.


and yeah.....She is a hot scientist but I do appreaciate his godliness's fine ......undertones. I was blinded for a second when I saw that scene...blinded. And I am not into blondes....blinded.


Other than that, I am very much looking forward to more Thor (a good start into a summer full of supes) and Joss Whedon's avengers. I have no doubt Josh will give his ladies (only a few but still enough) good lines and plot, for the full screen of xy chromosones.


AVENGERS, here they come!


PS: Rene Russo got the fight a tiny bit too.

Hope to read a review on 'Hanna', Cap. America, X-men first class or Pirates on here soon.

Take care,

Pamster

Natalie said...

Aw, Pam! You rock. Thanks for the long comment!

- I also appreciated the fact that Lady Sif was not shown wanting to hook up with Thor. Thanks for mentioning it here! It gets so annoying that men and women are unable to be platonic friends in movies.

- "The guy spends more time listening to her and her findings than anything else, without feigning interest. Plus he recognizes how important her work is to her." Totally spot-on about Thor liking Jane's intelligence. I also loved the fact that Jane's character was in actual, comfortable working clothes the entire movie -- appropriately dressed for a winter's day in boots, jeans and layered shirts. No mid-drifts or short skirts.

- This is perfect:
"He learns through her, what he should have learned from his father. In certain ways he did, but only realised it upon meeting her."
Brilliant. Come write a guest post for me sometime. I did not even register this fact when watching the movie!

- "I was blinded for a second when I saw that scene...blinded. And I am not into blondes....blinded." Oh my, yes. Especially in 3-D. I was rather blinded myself.

- "PS: Rene Russo got the fight a tiny bit too." She did, indeed! Frigga is not known for fighting, so it's great that she got a shot in!

- As for the princess comment, it was in the first battle (about to say anything spoiler-ish) with the Frost Giants. I'm still enjoyed the movie, but blech that line.

- I left a bit of a review on Red Riding Hood, did you see that? I haven't seen Hannah yet, and I hope I don't let you down! We'll see what happens with the rest. :) If I miss them, you are more than welcome to write one to post here!

xx Natalie

Tara Dresbach said...

Thank you for this review.

The "princess" line made me wince when I heard it. I found myself thinking that it would have been a lot better if it had been "little prince" instead. It came off as a tired, childish, gendered insult in the movie. But using prince instead? Thor had just had the day he was going to be named as ruling in his father's stead while he slept, and because of his suggestion of going into battle, had just been told that he may still be too green to rule, and that he was not yet king. The bite of being reminded that he was still a *prince* when he wants to be *king,* and being accused of running when he was doing the nobler thing that his father would have wanted, would have worked better in my opinion. In fact, until that second syllable, that's where I thought that line was going. I was disappointed.

Norman said...

Damn. I want those dozen beers. But I don't think I'll find another summer blockbuster where two women scientists talk about their jobs.

Natalie said...

@Tara: Good point. "Prince" would have worked just as well. Thank you for the insight, and for reading!

@Norm: I would happily cut into my savings and buy a dozen pints for you and all my readers. Sadly, we'll just have to keep fighting in hopes next years' crop of movies will be even better in terms of visibility and speaking roles for women.

Matt B. said...

Norm: Word is that the latest Transformers flick has a scene of two women scientists talking about their jobs. Or talking about the cuteness of Shia LaBeouf. I forget which.

If that fails, maybe try The Hangover Part 2?

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to comment briefly, and should say first that I liked this look at the film from a feminist perspective. I noticed and appreciated a lot of the same things you did.

The one complaint that surprised me was the "princess" one. And I agree with you in principle. No, my only surprise was... that I hadn't heard the line. Or, to be clear, I heard it differently.

It's difficult to discuss something like this when we don't have easy access to the film itself. I was planning to try to go see it again, and when I do, I will definitely now be listening for that bit.

The reason I bring it up at all was that at the time, what I heard was "princes" -- as in, plural, that Laufey was talking about Thor *and* Loki together. The problem is, while I do kind of remember that moment, it's very fuzzy, as is my memory of the entire exchange. I'd like to say that there are other points where Laufey is talking where he is talking about both of them (both sons of Odin), not just about Thor... but right now I can't make that statement with any certainty.

And I can't remember the exact line you're talking about, either -- that I heard as "princes" and others heard as "princess". Obviously it would make a big difference if the actual line has Laufey emphasizing the singular, so that it's clear that it only applies to Thor, and not to the general situation of two princes of Asgard coming in to wreak havoc.

So, to be clear, I'm not trying to say that you are wrong. I'm just bringing up a possible different take on that one bit. It may be that it was me mishearing it. And you know... if so, I will be just as disappointed as you were, because you're right about why throwing around the gendered insults is bad.

(Speaking of which... I'm trying to recall whether the film actually had anyone throwing "Goldilocks" at Thor at any point. The comics do this, and it dates back quite far. You *could*, I suppose, say that part of the insult of calling him that has to do with the character of Goldilocks specifically -- a not very bright child from folklore, and ha ha, Thor is a folkloric character himself -- but frankly it's always irked me because there is a not-inconsiderable whiff of "we're mocking you for being effeminate" homophobia/misogyny to it.)

Anonymous said...

All right, having just gotten back from seeing the movie a second time... on the one hand, I can see where you and others are coming from, hearing the line that way. On the other hand, I still heard it the way I originally did. (I would agree that Feore gives it an odd line-reading that could easily sound like a second syllable.) I'm torn, now. I understand better now why I heard it the way I did. But I don't think your interpretation is implausible either. I feel like I won't know for sure unless/until I can see what the script says. And I'm unsure enough that I don't know which option I'd put money on, at this point.

(It's also funny now unreliable memory is. Here I was really paying attention to that exchange, and it was just a short time ago, but now I feel like I can't completely accurately quote the key line. Was it "Run away" or "Run home"? grrr.)

Rewatching the scene cleared up for me why I heard it as "Run home, little princes": it was because, earlier in the scene, Laufey is clearly addressing Thor singularly, which makes sense as it's Thor who does all the talking. But then, Loki inserts himself into the discussion. He steps up just behind Thor and addresses Laufey directly, saying they will leave, as he suggests, while he still allows them to. It's clear that it's Loki's words to Thor that nearly succeed in getting Thor to back down. And Thor addresses him as "brother", identifying him as another son of Odin. Loki is acting like a prince, with the right to make the call and take the deal, as well as demonstrating his influence over his brother.

Because both characters are, at that moment, acting in tandem, that's why I assumed Laufey's final goad was addressed to both of them. Of course, the goad doesn't work on Loki (whose only reaction is the muttered "damn"), and we understand more about why it didn't work as things progress; but of course it works like a charm on Thor, and the fight is on.

I hope we do get a chance at some point to verify which it was. Because the question of it is going to bug me, now.

(As to my final point: no, the film never includes "Goldilocks". Good. I kind of wonder whether we will get that in The Avengers, as I've certainly run across Thor's teammates using it to him in the comics.)

Finally, apologies for the above comment being anonymous. I had a lot of trouble getting the "comment as" feature to work at all. I'm going to sign this post, in case I can't get it to work this time either, even though I'm on a different computer.

Holly / orca_girl @LJ

Natalie said...

Hello, Holly/Orca_girl!

First off, THANK YOU for your comments! I have been without Internet since Thursday (or, as it feels, an eternity!) and it was such a happy surprise to find two long and well-written comments from you!

I'm sorry if you had some trouble with the comments the first time around -- Blogger has been having some trouble the past two weeks, so I hope that's all that it was. Please let me know if you have any trouble again!

On to the Thor talk!

I would love it, LOVE it, if you were correct and the line was "Princes." Not only would it make total sense -- since Loki and Thor were both there -- but it would take away the clearest sexist moment of the entire movie. And a summer comic book movie blockbuster without sexism? OMG, the happiness!

I'm afraid we're going to have to wait this one out for a few months, until the DVD comes out and we can check the subtitles. I did a Google for the script, but I'm on borrowed Internet time so it was not the most complete search. IMDb has the quote in the Thor Quotes section as "princess," but since IMDb can be updated by anyone, it's not a solid source. I totally see where you're coming from. It's an interesting perspective, and I hadn't thought of it!

As for the Goldilocks nickname, maybe it will come up in The Avengers movie, like you said, while he's hanging out with the rest of the crowd. I didn't remember him being called Goldilocks in the comic books, but The Avengers were never my favorite, so I could have easily missed it. Another one we'll have to wait out!

Thank you again for reading, and for a new view. Please come back and write again!

Anonymous said...

I realize I'm late to the party here but I just want to add my two cents.
Was I the only one who saw Thor smile after the "Princess" comment? The Jotun (possibly Helblindy) threw a taunt at him and it gave him an excuse to go gleefully kicking ass. I read it as more insulting in frost giant's culture than Aesir, and Thor's reaction shows he didn't really care what the insult was, just that he could fly off the handle afterwards.

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