Miscellaneous Musings

 October 17, 2021
 
On a Misguided Debate with Troubling Implications
 

There have been worse lines in the history of cinema, lines that simply don’t trickle off the tongue as their creators envisioned them doing. For every remark that produces spontaneous aww’s – think You complete me or It was like… magic - there’s one that elicits the sounds of crickets – erroneously intended moneymakers like You’ve been cancelled. Most from the latter category are quickly forgotten, as they should be, but every now and then a line is disliked for entirely different reasons. Perhaps the critiquer cannot fathom the line being said by that particular character or – as is the case with some older youth-oriented movies – what was once a hip way of speaking now seems absolutely antiquated.
 
The line making headlines last month was from a less-than stellar sequel to a surprisingly (at the time at least) popular film, and among the sentiments expressed in quotes that found traction on the internet was this: that Natasha Romanoff is not a commodity. This, I’m sure, produced no argument from any of the viewers of the Avengers films, for having seen Ms. Romanoff single-handedly take out an armed security detail, demonstrate her mastery of sophisticated computer programming, and instinctively race toward danger with only her wits and combat skills to aid her, it’s pretty clear that she’s nobody’s fool.
 
The line is spoken by a character who is hardly a champion of women’s rights, at least not at that particular point in his evolution. This is a character after all that drives a reporter from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, sleeps with her, and then has his personal secretary throw her out. The flight attendants on his private jet pole dance, and he has no qualms about flirting with his personal secretary despite the utter inappropriateness of such remarks and the legal vulnerability it puts him in. Sure, he eventually commits to her and the two of them ultimately have a rather adorable daughter, but before all that, he takes one look at an attractive new employee and controversially utters, “I want one.”
 
It should be noted that Tony Stark is hardly the first character to express unpopular or neandrathal sentiments. TV has had Fred Flintstone, Archie Bunker, Al Bundy, Andy Sipowitz, Arnie Becker, and Vic Mackie; movies have bought us Melvin Udall, Jack Sparrow, Borat, Nick Curran, and Stanley White among others. Few, if any, of these characters have maintained their views for long, for sooner or later, someone – a co-worker, fellow inmate, or love interest perhaps - comes along to steer them in the right direction, and this is the case with Mr. Stark. Just compare the man we see in the opening scenes of Avengers: Endgame to the one we meet in the first Iron Man film. It’s night and day, as if the way he reacts to Ms. Romanoff as the series progresses.
 
Those now proclaiming their dismay about “I want one” know this. They’ve seen the movies – in some cases, they’ve even helped write the scripts. So, why all the fuss? Part of it likely stemmed from years of frustrating spent watching millions of dollars be spent to create movies about male characters and wondering when Black Widow would get her due. Another part is the real frustration some people feel about the way female characters continue to be portrayed – from the existence of “Bond girls” and the damsel in distress to the unfortunately standard action scene in which a male character mocks the notion of a female character teaching him how to defend himself, versions of which can be found in both Ant-Man and Iron Man 2. And then there were the demeaning comments made by a few of the stars of the Avengers films at the height of the “Me Too” and Times Up” movements, remarks which reminded people of a long-held double-standard in both movies and society. After all, male characters have been switching romantic partners regularly for decades, and rarely have they ever been called out for it or referred to in derogatory terms. 
 
What surprises me most about the controversy over “the line” is that few of the voices expressing outrage seem to be disturbed by the most sexist moment in Iron Man 2. That occurs when Ms. Potts and Ms. Romanoff ascend the stairs of the convention center where Justin Hammer is set to unveil his latest military innovations. They should be suspicious about his motives and making variations of the proverbial “keep your eyes open.” Instead, as they make their journey up the stairs, we don’t hear them strategizing. No, instead the camera fixates on their hips, as they sway from side to side, perfectly in synch. The scene is nothing short of a voyeur’s delight, and to say that it serves absolutely no narrative purpose would be an understatement. If anything made an object out of Ms. Romanoff, it was that.
 
Instead, the focus was on “I want one,” and there are disquieting implications to the controversy. It is as if we are saying that it is wrong to create a politically incorrect or immature character, that every male protagonist has to be Steve Rogers – polite, decent, and chivalrous – even though gallantry has never been a genetic trait. If you’re lucky, someone in your childhood demonstrates what it means to be a gentleman; if you’re unfortunate, which young Tony Stark certainly is, you grow up without this moral guidance. Throw money into the mix, and it is highly likely you get a pampered adult who has never felt the need to re-evaluate the inner voice that tells him how great he is and how privileged other people are to be in his presence. Is it really surprising then that he would look at an attractive woman and say what he says? I’d argue that it’s perfectly in character.