Author Topic: Captain Marvel  (Read 2082 times)

Bondo

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Captain Marvel
« on: March 16, 2019, 05:03:23 AM »
So I feel like this thread is needed to talk about the major twist in the film, that the Skrulls, far from being the villains, are indeed a heavily persecuted refugee population, and the Kree are imperialists willing to destroy entire planets in an effort to exterminate a handful of them.

That this is such a vital spoiler means almost no one can talk about it in their general reviews, but even in the spoiler special at Slate they hardly find it worth mentioning. Just this week we had 49 people killed in mosques in New Zealand by someone decrying muslims as an invading force. The President keeps referring to refugees coming to our southern border in equally dehumanizing terms. It is very important to this theme that the Skrulls are shapeshifters because it feeds into this notion that these populations not only make us unsafe, but often blend into our society. The film is making a pretty strong condemnation of America, et al, as the Kree, and our hero is part of the oppression until she sees past the propaganda. I guess I just found that all more effective and touching than everyone else seems to have.


1SO

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2019, 09:34:02 AM »
Yes. I'm glad the film didn't hit that point harder, but it's probably been swallowed by the bigger feminist manifesto. I was too focused on how it meant Ben Mendelsohn finally got to play a good guy after being set up as yet another one of his untrustworthy menaces with power.

As long as we're in a safe space, it was so dumb and blatant in its symbolism that Jude Law forced Carol to wear a neck chip that shackled her powers. That the neck button (easily removed) is male suppression and once removed, the female becomes an all powerful wrecking ball. I guess I needed more of an understanding as to why Carol would wear that neck button for so long. There's no psychological reason for her to fear removing it. Elsa in Frozen had a more understandable psychology (and a very similar journey).

Bondo

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2019, 02:05:28 PM »
I wasn’t under the impression she was aware of it, or at least aware of its function.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2019, 05:31:51 PM »
Agreed, it is strange that it's not getting more focus in spoiler discussion. Compared to the hollow lip service in Black Panther, it was good to not see Marvel/Disney back down from engaging in those conversations.

NedMeier

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2019, 09:09:10 AM »
I feel that these themes, as well as the true feminist theme make Captain Marvel an underrated Marvel movie, and maybe movie in general. I didn't really think of it in terms of immigration, but that makes it more powerful to me. On the feminist side, I felt like it really played it well without hitting anyone over the head. I was disappointed that Wonder Woman felt the need to put a love story into that film that seemed pretty pointless. I liked that Carol was able to be a pilot, superhero, good character without having to rely on a romance to move the story forward. 
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1SO

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2019, 10:59:30 AM »
Anyone want to comment on Scarlet Witch? She was introduced in Age of Ultron, seems to be one of the most powerful characters in the MCU, but has been sidelined, much like Black Widow. Not knowing what to do with the character, they gave her a love story. It's had some benefits, especially with Infinity War, but it's like they already had a powerful feminist hero and neglected to put any marketing or publicity behind it.

For me, it's clouded by my not finding Elizabeth Olsen to be a very interesting or charismatic actor.

NedMeier

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2019, 12:51:42 PM »
I think Scarlet Witch is just a boring character. Especially if you aren't making her a mutant. Her House of M storyline is the only that I've read that gave her much to really do and showed off her real power. I think they made a mistake trying to put her and Quicksilver in so early. Now that they can add the X-Men into the MCU it would be better to see them as Magneto's kids and go from there.
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St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2019, 02:34:57 PM »
In the comics, my first introduction to SW was in Avengers (late 70’s) and she was already married to Vision. It seemed like a natural progression to me but, more importantly, I feel like her relationship with Vision was designed to bring out his humanity and his story more than propel her arc forward.
To me (and probably a lot of other Marvel fanboys) the Vision/SW relationship is as integral as Ant-Man/Wasp.
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Beavermoose

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2019, 06:46:00 PM »
Just saw this yesterday and was also super impressed by the social subtext. It has lots of the same pitfalls that most marvel movies do, but it's definitely one of the most important and relevant marvel films.
Also the Cat was great!

oldkid

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Re: Captain Marvel
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2019, 11:19:40 PM »
I agree that it is easy to sideline it and focus on the feminist agenda, which takes up more of the film.  Still, most of the final quarter of the film revolves around this idea of dehumanizing people who are different than us. 

Perhaps it is easy to find the symbolism too obvious, but no matter how obvious you make it, people find a way to ignore it.  I think these movies, like the X-Men films, are spot-on to make their subtext as obvious as possible. Assume that people won't think or talk about it, unless it's in your face.
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