Iron Man Actually Thinks of Others?

This week, we read a few chapters from The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  In those few chapters, we learn that Hester Prynne has been marked with a scarlet "A" on her chest forever serving as a reminder to herself and everyone around her that she has sinned.  Ever since she has worn that "A", no one has looked at her the same.  They only see her for her sin, just like Captain America only sees Iron Man for his narcissism. 

Iron Man's narcissism was first brought up in Iron Man 2 when the Black Widow was sent to see if Iron Man qualified to be in the Avengers.  He was rejected for various reasons, including his narcissism.  He acknowledges that he can be self-obsessed at times, but he has so many other great qualities that had been overlooked.  From then on, he will be marked in SHIELD's files as a narcissist. 

Captain America, who had just woken up from being frozen in ice for 70 years, reads SHIELD's files to catch up on everything that he missed.  When the Avengers finally team up, all Captain America knows about Iron Man is what is written about him in the files.  

During the movie, Captain America and Iron Man get into a fight because Captain America doesn't think he belongs here.  He says, "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself."  Captain America needs to realize that there is more to Iron Man than his narcissism, just like there is more to Hester than her sin.

Stereotypes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

This week we read a few stories about stereotypes and it got me thinking about all the stereotypes in movies, specifically stereotypes about women in superhero movies.  Women in superhero movies are usually included for objectification purposes, love interests, and a supporting role for the male characters.

I felt the Marvel Cinematic Universe did a good job steering clear of these stereotypes until I did some further thinking.  The Black Widow , for example, is a very strong female character that I thought defied these stereotypes until I thought back to when she was first introduced in Iron Man 2.  Tony Stark objectified her by saying "I want one" when she walked into the room.  This is extremely demeaning because he refers to her as an object and not a human being.  Even though the Black Widow hasn't been associated with that stereotype since Iron Man 2, she still has yet to be in a role other than a supporting one. 


Another powerful female character that I thought did not fit into any stereotypes is Agent Peggy Carter.  When she is first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger, she is portrayed as an intelligent and straightforward character.  But as the movie goes on, her primary role shifts from a strong leader to Captain America's love interest. 

Marvel is slowly trying to get rid of these stereotypes by possibly making a Black Widow movie and giving Peggy Carter her own show; but as of right now, these stereotypes still exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and many other universes such as DC.  The creators of these movies need to realize that these stereotypes are unfair to women and they need to stop incorporating them into their movies.  

Even Captain America has Survivor Guilt

"'The truth,' Norman Bowker would've said, 'is I let the guy go.'" (O'Brien 147).

Norman Bowker from The Things They Carried reminded me of Captain America in the way that they both suffer from survivor guilt.  Bowker and Captain America both tried to save their friend and both failed; leaving them to watch their friend die and ultimately blaming themselves for their friend’s death.  Bowker couldn't let go of the fact that he couldn't pull his friend Kiowa out of the waste.  He remembers himself thinking "not here...not like this" (O'Brien 143) which is exactly what Captain America was thinking when he watched his best friend Bucky fall from the train.  He tried to pull Bucky up, but the handle broke before Bucky could grab onto his hand. 

After the war, Bowker has a hard time adjusting to everyday life.  He wants to talk about the night Kiowa died, but he can't.  He can't explain his emotions so he spends most of his time driving around wondering what it would be like if he could talk about it.  While Bowker tends to dwell on the past, Captain America tries to take his mind off of the incident by focusing on the war so much that he forgets Bucky's death for a while.  He needs to get keep himself busy because he knows the guilt will eat him alive if he doesn't.