Outrage culture

[The Laughing Fish]

The hyperbolic criticism surrounding these DC films never ceases to amaze. I'm revisiting the sexist accusations towards Justice League's treatment of women, specifically Wonder Woman and the Amazons. I've seen a lot of people complain about the silly sex joke where Flash quickly got up after lying on top of Diana during their first confrontation with Steppenwolf.

So why didn't critics complain when Joss Whedon used the same joke with Bruce Banner and Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron?



Now yes, I do remember that Whedon got a lot of hate online for how he wrote Black Widow in that movie and he had to leave Twitter for a period of time because of this. But the critics otherwise gave the entire movie a pass. I never saw any outcry from the media either.

I've also noticed critics have complained that JL used "butt" shots whenever Diana appears on screen. Well then I've must've not paid much attention, because I didn't think any scenes were any more gratuitous than a naked Steve Trevor covering up his junk while talking to Diana in the bathtub scene in the WW movie. Same thing goes for the Amazons' costumes look any remotely different to what we saw before.

But I'm curious, were there any scenes that made you think it was totally inappropriate? Are any of these criticisms justified to you?

[riddler]

Diana was one of the better characters in this movie, I haven't found her portrayal as sexist or gratuitous in any of her three film appearances.

With Natasha Romanoff, I think the criticisms on her portrayal may stem from the fact that for a trained SHIELD assassin, she gets flirty fairly easily. Stark, Rogers, Barton, and Banner all have moments of sexual tension with her.

It's another case of seeing one thing, and extrapolating it far beyond such as looking at the closeup shots in Batman and Robin and claiming the movie must have a gay agenda.

[The Laughing Fish]

With Natasha Romanoff, I think the criticisms on her portrayal may stem from the fact that for a trained SHIELD assassin, she gets flirty fairly easily. Stark, Rogers, Barton, and Banner all have moments of sexual tension with her.

My issue with that criticism is being flirty doesn't necessarily make the characters demeaning. If that were the case, James Bond should be considered as the biggest whore in fiction.

I remember when AOU came out, fans on Twitter, and many of which I noticed had Tumblr blogs fantacising a romantic relationship between Black Widow and Hawkeye, got upset that Black Widow referred to herself as a monster because she couldn't give birth. This led to Whedon getting accused for being sexist. But I never saw it that way. The film showed us that Natasha was programmed and trained as an assassin from a very young age, and her getting sterilised was part of her initiative, and if memory serves me well, it was to make her obey as a killing machine. Natasha felt her own humanity was being stripped away from her and hence, that's why she felt she had become a monster. Man, Black Widow has a lot of material to explore for a film, and the longer the MCU waits to actually make one, the most likely the opportunity will be lost.

But putting that aside, it was only the fans that complained AOU was sexist. Critics, on the other hand, didn't have that complaint. They certainly never threw AOU under the bus over the humour, as they did for JL.

[thecolorsblend]

I've also noticed critics have complained that JL used "butt" shots whenever Diana appears on screen. Well then I've must've not paid much attention, because I didn't think any scenes were any more gratuitous than a naked Steve Trevor covering up his junk while talking to Diana in the bathtub scene in the WW movie. Same thing goes for the Amazons' costumes look any remotely different to what we saw before.

It's not about "protecting" women. It's about going after men.

[Catwoman]

Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough but I didn't see anything worth getting pissy over. If Flash had enjoyed being on top of Diana instead of pulling back quickly, it would be different. I'm just not someone who reaches for an assortment of magic "You can't say/do that, I'm offended!" cards at the drop of a hat. I more tend to just roll my eyes, say "You're an idiot," and go on about my day. May or may not add a middle finger for emphasis. Now if I see something that genuinely does offend me you better believe I will raise all holy hell about it, but people are way too freaking eager to jump on anything that comes along. I guess some of these sheltered idiots should have heard some of the things I have heard in my nearly 32 years, they'd know what sexism and misogyny really is and be more selective about where they aim their outrage.

]It's not about "protecting" women. It's about going after men.

This is hilarious. Talk about going from one extreme to the other.

[The Dark Knight]

It's not about "protecting" women. It's about going after men.

[The Laughing Fish]

]It's not about "protecting" women. It's about going after men.

This is hilarious. Talk about going from one extreme to the other.

A lot of these loudmouths are nothing more but virtue signalling pieces of trash who are simply jumping on the bandwagon for attention.

[Catwoman]

]It's not about "protecting" women. It's about going after men.

This is hilarious. Talk about going from one extreme to the other.

A lot of these loudmouths are nothing more but virtue signalling pieces of trash who are simply jumping on the bandwagon for attention.

Oh I didn't disagree. I think that applies to most of the flavor of the day crusades. For instance I'm glad the light is being shed on the sexual assault, but the Me Too stuff has taken on another identity with people, like you said, looking for attention or trying to impress others (particularly women they find attractive) which is very pathetic.

I was just saying that saying it's going after men is going from one extreme with the ripping out the sexism card at any or no opportunity to the other extreme. As with most extremes, they're both pretty ridiculous.

[The Laughing Fish]

Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Scarlet Witch in the MCU, went on record to say she wished the corset she wears didn't have to reveal so much cleavage.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/05/01/elizabeth-olsen-avengers-costume-scarlet-witch-infinity-war/567787002/

But is the media going to start a backlash against Avengers: Infinity War over this, just as they did against the supposed "sexist" Amazon costumes in JL? Nah.

[GoNerdYourself]

Our culture is getting to be where you can't criticize anything without people jumping from 0 to 100. If you don't like a popular movie, you're a non-conformist hipster. If you do like a popular movie, you're jumping on a bandwagon. If you simply try to have a drama-free conversation about film, someone jumps in and it becomes a political war, as if our entire culture hangs on the balance of the sociological applications of movie opinions and how it allegedly shows what's wrong with the world. I'd rather just watch and talk about movies, so I just try to scroll past.