Valid and invalid criticisms about the Brie Larson issue
Feb 27, 2019 22:57:48 GMT
Nalkarj, taylorfirst1, and 1 more like this
Post by Skaathar on Feb 27, 2019 22:57:48 GMT
I think it's clear by now to everyone here that Brie Larson (and the CM movie) has been getting a lot of heat lately and is causing quite a stir, whether deserved or undeserved. Thing is, the closer we get to the release date the more I see ridiculous complaints about the situation being hurled around... and this is done by both groups. Both the pro and anti Brie Larson camps have made some seriously laughable complaints. Yet somewhere in the middle of those ridiculous complaints also lie some legitimate criticisms, from both camps.
So in the spirit of fairness, I've tried to make a list differentiating these complaints/criticisms between what I believe (IMO) to be either valid/legitimate concerns and invalid/ridiculous concerns.
Let's start with the invalid/ridiculous criticisms regarding this entire situation:
1. Brie doesn't smile/She should smile more - this one is just plain dumb. A lot of superheroes don't smile a lot, especially when all you have is a few trailers. Definitely not a valid complaint.
Besides, this has already been corrected in the later trailers.
2. She's sexist/hates white men - if you read what she said in regards to this movie and its marketing, not once did she ever say she wanted to exclude men or that she hated (white) men. Now I'm not saying she isn't biased against white men, maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Point is nothing she said in regards to Captain Marvel shows her being sexist against men. If she has said something in the past that alludes to this then it is for a different discussion and isn't related to Captain Marvel.
3. Most of the people attacking Captain Marvel are those who hate women/don't like seeing female-led films - also false. While there might be some people out there where this statement applies to, if you actually read the complainst about this situation it's not based on Captain Marvel being female or it having a female lead. I've actually read very few attacks on this movie based solely because it starred a female lead.
4. RT's low "want to see" score proves that people are turned off by this movie - while it's probably true that some people who're turned off by this movie's controversy added to that low score, I'm pretty sure that majority of that low score was due to trolls and bots.
5. RT closed its "want to see" rating because it's being paid by Marvel - pretty sure we've mentioned numerous reasons why the idea that Marvel pays off RT is ridiculous. Not gonna dwell more time on this.
6. The MCU is forcing Brie to do damage control / she's backpeddaling - maybe MCU is forcing her, maybe not. But I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to clarify your statements and make sure they're not being misinterpreted. I'm not even sure I'd call it damage control. Everyone should have a right to clarify their statements and make sure they're not being misinterpreted.
Now let's talk about some valid observations and criticisms:
1. Brie Larson doesn't show emotion - this was true for the first few CM trailers. It's not that she didn't smile, as I already mentioned many male superheroes also don't smile in their trailers, but it's more that she simply had a bland expression. A lot of actors even when projecting a serious face have multiple nuances. She... didn't. That said, the latter trailers have already addressed this issue and we know she does indeed show emotion.
2. Brie is using her movie as a political vehicle - this is true, Brie admitted it herself when she said she was using her newfound "power" as Captain Marvel to reach out to more people regarding her political views.
3. Concerns about Captain Marvel's mary-sueness - also valid concerns, what with Feige announcing that CM is not only going to be the most powerful MCU character but also going to be the face of the MCU. Obviously this is not a sure thing, and once we watch the movie this rumor might end up being entirely unfounded. But currently I do think there's enough on the table for this to be a valid concern.
4. Brie is unlikeable - I'm a bit on the fence about this one. I don't disagree with anything she said but I also think she could have said it much better. And while I don't like judging a person's character based only on quick interviews and such, I have to admit she's not the most endearing celebrity I've seen in interviews. Definitely not as smooth or low-key as the average MCU actor. But regardless of my feelings about her, the reason I decided to put this under the valid section is because she clearly has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
5. The CM movie is promoting a feminist/female empowerment agenda - I thought about waiting to watch the actual movie to confirm this but I think with slogans like "The future is female" and trailers that highlight "her" in hero it should be enough to conclude that this movie is indeed promoting a feminist agenda. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Feminism isn't a bad word after all. But there are a number of people who are claiming that this movie isn't promoting any political agenda and, well, that's just not correct. I think we can all admit that this movie does indeed promote a feminist agenda. Whether or not that's a good thing is entirely up to the individual audience's opinion.
6. The CM movie looks lackluster - let's face it, most of us weren't wowed by the first few trailers. The latest trailers are better but still not as good as a lot of the MCU trailers. Then there's that train fight. I'm not saying the movie will be bad, I'm just pointing out that the trailers aren't hyping us up for this movie to the same extent that other MCU movies have.
7. Trolls (and man-children) are trying to hijack this movie - this is also true. While there are a bunch of valid complaints about Brie and her movie, a lot of the noise is generated by trolls who are doing it just for the sake of trolling. They probably don't even bother reading about Brie, they just attack for the sake of creating chaos. And yes, a lot of the whiners are also man-children who look like kids throwing a tantrum just because someone bought them a different flavored icecream from what they wanted.
8. Brie has a flat ass / has a high-pitched girly voice -
I originally listed this under the invalid section as this complaint seems ridiculously shallow at first glance, but after thinking about it I realized that male superhero actors get criticized just as much (if not more so) for their physical traits. Tom Hardy was criticized for being too short and flabby as Bane (and unintelligible), Jackman was criticized as too tall and slim for Wolverine (in X1 anyway), Finn Jones looking too puny for Danny Rand, Henry Cavill looked too young for James Bond, heck people even criticized Cavill for his receding hairline. So if the physique of male actors are fair game for criticisms, why not female actors too? Obviously, it's not the nicest thing to say. Definitely shallow and crude to say the least. But they're still honest, legitimate observations and that's why I moved them to the valid section instead.
So in the spirit of fairness, I've tried to make a list differentiating these complaints/criticisms between what I believe (IMO) to be either valid/legitimate concerns and invalid/ridiculous concerns.
Let's start with the invalid/ridiculous criticisms regarding this entire situation:
1. Brie doesn't smile/She should smile more - this one is just plain dumb. A lot of superheroes don't smile a lot, especially when all you have is a few trailers. Definitely not a valid complaint.
Besides, this has already been corrected in the later trailers.
2. She's sexist/hates white men - if you read what she said in regards to this movie and its marketing, not once did she ever say she wanted to exclude men or that she hated (white) men. Now I'm not saying she isn't biased against white men, maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Point is nothing she said in regards to Captain Marvel shows her being sexist against men. If she has said something in the past that alludes to this then it is for a different discussion and isn't related to Captain Marvel.
3. Most of the people attacking Captain Marvel are those who hate women/don't like seeing female-led films - also false. While there might be some people out there where this statement applies to, if you actually read the complainst about this situation it's not based on Captain Marvel being female or it having a female lead. I've actually read very few attacks on this movie based solely because it starred a female lead.
4. RT's low "want to see" score proves that people are turned off by this movie - while it's probably true that some people who're turned off by this movie's controversy added to that low score, I'm pretty sure that majority of that low score was due to trolls and bots.
5. RT closed its "want to see" rating because it's being paid by Marvel - pretty sure we've mentioned numerous reasons why the idea that Marvel pays off RT is ridiculous. Not gonna dwell more time on this.
6. The MCU is forcing Brie to do damage control / she's backpeddaling - maybe MCU is forcing her, maybe not. But I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to clarify your statements and make sure they're not being misinterpreted. I'm not even sure I'd call it damage control. Everyone should have a right to clarify their statements and make sure they're not being misinterpreted.
Now let's talk about some valid observations and criticisms:
1. Brie Larson doesn't show emotion - this was true for the first few CM trailers. It's not that she didn't smile, as I already mentioned many male superheroes also don't smile in their trailers, but it's more that she simply had a bland expression. A lot of actors even when projecting a serious face have multiple nuances. She... didn't. That said, the latter trailers have already addressed this issue and we know she does indeed show emotion.
2. Brie is using her movie as a political vehicle - this is true, Brie admitted it herself when she said she was using her newfound "power" as Captain Marvel to reach out to more people regarding her political views.
3. Concerns about Captain Marvel's mary-sueness - also valid concerns, what with Feige announcing that CM is not only going to be the most powerful MCU character but also going to be the face of the MCU. Obviously this is not a sure thing, and once we watch the movie this rumor might end up being entirely unfounded. But currently I do think there's enough on the table for this to be a valid concern.
4. Brie is unlikeable - I'm a bit on the fence about this one. I don't disagree with anything she said but I also think she could have said it much better. And while I don't like judging a person's character based only on quick interviews and such, I have to admit she's not the most endearing celebrity I've seen in interviews. Definitely not as smooth or low-key as the average MCU actor. But regardless of my feelings about her, the reason I decided to put this under the valid section is because she clearly has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
5. The CM movie is promoting a feminist/female empowerment agenda - I thought about waiting to watch the actual movie to confirm this but I think with slogans like "The future is female" and trailers that highlight "her" in hero it should be enough to conclude that this movie is indeed promoting a feminist agenda. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Feminism isn't a bad word after all. But there are a number of people who are claiming that this movie isn't promoting any political agenda and, well, that's just not correct. I think we can all admit that this movie does indeed promote a feminist agenda. Whether or not that's a good thing is entirely up to the individual audience's opinion.
6. The CM movie looks lackluster - let's face it, most of us weren't wowed by the first few trailers. The latest trailers are better but still not as good as a lot of the MCU trailers. Then there's that train fight. I'm not saying the movie will be bad, I'm just pointing out that the trailers aren't hyping us up for this movie to the same extent that other MCU movies have.
7. Trolls (and man-children) are trying to hijack this movie - this is also true. While there are a bunch of valid complaints about Brie and her movie, a lot of the noise is generated by trolls who are doing it just for the sake of trolling. They probably don't even bother reading about Brie, they just attack for the sake of creating chaos. And yes, a lot of the whiners are also man-children who look like kids throwing a tantrum just because someone bought them a different flavored icecream from what they wanted.
8. Brie has a flat ass / has a high-pitched girly voice -
I originally listed this under the invalid section as this complaint seems ridiculously shallow at first glance, but after thinking about it I realized that male superhero actors get criticized just as much (if not more so) for their physical traits. Tom Hardy was criticized for being too short and flabby as Bane (and unintelligible), Jackman was criticized as too tall and slim for Wolverine (in X1 anyway), Finn Jones looking too puny for Danny Rand, Henry Cavill looked too young for James Bond, heck people even criticized Cavill for his receding hairline. So if the physique of male actors are fair game for criticisms, why not female actors too? Obviously, it's not the nicest thing to say. Definitely shallow and crude to say the least. But they're still honest, legitimate observations and that's why I moved them to the valid section instead.
