A Few Thoughts on the Portrayal of Women’s Rights in ‘Black Widow’

Written by Shae Rufe

Caution: This article contains minor spoilers for the motion picture ‘Black Widow’.
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Today, I wanted to talk about the Black Widow movie, yet I wanted to talk about it in a different light. No, I’m not going to address the ongoing lawsuit. I am, however, going to base this blog off of one particular line. The movie seems to be hit or miss for some. I personally loved it, I also loved Captain Marvel, and while both movies have some flaws, I really don’t think they’re as bad as everyone is trying to make them out to be. Love the movie or hate it or be indifferent to it, but respect the opinions of other people. Anyway, the film itself tells us the tale of Natasha and her Family that wasn’t quite a family. We got to see her growing up a bit and learned about Yelena, whom I don’t think I could have loved more if I tried. I’m not saying she made that movie; I am saying that her humor and wit seriously hit too close to home for me. Of course, we got glimpses of the Red Room and the training the girls underwent, and above all, we got a bit more reasoning on why the Black Widows ended up being so loyal to the cause. Either way, Nat and her family take down the Red Room for good and we get to know what Natasha was doing between Civil War and Infinity War.

All in all, it’s a great movie. I would have loved a true origin because Hawkeye and Black Widow are best friend goals. But it was still fun and enjoyable. It sets up Yelena’s entrance into the MCU nicely, gives Natasha a proper send off, and the humor was straight up on point. Yet the one line I really want to talk about is said by Dreykov. Towards the ending of the film, Dreykov is giving his big bad guy speech on how he utilized a resource found in abundance, girls. And he’s not wrong on that front. After all, women are viewed as property and status symbols around the world and sometimes they go missing to become a resource (more on that in a moment) and they’re viewed in such a negative light that sometimes their tough journey starts at birth. In fact, 1.5 million births are not reported, yearly, and it’s estimated that they are female and 90-95% of those missing reports come from India, which holds the highest record for female infanticide. Also, women go missing a lot in this world. More broadly, within the last 50 years, 45.8 million missing women came from India. Last year in the United States, alone, 209,375 women under the age of 21 and 59, 369 women over the age of 21 were reported missing. It is a serious issue.

The idea that Dreykov could take young girls and train them to be super assassins is not that far from reality considering the numbers. That one line changed the entire way I viewed the movie. Natasha is not just some superhero, she’s a survivor of human trafficking and who knows what else. There are many movies that detail the female assassin lifestyle and how they get there. Red Sparrow, in particular, is one I quit watching after 5 minutes because of obvious reasons. The Americans is an Amazon/FX show that plays off the Russian undercover agent living in America, and that show also had similar scenes as Red Sparrow. Both fall into the ideology that a woman character cannot be as bad ass as she is without overcoming rape, thereby propagating rape culture in media. Black Widow broke away from that mold, like many other movies and shows and games with female leads and showed a different take on Natasha’s character. However, the subtext of what the Widows went through to become what they are, is not lost. They portray Dreykov as a big bad monster that has them all scared to stand up to him, let alone take him on. He even explains how many of the girls were bought from their families.

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Sounds a lot like trafficking. Around the world, 4 million people are victims of sex trafficking, with 99% of them being women and girls. While Black Widow doesn’t intend to really parallel this particular issue, I think it’s not too far of a stretch to make. The commentary on how the Red Room trafficked its women is not far off the mark from real life. Honestly, Yelena’s comment about forced hysterectomies was comically done, but it is a horrific thing to have happen. Thankfully this is fiction, but it does beg the question of this possibly being someone’s reality. It’s funny how one little line in a movie sparked an entire evening of research. While I don’t think that was Marvel’s intention, I do think it has opened a great discussion on various topics, especially when it comes to women being seen as a ‘resource’.

That line has stuck with me now for over a month. Yes, Dreykov was supposed to be the big baddie of the film, and yet his words ring true for how a lot of the world views women and their rights. For a lot of the world and people, women are a resource. Women’s rights are often being challenged, especially in terms of reproductive rights. Women are seen as lesser in some cultures, and yet many showcase women in media as being strong or powerful. Captain Marvel is a perfect example of that. Many saw her as a strong powerful character, and then a lot of people complained about her movie. She was said to be too over-powered, the acting wasn’t great, the character had no depth. Yet, to me, she’s no different than Thor in his movies. Her downfall is she’s a woman. Similarly, Black Widow was not as well received with fans for similar reasons.

Black Widow, for me, broke ground in a different way in the MCU. I think she deserved a standalone movie long before now, and above all, I think she has opened a door on how women are treated globally. The movie itself is fun, yes, but it is also a great social commentary piece. Women are more than just a ‘resource’. If Natasha can stand up to the monster that created her, the rest of us can too.

We are enough.

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