A couple of things happened today…
My kids picked up on a wild rumor that Aaron Rodgers retired. he didn’t. I picked up on a rumor that Brie Larson is being tapped to play a new arc Jedi more powerful than Darth Vader… might be true. Lord I hope not. This isn’t even about the role of female characters in that or any universe. This is about creating retcons that remove the value and purpose of the existing story. Thor was meant to be ‘that guy’ and they built an arc around him that leveled him up beyond all that could and would be–short of Thanos. Then they basically wrote in two characters who could beat Thanos one on one.
Really?
Vader was the child of light and dark–a Jesus-esque character born entirely out of a need to balance the equation. Neo was the same way. Now we are going to say that another Brie Larson vehicle is here to erase the worth of that history? What’s next, is the Matrix 4 going to introduce a female character who is actually ‘the one’?
Pardon the sarcasm, but this needs to stop. We can have strong female characters without tearing down the men who came before them. In fact, having to tear down the men is largely what makes them weak and turns off audiences. I don’t deny the male-centricity in most science fiction and fantasy. I speak and teach of it. I talk about the Ripley character being a scion in a way that Jenette Vasquez didn’t entirely pull off. Ripley wasn’t there as some version of a male fantasy. She was a deeply flawed badass with a survival instinct. What is Captain Marvel? Well, she’s a bot. She makes Vision feel human. She’s no Wonder Woman. So, why don’t we find a way to split the difference and make more bad ass chicks that don’t need to trample a dude to get noticed. Let’s have more Ms. Marvel and less of the Captain.