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Dove-Viebahn, Aviva. "Fantasies of white feminism: The human as “Other” in Captain Marvel." Feminist Media Studies 24. (2024): 1156–70. Added by: joachim (8/8/24, 12:25 PM) Last edited by: joachim (8/8/24, 12:28 PM) |
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| Resource type: Journal Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2023.2229057 BibTeX citation key: DoveViebahn2024 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: "Captain Marvel", Adaptation, Ethnicity, Film adaptation, Gender, Superhero, USA Creators: Dove-Viebahn Collection: Feminist Media Studies |
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This essay examines the first woman-centered film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel (2019), which was both lauded and criticized in reviews for its unambiguous feminism. I use intersectional and Black feminist theoretical frameworks to argue that the film exemplifies a white feminist ideology whereby protagonist Carol Danvers’ (Brie Larson) humanity and womanhood come to stand in for her marginalization as an Other within the logics of the film. I analyze three sets of encounters between Carol and individuals or communities that the film marks in opposition or in alignment with her, sometimes interchangeably: the Skrulls, alien shapeshifters who are mistaken for terrorists but revealed to be refugees; Carol’s human advocates: her friend, Maria, and colleague, Agent Fury; and the Supreme Intelligence, a deceptive A.I. designed by the Kree, an imperialist alien race determined to control Carol and her powers. Ultimately, I conclude that Captain Marvel’s themes of individual empowerment and heroism operate as symbolic of a contemporary feminism that reinforces the familiar narrative that a white woman’s oppression and subsequent rebellion can stand in for the human experience, broadly writ.
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