So, I just saw Dark Knight Rises, and I thought I'd share a few quick thoughts about the presentation of women in the latest installment of Chris Nolan's bat-trilogy.
The below will contain SPOILERS for Dark Knight Rises. Seriously. SPOILERS! Do not read if you do not want to be SPOILED.
The Good:
There are two whole, important, prominent female characters in this movie! Count them! Two! That's one more than one. That's fully twice the number dictated by strict adherence to the Smurfette Principle!
These women have plans. These women have motivations. They have their own agendas, and they do stuff. And the stuff that they do? It moves the plot forward! This is, seriously, a triumph of superhero cinema.
It is perhaps a little sad that this is a triumph of superhero cinema, but still . . .
The Bad Not-So-Good:
Both of these lovely ladies are romantic interests for the male lead. They are even, more or less, girlfriends for the respective sides of Bruce Wayne's/Batman's split personality. Talia, in her guise as the ethically responsible Ms. Tate, is the 'good' woman who can attend social events with Bruce, and help him use his parents' legacy to save the world. Selina is the dangerous, 'bad' woman who can hold her own with the goddamn Batman in his illicit vigilanteism, and look hot straddling his big, long, wide, powerful . . . completely unFreudian bat-cycle. Yeah, that's it. Bat. Cycle.
Having a girlfriend for each personality sounds like a pretty cool way to do a Batman character study, actually. Until you think about how these are the only prominent female characters in the movie, and their presence is largely useful for what it tells us about the goddamn Batman. Until you think about how Bruce/Batman is so complex that he needs two whole girlfriends to explore two different sides of his psyche, but these girlfriends only get half a man each. What does that say about their complexity? Their characterization?
It helps a little that both women are misdirects, that the 'bad' one becomes the useful ally while the 'good' one is revealed as criminal mastermind. The movie nonetheless still feels firmly entrenched in Noir-esque femme fatale/woman-as-redeemer female stereotypes, even if they do get to play swapsies at the end.
The Ugly:
Catwoman's pose in the promotional poster. I know, I know; it's not part of the movie proper. But it vexes me. Even while watching the movie, I kept remembering the silly thing, and it did impact my reaction to Anne Hathaway's character (though her performance itself was actually quite solid, and one of the more pleasant aspects of the movie). For an awesome rant about the poses that women are posed into in the media, see Emily Asher-Perrin's quite excellent "Hey, Everyone--Stop Taking This Picture".
My verdict (because this is a subjective space for the sharing of my own subjective opinions):
Flaws aside, this movie is eminently watchable as well as trying its damnedest to give us some kickass female characters. And you know what? It doesn't do too bad a job. Though it's not exactly the highest bar in the world, this is probably the Batmovie with the best girls women in it.
Satisfactory, Archie. Cookies all 'round.
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