Overview

The concept of identity in superhero narratives has become a burgeoning field in academic studies of this increasingly popular cinematic genre. Women in Marvel Films provides the first rigorous analysis of the portrayals of women, heroic and otherwise, in films based on Marvel comics from the 1980s to the present. It explores the relationships between this cultural phenomenon and wider issues of gender equality, considering the cultural moments in which Marvel films are made and incorporating complex histories of the comic book and Hollywood industries. The book also asks how feminist issues surface within superhero adaptations and how they are dealt with via Hollywood and comic book conventions. Women in Marvel Films shows how the Marvel superhero film taps into political complexities regarding gender and related identity issues, such as women's roles in society and their relation to men, and provides a fascinating insight into gendered power dynamics in contemporary American popular culture.

Full Product Details

Author:   Miriam Kent
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781474448833

ISBN 10:   1474448836
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   25 January 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of FiguresAcknowledgements Introducing... The Mighty Women of Marvel! Comics on Screen: What is at Stake in Representing Marvel Women?The (Super)Power of Feminist Film StudiesWe’re In This Together Now: Mediating Womanhood through Postfeminist Culture 1. ‘You have a knack for saving my life!’: Wives, Girlfriends and Women in Refrigerators in Marvel Films Damsels in Distress and Women in Refrigerators across MediaWomen in Refrigerators in Marvel Film Adaptations 2. Pepper Potts and Gwenn Stacy: Recuperating the Superhero Girlfriend Iron (Wo)ManThe Amazing Gwen Stacy 3. With Great Power Comes Great Frustration? Configurations of Hero(ine)ism in Marvel Films Superheroines and Postfeminist Media CultureWith Great Power Comes Great Frustration 4. Playing Superheroine: Feminine Subjectivity and (Postfeminist) Masquerade ‘I Want You to Be the Best Version of Yourself’: Postfeminist Masquerade and Subjectivity in Captain Marvel 5. Marvel Legacy: Girl Heroism and Intergenerationality and in Marvel Films Interconnected Womanhood in ElektraAll-New, All-Different: The Legacy of Wolverine in Logan 6. Mad With Power: Female Villainy in Marvel Films Wicked Witches and Poisonous WomenDisease, Toxicity and Poison in Marvel’s Evil WomenMake Asgard Great Again: Villainy and the Feminine Spectre of White Supremacy in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) 7. Mutants, Cyborgs and Femininity Unfixed? Addressing the Gendered Bodies of Mystique and Nebula Fluid Gender and the Politics of the X-Men FilmsThe Strangest Superhero of All: Nebula’s Cyborg Subjectivity 8. Disrupting the Rainbow Bridge: Dysfunctional Heterosexuality and Reinforcing Gender Difference in Marvel Adaptations Dysfunctional Heterosexuality in Marvel Films 9. Black Skin, Blue Skin: Race and Femininity in Marvel Films The Politics of ""Diversity"" in Marvel Properties 10. The (Afro)Future of a Diverse Marvel: Gender, Race and Empire in Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther Asgard as a People—Racial Ambiguity in Thor: Ragnarok’s HeroinesWakanda Forever: Black Femininity and the (Afro)Future Afterword: Some Concluding Remarks on Marvel Women… Thus Far! BibliographyFilmographyIndex

Reviews

""This book offers its reader diverse theoretical lenses and examples of their applications in the analysis and study of popular cultural artifacts. Women in Marvel Films proposes an analysis of different forms of womanhood, female relationships to their male superhero counterparts, and relevant political contexts."" -Enrique Morales-Diaz, West?eld State University

"""This book offers its reader diverse theoretical lenses and examples of their applications in the analysis and study of popular cultural artifacts. Women in Marvel Films proposes an analysis of different forms of womanhood, female relationships to their male superhero counterparts, and relevant political contexts."" -Enrique Morales-Diaz, West?eld State University"

Author Information

Miriam Kent has a PhD in Film Studies with a focus on Marvel superheroes from the University of East Anglia, where she has taught a wide range of Film, Media and Gender Studies courses. She has published on superhero media with an interest in gender, representation and adaptation. Her previous work has appeared in academic journals, including Feminist Media Studies.

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