Black Widow: More Than a Movie
Written by Leke Kalejaiye
The Black Widow movie is not your typical Marvel movie. It is one of the few that passes the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test measures female representation in movies with three criteria:
1. The movie must have at least two named women in it;
2. The two women must talk to each other;
3. And they must talk about something besides a man.
Black Widow follows the events after Captain America: Civil War but before End Game. The Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, is on the run as she confronts her past. The movie adds flesh and life to the Black Widow character by giving her a much-needed background story that provides viewers with an understanding of her character. It also introduces newcomer, Yelena (played by Florence Pugh) as the new Black Widow.
Black Widow takes a bold step in exploring societal issues, as events portrayed in the movie are related to daily happenings. This is a movie that takes a head-on approach to issues that affect females. I call it a pro-feminist movie as it challenges stereotypes, counters sexism, and shows the shifting cultural attitudes towards young women.
Black Widow explores issues of abduction and kidnapping of female children. The Widows were abducted at early ages, trained and manipulated to become assassins. This is similar to child trafficking, slavery and kidnapping in today’s world. The International Labour Organization estimates 10,000 children are trafficked annually, and 300,000 children are sold every year as slaves. In the movie, despite the large number of Widows kidnapped, nothing was done. The only exception was the bombing of Dreykvo’s office by Natasha. This is parallel to the situation of trafficked women and girls today. As in reality, the silence of the law enforcement agents shows little concern about the lives of these young girls.
Indoctrination was another theme in the movie. The girls had no chance to choose their purpose, or follow their free will. Their sense of being was denied, and they were controlled. They were viewed as weapons and toys of destruction. These scenes remind me of every woman who has been oppressed, subjected to violence and denied basic rights because of her gender. Women have often been put in cages by society. It’s tiring to be treated as second class and controlled by society because you are female. It is exhausting to be held to double standards and denied equality.
A recurring topic in the movie was the Red Room. This was where Dreykov, the villain of the movie committed nefarious, and abominable acts against the young women. The Red Room was a place of oppression and subjugation. A place where dreams, passion and purpose were tarnished. Dreykov is an embodiment of sexism and narcissism. Even his daughter (The Taskmaster) was not spared from his acts. To him, women are things to be used and discarded. Dreykov represents systems, institutions, customs, and laws that society uses to repress, oppress, discriminate against and subjugate women. In his crooked view, he gave those girls life, a home and a purpose. This references the luring of women by perpetrators who promise to provide for their needs. A vivid example is human trafficking, where promises of a better life abroad, citizenship, or jobs are made to lure women into a trap of slavery, sexual violence, and drugs.
An event that had me screaming ‘Yes Queen’ was Yelena’s clap-back at Alexi’s sexist remark about her period. Comments like those of Alexi are made on a daily basis about women, with the popular excuse that they are ‘normal’ or ‘friendly’ jokes. There is nothing normal about sexist remarks. They were never and will never be normal.
Another issue raised in the movie is non-consensual hysterectomies and forced sterilization. This is where a woman’s reproductive organs, particularly the womb, are removed without consent. The female is denied autonomy of her own reproductive organs. An example is the forced sterilization of migrant women in ICE detention centres in the USA. Apart from the physical and health effects, it also has psychological consequences. States and hospitals should tackle this practice and bring to justice all who carry out these acts.
Rachel Weisz, who played Melinda in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar spoke about the epic fight scenes in the movie and on the female gaze. She said and I totally agree this, “female gaze enables you to feel their subjectivity and personality… it is because they are both subjects, they are not objects … it is not about objectifying their spectacular beauty and sexiness, that is not the focus of the scene, the focus of the scene is their subjectivity, they are real people”. Unlike the male gaze that depicts women as sexual objects for the pleasure of heterosexual men, the female gaze sees women as subjects and treats them with respect. In prior movies, the Black Widow character was heavily influenced by the male gaze. Her character, and conversations revolved around men. Even her fight scenes focused on certain areas of her body. Thankfully, this changed and we saw Natasha Romanoff with the female gaze.
Black Widow also explores the sisterly bond and relationship. They may not have been your perfect family but the widows stuck together. Also, the widows were their own women in the movie. Black Widow did not include the love interest cliche that comes with most superhero movies.
The movie is not without its flaws as there was no profound main character. All characters were given their time to shine which is a good thing. However, the movie should have given more depth to the character of Romanoff Natasha. It attempted this through flashback and storytelling, but a much-needed depth was lacking.
Black Widow is a movie that sets the tone for a due discussion on how society treats women. If studied carefully, it creates awareness about the issues females face in, and because of society. Besides that, it was a badass female superhero movie and a worthy farewell to Natasha Romanoff as the Black Widow.
Leke is an undergraduate at the University of Lagos. She is a movie enthusiast with a passion for writing to change the world. Connect with Leke on Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium.
Edited by Chizulu E. Uwolloh and Titilope Adedokun
Zulu, named after Zulu Shofola, is a writer, avid movie watcher and self-proclaimed bibliophile. She is proud to call herself a feminist and when she’s not editing for Sisterly HQ and watching travel vlogs on YouTube, she’s trying to save the world in her own little way. Connect with Zulu on Instagram and LinkedIn
Titilope is the Founder of Sisterly HQ, and a graduate of Law from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her mission is to tell authentic stories of women around the world through writing, organising and digital innovation to make a difference in women’s lives. Connect with Titilope on LinkedIn.
