CMU School of Drama


Thursday, May 03, 2018

Elizabeth Olsen Thinks Scarlet Witch Needs a New Costume, and She's Right

io9.gizmodo.com: Scarlet Witch is one of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a major power player in Avengers: Infinity War, but there’s one thing about the character that’s been (rightfully) bugging actress Elizabeth Olsen: her costume.

2 comments:

Katie Pyzowski said...

I am not really a follower of superhero movies and comics, or the Marvel Universe, but this article caught my eye. I do notice the blatant sexualization of women in superhero comics and movies, and it frustrates me to see badass women, fighting to save the world, in an outfit that they pretty obviously did not pick, because fighting crime and aliens needs more armor than that, or more flexibility, or just more skin coverage. As a formal martial artist, I can tell you that fighting necessitates that you are properly covered, but also comfortable in what you are wearing. You can never relax properly if you do not like the shirt you are forced to wear. One summer, my Tae-Kwon-do school can out with a summer uniform, and I tried on the size that fit me, and the neck plunged uncomfortably low, not because it was meaning to sexualize women, but simply because the men running the school had not thought about the few women that go to the school when they designed it. Even with an undershirt on I felt uncomfortable in it, and it showed in my technique, which became jerky and inaccurate. I agree with Olsen, and I think she, too, should have a more appropriate outfit. And I agree with what the author says, that there are plenty of ways to make a woman look beautiful or stylish as a hero without focusing on cleavage.

Rosie Villano said...

I feel like more the issue of how women are portrayed in the media is coming up more and more. I am happy that people are talking about this issue. There is almost always the same concern: that women are being portraayed as sexy rather than strong, powerful, ect. It bothers me how often this issue comes up and how similar each individual conversation is. However, at the same time it's always the same conversation, and then the question becomes, how can we change that conversation? Like other Hollywood issues, this becomes a difficult issue to, change because it's about how an industry functions. I think the best thing to do is to keep talking about the issue and force change by making it “bad press” when it comes up around a movie. At the same time, there are so much bigger issues in the world, art is important but it's important to have the conversation,