Representations in The Avengers
Representations in The Avengers
In The Avengers, many different groups are represented that we should take into consideration: male/female, black/white, able-bodied/handicapped, Americans/”foreigners”. However, what I’ve discovered as I’ve been analysing The Avengers is that many of these groups are not shown stereotypically and this is what I am going to discuss and explore throughout this essay.
To begin, we should start with the most basic, opposite representation shown in The Avengers – male/female. Although it’s very easy for most of us to easily dismiss The Avengers as sexist, due to its lack of females besides Black Widow within The Avengers themselves, and due to her tight-fitting attire, if we take a closer look at the way various females are represented, we discover almost the opposite. Black Widow does, admittedly, wear a leather catsuit – often linked to connotations of promiscuity and sexuality – however, the catsuit is actually much more realistic compared to Hawkeye’s own attire. Despite both agents working for S.H.I.E.L.D, Hawkeye’s arms are exposed due to the way his uniform is tailored, and he actually shows more skin than Black Widow, leaving not only more prone to attack, but more prone to attracting the wide eyed women who enjoy Jeremy Renner. Although this is a small detail, this could be a hint at the costume department trying to sexualize the males as well as the females (as I said, Black Widow is still admittedly wearing a catsuit). The male/female binary opposite is also demonstrated in the very few scenes, or perhaps even scene, where Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are together. Although Pepper is dressed in shorts and a loose shirt, she is very much relaxing, and this would be typical wear, with Tony being dressed to the same level of casual. Camera angles are also not used to make Pepper appear shorter than Tony, which would in turn connote she was less dominant. Camera angles actually work in Black Widow’s favour earlier on in the film,
In The Avengers, many different groups are represented that we should take into consideration: male/female, black/white, able-bodied/handicapped, Americans/”foreigners”. However, what I’ve discovered as I’ve been analysing The Avengers is that many of these groups are not shown stereotypically and this is what I am going to discuss and explore throughout this essay.
To begin, we should start with the most basic, opposite representation shown in The Avengers – male/female. Although it’s very easy for most of us to easily dismiss The Avengers as sexist, due to its lack of females besides Black Widow within The Avengers themselves, and due to her tight-fitting attire, if we take a closer look at the way various females are represented, we discover almost the opposite. Black Widow does, admittedly, wear a leather catsuit – often linked to connotations of promiscuity and sexuality – however, the catsuit is actually much more realistic compared to Hawkeye’s own attire. Despite both agents working for S.H.I.E.L.D, Hawkeye’s arms are exposed due to the way his uniform is tailored, and he actually shows more skin than Black Widow, leaving not only more prone to attack, but more prone to attracting the wide eyed women who enjoy Jeremy Renner. Although this is a small detail, this could be a hint at the costume department trying to sexualize the males as well as the females (as I said, Black Widow is still admittedly wearing a catsuit). The male/female binary opposite is also demonstrated in the very few scenes, or perhaps even scene, where Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are together. Although Pepper is dressed in shorts and a loose shirt, she is very much relaxing, and this would be typical wear, with Tony being dressed to the same level of casual. Camera angles are also not used to make Pepper appear shorter than Tony, which would in turn connote she was less dominant. Camera angles actually work in Black Widow’s favour earlier on in the film,