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Friday, June 21, 2013

Feminist Friday: Man of Steel Both Feminist and Sexist

Spoilers Ahead! Read at your own risk! 

On June 14th Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was released in all its glory. Since I was late in seeing it and in writing about it, I’m going to do something different. Not only am I going to rate the top four most brave female characters, I am also going to rate the top four hottest male characters. This way my article pleases everybody, because I’m sure you are all sick of everyone raving or ranting about the women in this film. 

4. Faora-Ul (Antje Traue) and General Zod (Michael Shannon)




I like that these two ended up together on my list. First, I’ll talk about Faora. I found her to be the strongest woman of the bunch, both literally and figuratively but I did not find her to be brave. Yes, she was fearless in the face of danger, but how much danger was she truly facing? She knew she was strong; she knew she was not an easy kill for Clark or for the humans. Faora was, like all the people on Krypton, born to be who she was. Their military, as stated by General Zod, was created to do anything to protect their kind. That’s what Faora was doing, but I don’t find that to be bravery; especially in comparison to the other women. 



Now for General Zod: This dude is NOT cute. But neither were any of the men really except for Superman (but we’ll get to that later). Of the main men that you would easily remember, Zod is the worst. His haircut is what truly destroys his looks. You are from a superior race of humanlike people, and you look like that? You only bring disappointment for me and the rest of the ladies. I enjoy movies better when even the villain is a sexy man. See, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from Joss Whedon's The Avengers as an example of what I mean.

3. Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and Colonel Nathan Hardy (Christopher Meloni)



Martha, Martha, Martha. You are a brave-ish woman. I include the “ish” because Martha never truly needed to be brave, but I could see that she was. One of my disappointments in the film is her husband (because I hate Kevin Costner) but then even Martha was disappointing. I agree with the other articles I have read that the couples in this film had clear equality in their relationships, but I would have liked to see Martha show some sort of thoughts on the choice of words her husband used with her son. So, yes, Martha was brave simply for being the mother to this baby, but she never stepped out of the comfort zone of her farm.



Colonel Hardy you are a handsome devil. Of the men, like I stated about Zod, you aren’t that great of a choice. But of the American Military men, you were the clear choice. I smiled when you were first on screen, and I almost sobbed when you gave your life. If only we could have seen your muscles. 

2. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Jor-El (Russell Crowe) 



Amy Adams was an ingenious choice for Lois Lane. Lois was both smart and incredibly brave. From the first scene where we were introduced to her, we knew both of those traits. She shows the men that she is not to be messed with. She also shows us throughout the movie how important her career is to her, and fear is not a good enough reason to keep her from being successful. Lois is a brave woman simply for getting involved and for being willing to be burdened with Clark’s secret. Without her strength and fearlessness, Clark wouldn’t have saved the world. 



Daddy Jor-El is way better than Daddy Jonathan not only in being a father and husband but in looks. I loved watching Daddy Jor-El use his sexy body to save his precious baby. I thought he would be out of the movie, but no, Daddy Jor-El flips his hair for us some more using his smarts and not his strength. What isn’t sexy about that? 



11.  Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) and Clark Kent/ Kal-El (Henry Cavill)


First, let’s talk about Henry Cavill’s body, and then I’ll get to his mommy. Superman is for sure a super man. Henry Cavill has made me change my mind on men with hairy chests. Normally, that isn’t sexy to me but Henry has made it sexy. His face is handsome. The amount of muscle on his body made me want to reach out to the screen to try to touch him (And I’m not even attracted to guys who go to the gym!). Then there’s his voice; the sound of his voice was almost breathtaking. He spoke like a Superman should. His chest, his smile, his voice, his face! I am in love with Superman now, and I never would have said that before this movie. Hey, I’m ginger, maybe I can trick him into thinking I’m Lois Lane…



I’m sure anyone who reads this blog is shocked by my opinion that Kal-El’s mother is the bravest of the women. But here are my reasons that I think you will find reasonable. Lara is brave not only for literally watching death come to take her, or for putting her son a ship to a strange planet. Lara is brave for having a baby in the first place. This was the first birth in centuries, she had no idea what to expect. She gave birth to that beautiful baby without any full knowledge of how it would feel, and if it was safe. I’m sure they have records, but if no one in your life had done it, would you really know what to expect? Educational videos, diagrams, medical records, or anything they had to prepare are nothing like seeing your family members or friends go through pregnancy or hearing their stories. Then, after finding the courage to have a child in the first place, she summons the strength to give her baby up. She then loses her husband, and then her life. Lara is the bravest woman in this film. 

I hope you enjoyed both the sexist and feminist views I had on Man of Steel. Feel free to comment yours!

 



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