Representations in The Avengers free essay sample

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. We will write a custom essay sample on Representations in The Avengers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 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, when she is being interrogated a low angle is used, to show that in fact she has the dominance in this situation. The Avengers is not afraid to embrace the idea of strong, powerful females in a movie full of macho supermen, and try their best to keep women on par, despite the h igh levels of testosterone. Although there is not many points to be made about the representations of the black/white binary opposite, the few that are there are important to point out; the most important possibly being that Nick Fury in the comics is, in fact, white. It would not have been difficult  to find an actor with Samuel Jackson’s ability at acting â€Å"badass† that was white, but the fact the casting team chose Samuel Jackson to portray Nick Fury proves they do not believe the skin colour of a character should define them. I believe this is an important point to make, as to show how this film – and the franchise generally – does not define their characters, and allows the audience to broaden their mental horizons with different casting options. Nick Fury is also the only man who seems to be able to control all of the Avengers, and is known as a man of high rank and power. Even without the use of both of his eyes, he is still shown as a man to be feared and a natural born leader – he is, in fact, shown without weakness – unlike the characters played by white actors such as Robert Downey Jr and Tom Hiddleston, whose characters both have weaknesses (Tony’s â€Å"heart†, and Loki’s arrogance). This leads straight onto the representations of the able-bodied/handicapped. While I myself would consider both Nick Fury and Tony Stark to be handicapped, many of The Avengers fans no longer see Fury’s impaired vision and Stark’s man-made heart to be handicaps, as the way they have been represented. Not only does Tony Stark use his handicap in battle, he is often portrayed as the hero, with low camera angles, bright lighting and the team depending on him. Nick Fury, as mentioned above, is shown valiantly at the leader of a group of incredibly over-powered people, and yet he still manages to keep a hold over them. In fact, it seems the able-bodied here are shown as the less ‘useful’ group, as Tony demonstrates multiple times how he (using his suit, powered by his heart) can do things the others would not be able to. He is shown to have the power of a Norse god, Thor, which somewhat demeans the latter. A final two representations to look at are the ones of the Americans, and anyone who isn’t American. Of course, Captain America (Steve Rogers) is the obvious first choice to look at. Hailed as being the ‘good’ member of The Avengers who often does no wrong, it’s clear that he is walking propaganda, his costume also closely resembling the American flag not only by colour, but by the star also. The Norse gods, Thor and Loki, are both shown to do bad within the first hour of the film. Loki is, of cours e, the main villain, and Thor attempts to kill – or at least incapacitate – Iron Man and Captain America, the ‘heroes’ of the story. However it should be noted that the colour of Thor’s attire does also closely match the colours of the American flag, which lead me to believe  they did that almost to show he was to become a ‘good guy’, unlike Loki, who mainly wears green – a connotation of envy. Envy for The Avengers, or envy for America? I have a feeling I know which it really is. In conclusion, although The Avengers enjoys challenging most of the social norms throughout this film by depicting Black Widow as the agent she should be and by letting Nick Fury proudly reign over his superhero squad, it – like many other Hollywood blockbusters – has fallen prey to the train of American propaganda, portraying the group of jolly Americans as winners, and the Nordic god and his army as losers. Representations in The Avengers free essay sample 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. We will write a custom essay sample on Representations in The Avengers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 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, when she is being interrogated a low angle is used, to show that in fact she has the dominance in this situation. The Avengers is not afraid to embrace the idea of strong, powerful females in a movie full of macho supermen, and try their best to keep women on par, despite the high levels of testosterone. Although there is not many points to be made about the representations of the black/white binary opposite, the few that are there are important to point out; the most important possibly being that Nick Fury in the comics is, in fact, white. It would not have been difficult  to find an actor with Samuel Jackson’s ability at acting â€Å"badass† that was white, but the fact the casting team chose Samuel Jackson to portray Nick Fury proves they do not believe the skin colour of a character should define them. I believe this is an important point to make, as to show how this film – and the franchise generally – does not define their characters, and allows the audience to broaden their mental horizons with different casting options. Nick Fury is also the only man who seems to be able to control all of the Avengers, and is known as a man of high rank and power. Even without the use of both of his eyes, he is still shown as a man to be feared and a natural born leader – he is, in fact, shown without weakness – unlike the characters played by white actors such as Robert Downey Jr and Tom Hiddleston, whose characters both have weaknesses (Tony’s â€Å"heart†, and Loki’s arrogance). This leads straight onto the representations of the able-bodied/handicapped. While I myself would consider both Nick Fury and Tony Stark to be handicapped, many of The Avengers fans no longer see Fury’s impaired vision and Stark’s man-made heart to be handicaps, as the way they have been represented. Not only does Tony Stark use his handicap in battle, he is often portrayed as the hero, with low camera angles, bright lighting and the team depending on him. Nick Fury, as mentioned above, is shown valiantly at the leader of a group of incredibly over-powered people, and yet he still manages to keep a hold over them. In fact, it seems the able-bodied here are shown as the less ‘useful’ group, as Tony demonstrates multiple times how he (using his suit, powered by his heart) can do things the others would not be able to. He is shown to have the power of a Norse god, Thor, which somewhat demeans the latter. A final two representations to look at are the ones of the Americans, and anyone who isn’t American. Of course, Captain America (Steve Rogers) is the obvious first choice to look at. Hailed as being the ‘good’ member of The Avengers who often does no wrong, it’s clear that he is walking propaganda, his costume also closely resembling the American flag not only by colour, but by the star also. The Norse gods, Thor and Loki, are both shown to do bad within the first hour of the film. Loki is, of course, the main villain, and Thor attempts to kill – or at least incapacitate – Iron Man and Captain America, the ‘heroes’ of the story. However it should be noted that the colour of Thor’s attire does also closely match the colours of the American flag, which lead me to believe  they did that almost to show he was to become a ‘good guy’, unlike Loki, who mainly wears green – a connotation of envy. Envy for The Avengers, or envy for America? I have a feeling I know which it really is. In conclusion, although The Avengers enjoys challenging most of the social norms throughout this film by depicting Black Widow as the agent she should be and by letting Nick Fury proudly reign over his superhero squad, it – like many other Hollywood blockbusters – has fallen prey to the train of American propaganda, portraying the group of jolly Americans as winners, and the Nordic god and his army as losers.