The Need For Female Protagonists And Antagonists

Every time a film like Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel is released, there are those who decry the movie as a metaphorical figurehead for some sort of anti-men movement.  With the release of Captain Marvel several days ago, such slanderous accusations have become commonplace yet again, with the charges even deterring some people from watching the film at all.  It is obvious that these protesters have either never seen the movie or dramatically misinterpreted its message, just as they almost certainly have never grasped the need for both female protagonists and female antagonists.

Never mind the fact that Captain Marvel is about human and individualistic empowerment, not the unilateral elevation of one gender or the other.  Never mind that it does not portray men as naturally weak, vile, or selfish, or that it does not portray women as naturally powerful, righteous, and just.  Some people perpetuate the claims of misandry on the part of the filmmakers regardless.  However, those who viewed Captain Marvel despite the false accusations (if they are rational people) learned that the movie does not even slightly endorse sexism against men.  The only feminist undertones in the film reflect actual feminism: the idea that women and men can live alongside each other as metaphysical and moral equals.

Genuine feminism is about liberating both men and women from the fallacious notions of gender roles and sexist double standards.  It was never about the domination of men by women, although some horrendously sexist people might misappropriate the title of "feminist" as they seek to mistreat men.  They are guilty of many fallacies and moral errors they charge their opponents, those who cling to the conservative status quo, with representing.  Straw manning feminism accomplishes nothing except making it clear that conservatives are just as philosophically clueless as they often seem from a distance.

It is quite important for there to be more movies like Captain Marvel.  Furthermore, entertainment needs to not only feature female heroes to give examples of women to look up to, but also female villains to demonstrate that the capacity for evil does not discriminate against either gender.  Patriarchal ideas have long characterized women as naturally innocent beings that must be protected by men, rather than beings who are capable of every sin that men are--without exception.  Social conditioning has prevented humanity from seeing a great deal of the viciousness and selfishness that women can display.

No one has a tendency to any particular kind of sin simply because they were born with certain genitalia; individual moral resolve, not gender, dictates a person's moral triumphs and flaws.  In Wonder Woman, Dr. Poison, a woman, was Ares' example of human corruption.  Since many people are too unintelligent to reason logical truths out for themselves, the appearance of certain ideas in entertainment is necessary for those truths to become accepted by a culture.  Conservatives stupidly oppose the recent tendency for cinema, gaming, and literature to have more female protagonists, thinking that such characters threaten the reputation of men, when it is actually the absence of female characters in villainous roles that help contribute to the social acceptance of misandrist ideas.

Logic, people.  It is very fucking helpful.