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Blog #2: Fixing the Positive Stereotype of Natasha Romanoff



Iron Man 2, the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to include Natasha Romanoff, gave the Black Widow a weak introduction, as her character is written to fall under a positive stereotype of women being valued only for their sex appeal. Future films where she is featured have better established her personality and motivations. Despite the well-written exploration of her character in other films, it was not their responsibility to properly develop Romanoff. Iron Man 2 could have included a characterization of her that did not rely primarily on sex appeal. 

The backstory and occupation of Romanoff follow that of the original Marvel comics, so the movie was correct in keeping her career as a spy. Inclusion of her sarcastic humor and serious, calculating personality was necessary. As seen in the movie, without her signature traits, she is rather one-dimensional. Her lack of personality emphasizes the dependence the movie places on her beauty as a definition of herself and would have appeared much less as a positive stereotype.

As a spy, Romanoff does have to portrayal various different personalities, some of which do require her to be flirtatious. Keeping some proactive elements of her character in the movie would be fine, but it should have been included much less. A much better plot device would have been hints that Romanoff is working undercover through foreshadowing and hints to the audience rather than scenes where the focus is on Romanoff’s beautiful appearance. Iron Man 2 could have properly established the personality and traits of Natasha Romanoff without the use of the positive stereotype of women being valued only for their sex appeal.

Comments

  1. Mackenzie JFebruary 2, 2022 at 10:56 AM

    Hi Shannon! I am glad you are writing about this topic because although it has been brought up before, it has still not changed enough in the media. Additionally, it is a common “positive” stereotype that is used frequently in superhero and action films, which I thought was important to point out because they do not rely on sex appeal for the male superhero characters.

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