Failing Gender 101
(via Toxic-Chocolate)
ah_priori : Link: "Gender 101 from Iron Man 2"
radical_jojo : I have just returned from watching "Iron Man 2" for a second time. Going again next week.
As a female, I didn't feel alienated at all, and, in fact, found it to be very female-friendly.
Tony Stark is a good character. He's NOT a good PERSON. I thought the movie made it abundantly clear that he is often in the wrong, which includes his views on women.
I was impressed with the opening scene of IM2, where the trashy go-go dancers came across as BEING a trashy display, and how they were not shot to be titillating to the audience of the movie (but so that it's understood that they're there to be titillating to the audience of the Stark Expo.) TONY objectifies women, but the movie does not.
The female characters wear shoes that are appropriate to what they do in the film. Pepper Potts is not an action character. It would make zero sense if she were. She is still a great character, who behaves heroically, sensibly, and competently.
The change of Rhodey's actor between movies was not the fault of the director; it was studio politics. Both actors do fabulously in the role. That the character is black has nothing to do with this situation.
Neither movie deals with "various Others framed as 'evil terrorists'". Both of them do, however, incorporate issues of contemporary real-world international politics and military operations. They also have different viewpoints presented on these political issues, and leave the entire thing morally ambiguous for the viewer. For the movie's sake, it's not about what the military should do regarding Afghanistan. It's what is motivating the characters and causing them to act.
I think this journalist for Ms. magazine has no idea what this movie is even about.
Has Xander seen "Iron Man 2" yet?
Xander: He has not :B
JoJo: Ah. I'd have liked to have heard your thoughts on it, regarding this. :B
Xander: Alas, I've had neither the time nor the money necessary to do so :B
JoJo: Alas. Well, you have been so busy with your finals.
...This article you link me to makes me so rather furious, though.
Xander: So it seems! I am interested to weigh my own opinions against this article once I've actually seen it
JoJo: This Natalie Wilson seems to not understand that Tony is not meant to be admirable, and is, in fact, the cause of all the problems in both movies. They're character studies. And what makes him a hero is his ability to recognize that he is a guy who does the wrong thing, and that he decides to work on correcting that. Even though that hurts his (enormous) ego. The film fully acknowledges that Tony Stark is the most privileged man on the planet (and, for that reason, entirely used to getting his own way.)
When we first saw it, friend Ericka (rather vocally of the feminist persuasion) and I were excitedly squeeing over how impressed we were with the treatment of women in Iron Man 2. (Also, we're both familiar with the source material.)
:B
Xander: The name sounds familiar; is she the one with whom we watched Pokémon movies?
JoJo: Yes!
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