Page 6 - CEEM Shopping Mag April 2019

On International Women’s Day, I sat and watched
was when Captain Marvel said to one of the male
Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” for the rst time. Only a few
days prior did I realize that the release date of the lm characters “ I don’t have anything to prove to you.” I
felt that message alone was a great reason to take
with a main female lead was International Women's
Day. I thought “how amazing is it that this lm, which
any young girl or young woman to see this lm, just
is an introduction to the strongest being in the fran-
as it was critical that young black boys and girls
chise, released on the day that we honor women
went to see Black Panther. The power of seeing
around the world. Sure, we have had lms like “The
someone who looks like you on screen in a positive
Hunger Games” and “Wonder Woman” which also
light is empowering.

featured strong female leads, yet this one was di er-
I felt great seeing the lm because I think it is about
ent.
time we have better representations of women and
It dawned on me in the middle of the lm why this is a minorities in entertainment and media. Movies and
TV in particular. Then I turned on Net ix. I came
great stride in terms of the portrayal of women in
across the Net ix Original “Working Moms.” There it
entertainment and media. Usually, when it’s a strong
female lead, there is always a love story, involving a
was again. 4 Working mothers who are the head of
their households essentially. Each episode starts
man. With “Captain Marvel” there was none of that.
What we see is a strong woman on the path to nding with their ‘Mommy and Me’ Group where they talk
herself and realizing just how strong and powerful
about their issues and challenges of motherhood,
she is. No love interest here, but what do we have in
parenting and the challenges posed by getting back
its place? Her best friend who is equally strong, emo-
into work after childbirth. It’s a beautiful spectrum
tionally and mentally. We see just how powerful it can of di erent realities and personalities of these
be when two women support each other without any women. It is very refreshing to see not only women
be the main characters and roles but also that they jealousy or hatred. One of my biggest takeaways
aren’t dependent on the men in the production.

In both “Captain Marvel” and “Working Moms” I found
myself able to relate in some way to the characters even
though they are women. This shows me that it is possi-
ble for there to be female leads who dominate on
screen without anyone feeling some way about it
whether it be pride or jealousy. In addition to that,
people want to see this kind of entertainment. For so
long we have had the same cadence of movies and
television. The white male lead character and every-
body else on the sidelines and not adequately
portrayed. No more, for this Women’s History month
has shown us on the screen that women can be and

should be represented in their proper light. Strong and

Empowered.

Strong and Empowered. Women on Screen Page 2