Together

Someone call Hallmark and get me in the greeting card business.

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Where he walks my flowers bloom

She’s the rain on my lawn too

He’s the abscess on my lip

She’s the splinter in my fingertip

But I still love you, who could do without you

And who can be without you

Shes the sea I’m swimming in

He’s the sun that kissed my skin

Sometimes I don’t know where we began

Somewhere between now and then

Aren’t we just a site for sore eyes

We go perfect like Moon and sky

We danced all night damn didn’t we

No music never stopped you and me

I will love you forever

I will love you forever

I’d steal and kill for you ball and chain

Behind bars we’d still remain

Without wood we kindle our flame

Ashes to ashes, together we fade away

Avengers: Super Heroes and a Super Dame

A little essay I wrote for my Female Writers class.

Spandex, Long flowing hair, and plenty of cleavage… put these all together and you have the equations of the American Female super hero. With that equation and the long awaited movie The Avengers release in 2012 in mind let’s take a look at the femme fatale Black Widow played by the bodacious Scarlett Johansson. It’s been argued that Black Widow is merely just a “pretty face” is indicative that the American populace has a problem in the manner with which actions movies are viewed. The super hero flick promotes strong women in the plot, but still manages to objectify the female body or subside them into the position of the love interest.

            Female characters in action actions are often deemed irrelevant. The media of this genre has been conditioned to practically think this with so much evidence strengthening the foundations of this belief. In The Avengers you expect nothing different, that Black Widow will operate and contribute at a subplot at best thusly you do not really need to pay much attention to her actions just enjoy her slow mo runs and random freeze frames. Ultimately the viewers have this belief due to the fact that the male protagonist in this case protagonists are going to do something way more important and on a grander scale. Therefore, when a female character turns up and does have a role of importance in the main story, we are trained to ignore her contributions and only focus on the end results. Nevertheless, this is not the case with The Avengers, as Black Widow is very evident in the overall plot, has vital dialogue with many other characters, and manages to overcome a plethora of fights. Consequently, movies must still change the way they write and portray female characters, but the viewers must also change they see female protagonists when they watch movies.

            As long as the vast majority of female characters in the action and science fiction genres are written as having inconsequential roles in the plot, the rare female character that is well developed and serves a concrete story purpose will be overlooked because we are trained to overlook her. We need to pay attention to female characters - and that means creating female characters worth paying attention to. Is it too much to ask for a female lead in FULL clothing that has dangerously witty dialogue, creative action scenes, a dark past, and compelling goals?

            Dare I say it? We’ve been saved from the monotony of the female super hero by a sort of spider. The lone female Avenger is Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), a highly trained spy, assassin, and martial arts master. Haunted by a dark past, she’s a fearless warrior possessing a razor sharp mind and an impressive knack for interrogation. Black Widow is the only Avenger whose motivations are made clear. That motivation being that she has red in her ledger and she wants to wipe it out. While the male protagonists in the movie require some sort of tragedy in order to get any sort of goal accomplished, as we know men are slow learners. Black Widow not only breaks the stereotype of the female role in movies, but also uses them against her foes.

            While looking up the Feminist film theory, the Bechdel Test often arose. The Bechdel Test, established in 1985 by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace, is a way of examining movies for gender bias (Friend, 58). The wonderful and tragic thing about the Bechdel Test is not, as you've doubtless already guessed, that so few Hollywood films manage to pass. It has invoked a standard for filmmakers to strive for whom inevitably will trip over that bar and argue in self righteousness that it should have never been there in the first place. The test was named after its inventor, is an exam whose rules are simple: The film must have at least two women with names. The second rule is that the two women must talk to each other, and rule three is that the conversation must be about something other than a man. Rule number one can be checked off with The Avengers as you have Black Widow, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) playing Agent Maria Hill. Rule number two is not complied with them being as none of them ever speak to each other and never even share the same screen simultaneously. Where The Avengers to get weary with the rules is rule number three: the two women must talk to one another about something other than men. Also, not even once did any of the listed female roles converse with one another. That being said that makes the third rule impossible to achieve. So here we stand at a crossroads. Though the film portrays strong females, the test was still inevitably a failure for The Avengers; and just because a film doesn’t pass the test doesn’t necessarily mean that the film presents women poorly. Neither of these women speaks to each other, and yet, they still manage to be strong, positive representations of women

            In most films and TV series, the media objectifies and belittles women’s bodies for the male gaze, reducing a woman to her sexuality. While she dons tight costumes, that doesn’t happen here. She’s not merely a sex object. Black Widow is an integral part of the team. A female hero isn’t put there just to pander to women, nor is it only acceptable for girls to look up to her. She’s a hero and she saves the day just as much as the big guys. As most movies, superhero or otherwise, couldn't care less about portraying complex, intelligent, strong, dimensional women or gender equitable roles. So The Avengers is a step in the right direction.

References

Friend, Tad. "Funny Like A Guy." New Yorker 87.8 (2011): 52-61. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.

Scribs vs. Flash

Just a bit of word play between friends. (note date)

i'm a careful thinker, but when i think of you

1/31/10 4:08 AM

...

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:09 AM

I'm a confident actor, i will seize you through

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:13 AM

oh how i don't know what to do, but follow you -- go along for the ride

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:18 AM

Oh what a ride it shall be together side by side

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:19 AM

through the valleys, and the deserts, by the oceans' shining shores

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:24 AM

Through fire and ice, rain or shine, through all we explore

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:26 AM

the depths of life, the scope of feeling through reality and beyond, i'm reeling

1/31/10 4:27 AM

the depths of life, the scope of feeling -- through reality and beyond, i'm reeling

1/31/10 4:27 AM

**

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:34 AM

the stars of fate we're bound to see, lets blastoff mate to destiny

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:38 AM

i'll set the scene: the sky is clear, and at our fingertips the stars appear.  we're here.

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:42 AM

The journeys never done we're learning, There's always a new path for burning

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:44 AM

how i love the fiery scent, of educating days well spent -- let's not forget the journey's purpose, how can i learn when i'm so perplexed?

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:46 AM

What's the hold up ask the question, perplexity is common in life's profession

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:50 AM

i want to understand the nonsense, but it's like asking dollars of cents.  can you comprehend this complication?  or is this alone my frustration?

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 4:54 AM

Thats whats wrong with a riddle, high or low there is no middle.--- So if its understanding that you seek, climb that mountain so to speak

chaiivee

1/31/10 4:58 AM

there are so many paths to take, and none are promised... at all i quake.  what if what i find within, is worse than what were i now begin?

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 5:03 AM

Each path begins with having hope, with seeing a finishline in your scope--- What you dont see within you may be scary, but its even worse to never start,  be wary

chaiivee

1/31/10 5:06 AM

yes, yes, these things i have been told, from in my youth, and now they're old.  but i will heed them, i'll take care, i'll travel as you say -- with prayer -- and hopefully, i'll dodge despair.  something i have before met there.

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 1:17 PM

Prayer is strong this i know, its saved me from the ground below. How can i say this when under attack, Pray not for lighter loads but a stronger back. Its true that is despair is here despair is there--- so pray as though you life's depending Faiths the way there's no pretending

chaiivee

1/31/10 1:22 PM

you know with every crashing wave, with every flood of fear, that i will call on God's great name, and then to me He'll near -- and yet i am afraid, i cannot say i understand, i can only trust in His great ways, stand strong within His plan -- i can.  i can.  you're right.  to put my faith upon the Light is the lone way to win the fight.

Micah Moyer

1/31/10 1:27 PM

A fight a fight in manys' dismay, Its hardly a fight when God's your way. With the strength of a herd of bull, when your emtpy with him you're full. Its hard to imagine all his power, from him evil shall but only cower