The Death Of The Girlboss?

The recent flop of Madame Web has caused mainstream media outlets to make a shocking admission - women don't watch all that many superhero movies. But what does this mean for the future? And coming after a disastrous series of female-led flops, could we be witnessing the death of the cinematic girlboss?

[@laganas2008]

I had two tickets for Madame Web on my dashboard, but someone broke into my car and left two more. 😔

[@shawnsmith2006]

It was probably part of that migrant crime wave. They're getting more insidious by the day.

[@mew10521]

Ha ha ha ha ha goodness

[@rado3880]

😂😂😂

[@mohd88zarif7]

Man, you got me on the first half NGL

[@MarcusM334]

😂🤣😂

[@chance_ondriezek99]

Nothing says “out of touch” like making movies for women, and then getting mad at men for not being interested in them.

[@LordVulcan93]

And the kicker? Men are the ones who go to these movies; not women.

[@chheinrich8486]

I‘d say the most out of touch people in a society are those that dress the most ridiculous 😂, Hollywood fits the bill and their are other examples throughout history

[@AutomaticDuck300]

Well the men should just love the fact that they are becoming obsolete and enjoy whatever is left that they clearly don’t deserve. Apparently.

[@lieselottesaalfeld2868]

Well, judging by the numbers women are not buying tickets either. Most women are not that stupid

[@komradkookoo]

@@LordVulcan93 Those men are beta males

[@Aquahutch702]

"It's like watching someone with an almost complete jigsaw puzzle who simply refuses to put the final piece into place because they don't like the picture that it forms." Wow. That's one of the best things anyone has ever said.

[@brandongray1059]

I laughed out loud when he said that because holy heck, that was spot on.

[@differous01]

from Critical Drinker's short story: The Jigsaw Picture of Dorian Gray

[@katgirl3000]

That is a Brilliant analogy!!! :D. It's going to make me smile whenever I think of it!

[@cigoLxeL]

@@Piperitum Like the kind you read? Because what you said wasn't remotely clever or insightful but was very petty, so I doubt I'd take any of your literary recommendations.

[@Lok-TM]

​@@cigoLxeLnice.

[@sctkarter1111]

The biggest flop of the female boss concept is that they constantly try to make these female leads flawless characters, giving them zero complexity and no room for growth. Captain marvel, she-hulk, and rey palpatine are the same person from the beginning of their appearances to the end.

[@Tobiasskjacobsen]

agreed

[@TheDestructodave520]

Every female character is written like a Steven Seagal movie or One Punch Man. Those 2 things are interesting because they are not the norm; even then they lose their appeal after awhile. There is a reason the trope of a hero losing then coming back is so prevalent. Every now and then a Seagal or OPM throws a nice alternative into the mix, but you cant have every single character in every movie/TV show be like that. And every single female character is written that way. It would get tiring and old if every male character is written that way, too. And thats why most strong male characters are always overcoming and powering up over a movie and generally losing at some point before pulling themselves off the canvas.

[@random.3665]

The problem with growth is that when it is actually done for a good reason, it usually implies that the person in question had a need to grow beforehand. You cant really have a character that shows growth without first showing them being immature, AND actually suffering the consequences of it. But since modern hollywood doesnt dare to EVER show women facing consequences, they cant have that kind of character arc. They must already start at the finish line of the race, because showing them struggling to learn how to run is deemed offensive.

[@robertlevy105]

They tried to pretend that Rey needed to train at the start of her third movie, though.

[@mwatkins0590]

its because male hero movies are more or less based on reality where it counts, making them relatable to men by showing the extreme struggles most men go through to succeed. these political activist writers can't acknowledge reality, they need to push their "women are better than men" agenda, and so they make things that require a lot of work and effort for men just come freely and easily to women, all the while the male characters will be so unrealistic and unrelated to men (just bumbling privileged idiots who mess things up despite them being "easy"), and EVERY struggle the mary sue character will run into is because of these inferior men.

[@BmaGrl]

As a woman, it just INFURIATES me when they try to shoehorn a female character into the lead that panders to me as an audience member. You know who DIDN'T pander to me? Princess Lea, Uhura, Ripley, Sarah Connor, Trinity, Selene, even Black Widow in "The Avengers." And, what do these characters all have in common? They are organically strong & agentic characters whose toughness was an integral part of their nature & who star in iconic movie classics BECAUSE they are so great. But, put a Rey, or Rose, or Captain Marvel in a movie, or even a scene where all of the "girl power" comes together at once to fight the villain, & I am OUT! As a consumer of entertainment, I am smart enough to spot the difference between a good character, regardless of their sex, & a forced, feminist token, & I have been since I was about 4 years old.

[@kahmarigreen5392]

Seee you’re one of the realest women. Because I am the same as a black male I can tell when they are trying to pander to me and it makes me cringe when all I want is a comic accurate great film. Black widow was one of the strongest women not because she had powers but because she was a woman amongst basically gods and keeping up with all of them and was a strong part of the team. So is scarlet witch. But when u just try to make women like She-hulk say she’s better than hulk and has it harder because she gets cat called on the street. When bulls father killed and abused his mom while also abusing him and then would experiment on him. To the point where hulk bruce tried to kill himself but hulk spit it out.

[@jailcatjones3250]

You pretty much named all my crushes while growing up lol

[@TwoCraZyEyes0]

Galadriel, arwen, and eowyn were also fantastic and strong women as well. Arwen originally was going to be at the battle of helms deep, all the scenes were shot with her in it and everything but it was all cut. Liv tyler said about arwen "you dont have to put a sword in her hand to make her strong ---- she was an incredibly powerful and fearless women, filled with so much hope and belief and that is strong enough"

[@jailcatjones3250]

​@@kahmarigreen5392it's just sad when they take work away from redheads, gingers need icons too!

[@darrenneil4533]

You can be my wing woman anytime!

[@tbone35453]

These screenwriters need to understand that smugness is a villainous character trait and humility is a heroic one.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

Yep same with being vindictive & wanting revenge.

[@drysoup3017]

​@@elongatedmanforever1252 If used correctly, it could be an interesting flaw written for the character. Though, God knows it's not being used that way as of right now.

[@paulw5039]

☕

[@gamingweasel4633]

This is a very concise way to put it. Well done sir.

[@user-hl1ct3yh1r]

Also been noticing the way beauty and purity is villianized. As in women can’t be beautiful and kind and soft.

[@bladethorn]

I genuinely agree with everything you said - as a woman who loves action/fantasy/super hero movies I’ve been turned off by the girlboss because 1.) one note characters and lazy writing 2.) the disrespect to the male counterparts is painful. Why would I want to watch some arrogant bully instead of an honorable protector?? They missed the mark so hard

[@Lauren-yn9ze]

Same. I loved the MCU years ago, I love action, I love sci-fi, but I don't love this BS.

[@Drag0nvil]

If you like reading fiction in addition to watching it. Give the web novel `A practical guide to evil` a chance. It's free and fresh. Especially compared to what Hollywood has given us the past decade

[@TheMangekyo1011]

Couldn't have said it better myself. I remember when the heroes were all treated as flawed but good and decent individuals who actually cared about others instead of acting like entitled assholes who are all preachy and obnoxious.

[@emmaporter8160]

Lol not to mention I like watching superhero movies because the guys are hot, if I want to watch a film about a strong woman I’ll watch Legally Blonde or something.

[@oskarfunes2505]

The first Wonder Woman got the female hero character so right. She respected and cared for her male team, other people.

[@Redpoppy80]

The funny thing is that these Girlbosses embody all of the things I despise in MEN. Swapping the gender of a narcissist does not make them less of a narcissist. Believe me, my mother is a narcissist.

[@twusman]

A lot of us men aren't narcissist as well though. Lots of us are actually doesn't have that much confidence

[@azzy9293]

​@@twusman first off you can be a narcissist and not be confident, they aren't the same otherwise anyone who is confident is also a narcissist. Second you are both wrong, narcissism is a trait that any human can show, it exists pretty much equally throughout humanity, no gender is better than the other, humans in general are fucked up. That's the end of it and unless you want us to be even more fucked, i suggest you try unifying rather than competing to see who the bigger victim is

[@jed1nat]

@@twusman Your comment doesn't make sense as a response to the parent comment, JFYI

[@trawlins396]

Why does EVERY WP say their mother is a narc??

[@johnmoorefilm]

I worked in Hollywood studios from 1999-2019. Here’s what’s gone wrong : in the old days , a studio boss or the executive shepherding the project HAD TO LIKE IT - seriously; it didn’t have to be “Citizen Kane” but they had to really dig it on some level. (Audiences were not ignored : of course there were always test screenings - but the idea was “how do we make the thing WE like into something THEY love?”). Then, around 2013, someone decided “we don’t have to like the project, we need to convince ourselves they THEY will like it - so we’ll just change how we think !”. And the problem with that is : when nobody on the team really truly likes the project, everyone goes home at 5pm and you end up where we are now…❤

[@Noodles.Doodles]

Interesting, thank you for the insight into the industry.

[@danielc9595]

or woke marxism tropes either or

[@----.__]

It's like Norm Macdonald said, in order to do a good parody, you have to like the person. If you dislike the person then the parody will be awful. Like you hinted at, you can't make something great if you don't believe in it yourself.

[@joshuabenton3785]

@@danielc9595 the "woke" tropes are a result of the "we need to convince ourselves they will like it" because it became a mission of seeking out where the money was, rather than creating new spaces where money is produced.

[@forsociopoliticalstuff2629]

Interestingly, it almost seems the exact opposite from the outside. The execs and especially the “creatives” seemingly making what *they* like (in this case, usually aligning with their world view of how things should be), and basically giving the finger to what the *audience* likes.

[@CrimsonFIame]

I don't think we are out of the cringe Era yet. Western gaming and Disney still has more money to lose

[@Gotzit]

Ike perlmetter from Disney was right to try and stop feige from the female centric mcu ….and he got axed lol

[@Melchiah28]

So true. That woke movement has so much money to burn. Their are a few years ahead of shitty woke games.

[@SomeCowguy]

Well, atleast I don't have any money to lose

[@nikibronson133]

“Western gaming” oh piss off

[@antarcticanman]

​@@nikibronson133forspoken....

[@ULTRADJ4EVER]

"Death of the Girlboss" And every male and female audience on the planet equally cheered in unison with great fervor.

[@The13thRonin]

It's more like the abortion of the girlboss. It never really took off. No matter how much they tried to force it.

[@macklinwright3966]

@@The13thRoninat most it just got some slight breeze but that was all, a breeze

[@MSgt5J071]

I love the part where the narrator said: In the bleak wasteland of Hollywood, they were forced to eat all the girl bosses...and there was much rejoicing...

[@wyldhowl2821]

@@The13thRoninOh, don't say "abortion". All the right wing youtubers will become aggrieved and try to prevent it.

[@antimotors5429]

​@@wyldhowl2821not a single right wing person gives a shit if it's used in this context, in fact they probably like it

[@lunch_trey]

Wanna know why characters like Ellen Ripley, Sarah Conner and Jamie Lloyd worked? It wasn't because they were women but because they each had a properly written hero's journey. You do this and it doesn't matter who is in the role of the hero because you just want to root for the hero. A lot of female protagonists nowadays either don't have this journey altogether or they have the stepping stones but the writers muck up the delivery.

[@theshadowman1398]

The whole boss girl era saved me a lot of money on movie / TV show purchases

[@sthubbins4038]

It’s amazing how much time some people spend hating movies and TV shows with women in them. It’s an odd hobby, for sure.

[@Alexcobra861]

The (good thing) about this woke era is that it saves us money.

[@realnamehidden1314]

@@sthubbins4038 That’s… not why they hate them.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

​@@sthubbins4038 Ironic considering you've spent the last 5 years coming to what u consider right wing channels and desperately hating in the comments 🤔 Amazing huh

[@sthubbins4038]

@@realnamehidden1314It’s exactly why they hate them. It’s right there in the title of the video.😂

[@grandmamma]

100%. I'm old enough to remember when studios didn't hate their audiences

[@RRRRRRRRR33]

Hollywood follow trends, always. It's not about "loving" or "hating" the audience

[@rocketchicken5421]

You see there's a nuance here though - trends or not, this stuff must generate profit and not ruin franchises over the fucking agenda "message".

[@TheBaumcm]

@@RRRRRRRRR33the trends are set by the audience not the world at large but there are people meddling in the “trend market”. That is the problem that big business all over the globe is having. The money (think of those who participate in WEF), is only paying and supporting their own agenda for their own gain and these businesses are told to toe the line or have their funding pulled.

[@RRRRRRRRR33]

@mcm The trends are set by a multitude of reasons, you are giving too much credit for the supposed "audience", there's so many kinds of audiences to begin with. It's usually all about the "conservadorism" balancing itself with the "libertarians", back in the 50s the trend was to be prudish, things boiled down with time, to a point the 80s focused a lot on sexuality (exposing the male and female bodies, action heroes, half naked women in commercials to children, etc), conservadorism took over again in the next decades, then here it comes the libertarian again, etc.. it's the same bullshit, a cycle of hypocrisy. Star Wars hired Carrie Fisher, a supposed "actress", to walk around without a bra... fast forwarding to the current trends, Rey is dressed like a nun. It's just idiotic Nowadays people are giving too much attention to mainstream media, basing their identities on it, superheroes "representing" black culture, then you have the lonesome scum paying "streamers" to acknowledge them, etc.. I think the audience of this channel tends to act in a extremist way very similar to the "woke" trend you people love to attack. Can't you see how stupid this whole "discourse" truly is, the sheer irony? Who gives a fuck about Disney, if they are depicting "minorities" or not, if the "girlboss" is annoying or not, etc.. it's just entertainment, this kind of crap is not supposed to affect reality, but here we are, you people are taking this crap way too seriously. Life is not about the extreme "right" or "left", be on my "side" or not, this is such a immature behavior. Witnessing how you idiots reacts with such "passion", emotions taking over rationality, I guess the horseshoe theory was right all along, we only needed social media to prove it... and goddamn, it's really ugly to watch smh at least I can practice my english, so this social media "war" has it's uses

[@Patrick-pv9pe]

@@RRRRRRRRR33 I didn't know being pedo was a trend.

[@chadking375]

“Bruce, I realize you were abused by your father, lost your mother at an early age, suffer from crippling mental illness, have made several suicide attempts, lost your lover and failed when it matters most……. but I’m a woman in a very privileged position, had a loving family, don’t have any diagnosed mental illnesses and I have it harder than you.”

[@christianberg8128]

You forgot the fact that he was hunted like a dog by the military and for a period of time, had his identity itself erased. But yeah, pretty awful writing, she hulk can be a great character, and she was until the current Marvel got their hands on her, now everyone has that image of her at the forefront of their brains every time they hear her name. It's just sad really

[@benmiles00]

@@christianberg8128 *hunted. But yes. Agreed.

[@keonkla]

Ladies will produce this, then wonder why men are being radicalized against them.

[@markusfreund6961]

@@keonkla They were radicalized against us by "feminism" for over a century, conveniently glossing over the minor fact that they entirely exist within the frame we built and maintain. The whole shitshow vaporizes within a milisecond as soon as enough of us have had it. And we're approaching that point at exponential acceleration.

[@jazzyzjas9701]

@@christianberg8128 Oh boy oh boy. He was turned into a monster in an accident that should have killed him. A monster that had a mind of its own living inside him and takes his control away at times. He was hunted by the military for something he cannot control. It would an easy fate if the military sought to kill him but they wanted to make more of him. He couldn't let himself be caught for his own sake and for the sake of others as well. He was forced to kill his own father. Forced to leave his lover behind and head into isolation. And when he was approached by a team of good willing people, they still did treat him like a monster and they sought to recruit the monster in him rather. He never belonged in the team and he felt inadequate. Hulk losing control from Wanda made it clear that the monster in him was not supposed to exist in this world. His isolation no matter where in earth was not the solution. He left earth with what little semblance of sanity that Hulk had that he shared with Bruce. Bruce was taken over entirely by the monster in him. Doesn't remember anything and when he comes back he gets pummeled by a Space Titan in an inch of his life and when he had finally got in touch with the monster in him and started to care for him, the monster left him alone to fend for himself as the weak human he was. His identity lost in a time of extreme need. He failed to save the cosmos from the throes of the Mad Titan and they all failed. He couldn't convince himself saying he did all that he could. He couldn't. He had finally learned to control the monster in him literally. There is no more Hulk, only Bruce. After all that he had been through, after gaining redemption by sacrificing a part of his body to use the stones and bring back the dead, he had finally won himself and the war he fought for ages. But then a woman comes along and tells him that her single drunken life of being a lawyer for heroes that saved humanity several times over is more harder than his own.

[@OfficialAshArcher]

You’ve nailed it; the failure of these studios is understanding the core audiences, what they each want/enjoy and that there’s nothing inherently want that

[@bobbamford5207]

How did they get where they are by being so bad at their job?

[@kaunas888]

Even the uber macho Rocky and Rambo had to over come the odds, poverty, fear and self doubt to win by sheer grit as the underdog. That makes a character relatable.

[@emirlsanchos6302]

Rocky also had support from a loving, devoted Adrian who underwent personal growth from a shy, docile servant of her brother to an outgoing, confidant individual to where she snapped Rocky out of all that fear and self-doubt plaguing him in the third film.

[@jwill6008]

Seeing you use "uber" in context made me a little nostalgic... Thank you old sport

[@EmperorCaligula_EC]

This.

[@PortalBreaker]

​@@jwill6008 Gatsby? 😮😮😮

[@andrewdubose9968]

RCU > MCU

[@Strat-Guides]

Hollywood: "How much money do we have to lose before we learn the lesson?" "Yes."

[@madkoala2130]

They dont need to learn a lesson seens they are founded by company that owns all the money in the world " BlackRock" and they dont care about losses if its for pushing the MESSAGE.

[@emperorantares7951]

Bro Strat watches the drinker,cool af

[@michaeldavid6832]

All of the monies. ALL OF IT.

[@muhhtayoo4892]

A corporation is paying all these entertainment to push agendas If they don’t fall in line then they lose all funding.

[@PurpleCh4lk]

@@madkoala2130 It gotta be hard to be afraid of every fucking thing :D

[@Rick-Rarick]

It is the Bill Burr joke of Women failing the WNBA all over again.

[@oliverholmes-gunning5372]

"Cause you don't sell any fucking TICKETS!!!"😂😂

[@icycrusader1947]

Was this before or after his wife's intervention.

[@themarsman5155]

​@@icycrusader1947Intervention?, what are you talking about

[@Raximus3000]

@@oliverholmes-gunning5372 Lady ballers refernce? The moment men went to the court people started watching it.

[@unvaxxeddoomerlife6788]

Too bad Bill died and got replaced by a cucked clone.

[@baab4229]

Well said. I'd add that the "death of the girlboss" has also been accompanied by a massive drop in interest for superhero movies. The fact that Marvel and DC are flopping one after another while non-superhero movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer are taking front stage in popular culture brings me great joy.

[@elliec4154]

I loved Edge of Tomorrow - that had such a healthy dynamic of a smart intelligent competant man and woman, working together and sacrificing to overcome.

[@notacompleteidiot...1285]

Cruise's character also had a decent hero's journey, too. He started off as a bit of a fake and a coward. But then developed into a heroic character over the course of the story. He didn't just start off awesome, and stay awesome, like all these girl-bosses.

[@artfire28]

Even if it's not narratively faithful to the manga, at least in the movie Rita is faithful to the manga.

[@ChimpChumpable]

Edge of Tomorrow is such a good movie, and you are right about the well written dynamic between Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. I watch it every couple years and it holds up very well. I think I have seen it four times now and it always feels exciting and cool, never boring.

[@cheeks7050]

YeaH, great film, great manga too.

[@impossivel2006]

A man and a woman working together??? What a ridiculous concept.

[@suzybearheart530]

As a heterosexual woman who loved superhero movies, I don't want to see a bunch of boss-babes either. Boss-babes are the women who make my job miserable. Why would I want to see them in my movies that I used to escape all that?

[@laurenanderson61]

Good one

[@Logan-il1rw]

Is there any other kind than heterosexual? Lol

[@Rentononthetraintracks]

so so so glad you felt that it was necessary to include ur a str8 gurl lol

[@loki76]

@@Rentononthetraintracks I would imagine because she preface it so you know she likes the male eye candy more than a girl boss. Was that so hard to understand. On top of it all. The constant "gay/lesbian" in every movie and show. Meaning she is straight she couldn't care less about Lesbian girl bosses.

[@tannermarkland5214]

@@Rentononthetraintracksit is pretty necessary when theres a ton of stuff that caters to gays and lesbians

[@h3m1cuda]

When I took a creative writing class, one of the first things we learned was know your audience and write to them.

[@gagatube]

That sounds like the kind of advice to give to people who want to write pulp novels...

[@AC-py9dk]

​@@gagatubeOr an actually cohesive story. 😂

[@DigitalDependance]

And show not tell, something sorely forgotten in the virtual signalling dogshit scripts of today... i.e if you want to show inequality show it, show the character endure it, make the audience empathise with the character rather than the crap we get today where they outright tell you directly in the dialogue.

[@DBLRxyz]

I like this because I am my own audience when I write. And I write what I know.

[@Scaly-tb4ev]

Like my fanfiction

[@Carpirinha]

I have a friend who really loves Marvel movies. Her favorite character of all time was Tony Stark. Turns out, women who love superheroes aren't going to love a character just for their gender.

[@Radman1889]

*putting on clown makeup meme* -Make our female protagonist perfect with no flaws -Give her an abrasive personality where people will not like her -Have her win everything and not learn anything -Why do audiences hate strong female characters?

[@rainbowslushy223]

-quick blame the same audience

[@WolfHeathen]

You forgot "Make every single male character a dumb sexist coward so the female protagonist looks better in comparison".

[@Lawrence_Talbot]

Also let her sexually harass/assault men without their consent and treat it as “comedy” but go full rage mode the moment a guy mentions she’s attractive

[@Bradgreyeyes]

😂well said 👏

[@LivingArmor196]

-Have a budget of 200 million dollars+ and still look cheap

[@iam16bits]

Funny story about Top Gun: Maverick. At the end of 2019, my sister and I were part of the first test audience for that movie. Of course we had no idea it was going to be Maverick until about 5 minutes before it started. Before that my sister had never seen the first movie and wasn't sure if she would get lost or even like it. By the end she not only loved it, but rented the first movie and became a fan. So moral of the story, you don't have to pander to women for them to like your movie.

[@slake9727]

Did she like volleyball scene?

[@dashcammer4322]

@@slake9727 Today you can easily see better physiques and faces on the internet. Back in '86 it was different.

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

There you go. A natural victory and no pandering required

[@TwinTalon01]

Love that so much.

[@JoJo-vg8dz]

It's anecdotic and an exception. Most women don't appreciate this kind of movies.

[@sid1234213]

Ellen Ripley is the golden standard of a female badass lead. As a guy, I was rooting for her the entire movie amongst the majority of the male cast. I wanted her to win till the end. She was smart, She was brave, She was caring and at the same time, She was vulnerable and scared. Her fight somehow felt personal and I could empathise with her. At the same time the story wasn't entirely about her. That was the magic of that movie.

[@chadly211bucks]

^^^This. Ripley was a master class of having a strong believable female protagonist. And that was damn near 30 years ago.

[@charlestruppi7793]

Yes, and the way she beats the bad alien in both movies, is not by being a man and stronger than everyone. It’s by using her intelligence and outsmarting the alien when everyone else, using brute force could not. If Aliens was made today, all the men would tell her to stay back as they get hacked to pieces and then Ripley would just jump 30 feet and beat the Alien with her bare hands in like 5 seconds. It would be boring and ridiculous.

[@TankHunter678]

What helped Ripley was that originally the character was made without a defined gender in mind, the role could have easily been played by a man. The actress sold it as a female character, and thus we got a mama bear instead of a papa wolf.

[@dotfflan]

Or heather from silent hill 3. She is generally agreed to be the best protagonist in the series because of how brave and relatable she is despite her fear.

[@maxsommers6843]

@@chadly211bucks Alien was released 45 years go, not 30.

[@Anna-fw7lm]

I'm a woman and I usually prefer entertainment made for men (since I was a kid and I loved the Mortal Kombat games) But I like male entertainment *because is targeted to men* I like the archetypes, I like the hero arc, the aesthetic elements etc who men usually likes. I'm not a man, nor a tomboy, it's just my preference. Women like me, who likes 'male stuff' exists, but we're a minority and changing what we like to pander to people with different tastes will alienate us.

[@markhutton6055]

​@MrGiorgioloiI agree. I have no problem watching and rather enjoy a good RomCom or what some of us dinosaurs might call "Chick Flic" (that's me cancelled). I also quite liked the unWoke female hero action series or movies. I was a big Buffy fan, loved Lucy and the female James Bond movies (Atomic Blond, Red Sparrow, Ava, Hannah) all the way back to Losey's Modesty Blaise. It's not the girl boss that's the problem it's the woke messaging and the way these things are done.

[@rawyld]

I am woman and I like good old classic shows that pander to us women saying "look girls, now we want you to be like this." I hate that.

[@_JokoPrasetyoUtomo]

Yeah cause when something wrote by man and for men. Its usually have sense of struggle and achievment to greatness, man want thats and like it. We need see someone struggle to succes. Iam not saying women writer is bad, but they cant accept to embrace weakness they have to achieve great things that what women writing awful in any media. While men accept we fail many times but keep back up.

[@betterbee1304]

I never got it, like I'm a woman, and sure being kickass is great, but I never felt like I was being pandered to when Eowyn said "I am no man" she was just being awesome and fighting for her country, for valor, for her uncle, brother etc... But lots of characters have the ability to be awesome. I fucking love Karl Urban in Lord of the Rings and I never thought he was being "unmanly" when he cried over his sister. I don't know. Movies are weird now. And I shy away from movies like the marvels because more than anything, I find them boring. Thanks Drinker. On point as ever.

[@ThatAnnalisa]

Lord Of The Rings is the GOAT. I grew up watching those movies and I still rewatch them all the time. I love that there are strong men and strong women that don't kick each other down but work together towards a common goal. We need more of that.

[@savioblanc]

I think the saddest thing is that scene in the film is today clouded by the girlboss b.s. we have been fed for over a decade now. When I watched that scene in the cinemas 20 yrs ago (actually 20 yrs ago since it was released in 2003) I cheered on when she said "I am no man" and stabbed the Nazghul. I watched the movie 4 yrs ago again and when that scene shows up, I physically cringed and had to remind myself that she wasn't trying to girl boss, she just loved her uncle and people and was trying to defend them. And here is the kicker - Tolkien really did write her like that. She was portrayed as a "girl boss" who wanted to go fight like the men and didn't want to hide with the women and children. She saw it beneath her that a woman of her rank and status was relegated to merely running and hiding, whilst the men go to war and defend everyone. She did do what they show in the movie and she did even utter those lines. But she was so physically and mentally damaged by war and the injury she got from fighting the Nazgul, that it finally dawns on her character the virtue of being a woman and not having to experience those horrors. She becomes more feminine eventually. Thank God Return of the King wasn't made today. She would be the main character

[@dRoscoAZ]

​@ThatAnnalisa Too true! We had Eowyn, Arwen, Galadrial and even Shelob!!! 😂 But seriously, Tolkien and Jackson knew how to represent powerful female characters properly.

[@daexion]

That movie came out long before the pandering began.

[@watermelon58]

Well said

[@Grassdia]

First thing I learned in film studies was to know your audience 😫 how could they be this unqualified yet qualified at the same time?

[@Wolffman109]

They checked DEI boxes. Any more questions?

[@boobah5643]

I'm inclined to agree with the Drinker: they saw the audience demographics as a problem that needed to be solved, rather than a constraint that needed to be accounted for. Which isn't to say that DEI has no part to play; one of its tenets is that everybody is an interchangeable widget, and that any 'differences' are imposed from without and _prima facie_ evidence that an -ism has been done. Less than half of your superhero audience is female? Must be because the movie is sexist!

[@Grassdia]

@@boobah5643 “superhero genre is sexist”

[@patrickoneil6610]

Because they know what they’re doing. They don’t care about losing money, they will keep making these work films as part of a psyop on the American people with the goal being to demoralize and feminize men as much as possible. Expect this type of shit and stop being dumbfounded

[@MakeYouFeelBetterNow]

$$$ and China/globalist influence.

[@itzelmartinez1110]

Hay Critical Drinker, as a woman myself I 100 percent agree with you. I grow up in late 90s and early 2000 seeing badass actresses like Angeline Jolie, Charlize Theron, and Milla Jovovich in the screen but one thing I noticed about those early movies is the female characters always working side by side with men or a lover which made the movie all well more interesting and exciting. I don’t understand why nowadays female leading films have to hate on men and create this division between each other. I miss those good old days. I guess it’s because of the woke era but even myself has a women hates all this new generation garbage films. 😂 Keep up the good work I love your channel! We need more honest opinions like yours😄👍

[@M-S_4321]

In almost 60 years on this earth, most confidential and honest conversations I've had with females have involved females communicating that they "don't like other women". Who am I to disagree with pattern recognition?

[@citizencj3389]

Careful!! The feminists may cancel you!!!

[@NetrunnerMox77]

They want to create a strong character that isn't tied or tethered to a man in any capacity. The issue arises when you focus too much on the woman aspect and not the actual character. Furthermore, the reason why these new movies with women don't work is because we don't view women the same way as men. What I mean by this, is that most movies have an invincible man archetype who is super powerful, barely gets injured or hurt, knows their stuff, competent, and has little hindrance. The problem is, if you put a woman into a similar setup, she reads as boring, bitchy, girl boss, etc. Now take in genre, these women are being placed in. It's all superhero nonsense. Most women don't care about that so they won't watch it and most men care about t and a, so they won't watch it either. Women in movies are limited, especially if they are written by a man, and I personal dont relate to female characters whose interest are in nurturing or relationship building. So I stick to horror, where the women can suffer and have character growth. And woke just means being aware of social injustices. If you lot can't get the etymology of a word correct, dont bloody use it. It's just fake appeasement at this point

[@alexedwards6509]

It isn't about entertainment, it's about propaganda. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and George Orwell have both warned us "it's never about what they say it's about." They keep making movies/TV for a new audience. An audience that they know, doesn't exist. That only makes sense if it's about ideology and not profit or entertainment.

[@peterlistig3861]

freud called it penis envy I doubt he was right. But i guess he was not totally wrong either. The repressed rage of the experience of suppression over thousands of years has been giving a plaform to express itself. And since everything else is going to shit right now, why dont point the finger at them and hate

[@pjberish]

Out of the females who buy tickets to superhero movies, I'd be interested to find out how many of them buy their ticket because their son, boyfriend, husband, father or some other male influence in their life is the one who actually wants to see the movie and asked them to go.

[@chewy9936]

Why does it matter tho? A ticket is a ticket. It's getting them money. People start exploring different genres for different reasons (including getting persuaded by their peers) and eventually start loving it. It's kind of similar to how most men don't watch romcoms but start getting into because of their female peers and start enjoying it.

[@pjberish]

It matters because understanding who is interested in their movies informs the studios to whom they should sell. The demographic for these movies, in terms of sex, has not significantly changed. My point is that I bet the percentage of moviegoers who watch action and superhero movies is even more than 70% male. Moreover, I bet most are non-feminist and non-woke, which begs the question: for whom are they making She-Hulk and The Marvels? I'm just not seeing where the tens of millions of woke, feminist, superhero fans are hanging out. The box office isn't, either.

[@BoneHammerher]

Irrelevant.

[@Jessica_Jones]

It's definitely a valid component, as my husband is pretty much the only reason I watched. That said, I _did_ enjoy some of the earlier movies, but eventually, the same cinematic world being in constant peril got to be too exhausting for me. Once we hit parallel universes I stopped caring and pretended none of it ever happened, lol. I would note, though, that having heard good things online about Godzilla Minus One, I was excited to see it, and was definitely not disappointed. If every superhero movie had similarly compelling narratives, I probably wouldn't have to be dragged to the theater anymore.

[@jcb3393]

T2 is the perfect example of male and female lead characters who were powerful, yet flawed, and learned from each other. No one doubted that Sarah Conner was capable and smart... and no one doubted the Terminator's abilities... but the story hinged on the robot learning to be human and why we cry, while the scarred woman learned not to become an emotionless killing machine and to reclaim her humanity as a mother.

[@thefuturist8864]

Very well said. The first two Terminator movies, as well as the first Alien movies (and maybe also the third) were all able to tell stories about ordinary women rising to a challenge without ever ridiculing men. Then there’s films like Thelma & Louise, which are able to show ‘bad men’ without implying that all men are bad. I’m sure we’ll get films like that again.

[@moneygamerjaz5906]

Thats possibly the greatest summary of T2 i've read. Well said :)

[@BookshelfQBattler]

There was an explanation of how Sarah Conner became a girl boss. She didn't just become one magically out of thin air. She was a young, naive and trusting in the first film and then all hell broke loose. She learned from it, learned that bad things were coming, realized that she had to train hard, work hard, build some muscles, learn how to fight and shoot and she became jaded because no one believed her warnings, everyone just kept walking around like sheep, she was disgusted by everyone because they were as clueless as she used to be. Today? All the girl bosses are just born girl bosses. That helps "the message" in that we must believe all women are perfect from the get-go and thus must never learn anything because they already know it because they are so wise. OK, but that doesn't make for much of a story.

[@macflod]

Yeah! Sarah is a great character in both T1 and 2 , id say very different in both but great and relatable. Another is Ripley from Alien franchise , these two are great examples of strong female characters and keep saing it when it comes to the boss babe topic. These two are characters not trying to prove anything, they just do what they got to do.

[@ceciliacorson1804]

This was my favorite film as a kid. At the time, as an 8 year old, I don’t think I could have articulated the philosophical point you made, but I knew it. It’s why I also love ‘The Fifth Element’. The women are strong, in their own way, yet fragile. It’s the same reason I never fell for feminism; I was able to recognize it and reject it from media.

[@poizunman75]

When I worked for a movie theater, they actually would low key gather demographic information. This was for when a smaller studio couldn't afford to put out a bunch copies of the film and corporate would decide which locations the film would do the best at. A movie with Clint Eastwood will do better in an area with a lot of retirees than the one in an area with a lot of college kids.

[@brandongray1059]

Ya that's running a business intelligently. Catering to what the specific customers want is a good idea if you want to make money and keep customers coming back. When you feed them garbage like we've been getting from the entertainment sector for the last 8-10 years people not only don't show up now, many are getting into new hobbies because they just expect new content to suck and so don't even bother. Need more Top Gun Mavericks to release to get people back into positive anticipation.

[@josephaaron4985]

And those college kids are a bunch of idiots (I'm almost 27 and I didn't attend college, so idk 😂)

[@kylemcmurry1408]

I used to work at one in Alabama and they would do the same demographic research and low key make food options based on all that stuff and it was always a little cringey to me. Try not to be sensitive to stuff like that but damn lol

[@DS-lk3tx]

Back when movies were made for people. Rather than people being made by movies.

[@josephaaron4985]

@@DS-lk3tx I like that 👌

[@m.g.1089]

Even my wife, a giant superhero movie fan, cant stand the agenda behind the superhero movies these days. We sat down to watch Captain Marvel and made it a whole 11 minutes before she wanted to turn it off.

[@MelanatedRepublican]

How long have U been with Ur wife ??

[@phugindomas]

​@@MelanatedRepublicanwhat's your social? Do you have space in your basement? When was the last time you defecated?

[@cameronspence4977]

Fact is despite all the made up BS that Hollywood has been pushing, majority of both men and women at least somewhat like and support the more "traditional" aspects that men and womens roles in society have normally been thought of Its called evolution. So yeah the reaction from your wife is probably the same for most other women

[@munozyoshi]

Same, I made it in about 20 mins and tuned out. This is from a marvel fan who couldn't wait for a new marvel movie to come out. Ever since endgame everything went down the drain with all these agendas. Can't remember the last time I was excited to go to the movies.

[@MelanatedRepublican]

@@munozyoshi I love when people who watch Marvel movies act like they ever had any taste for movies lol

[@AlbequerqueJoe]

The problem with these hollywood writers as of late is that they think they are great writers, but have never written anything great.

[@Pab-B]

You need to standardize the batman yelling, "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!" every time Madame Web is mentioned.

[@daexion]

"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!" - Batman

[@silviuvisan505]

BvS was so bad. It made no sense.

[@happychappy492]

@@silviuvisan505 yeah maybe but it had lots of action and we all still watched it

[@mitchellgiles6869]

​@@happychappy492I haven't watched it 😎 (I actually do want to though)

[@RainFox919]

​@@daexionand its name is...... JOHN CENA😂

[@ignacius8466]

Men and women being different is not news to rational people, but still refreshing to hear spoken out loud in 2024.

[@ReikerForge]

@BetaSuqad Don't give the woke ideas, the trans-green community will get very upset and there will indeed be a she-hulk style romance movie made

[@shawntco]

I think it's one of those things that most everyone knows, but you're not really supposed to say it. For some reason it's become literally immoral to suppose the sexes can have differences.

[@cadethumann8605]

I don't think the issue is that men and women are "different". The issue is that these movies are trying too hard in making one sex seem so powerful that they are lacking humanity. Meanwhile, the other is downplayed in importance and contribution (not to mention, talked down to). If the roles were reversed with men being OP and devoid of vulnerability while women are less helpful and talked down to, I'd have the same issue. Men and women do have differences such different physicality and experiences. But they are both still human.

[@Xfushion2]

It's ironic really, the alphabet gang claims _diversity_ is their endgoal, but when you point out men and women have different interest they freak out.

[@Nightdiver20]

@@Xfushion2 It makes sense if you just don't think about it

[@Dogbot3000]

As a man, I really feel like Glee could've used an MMA Club arc.

[@monkeybusiness673]

YES! If ever we needed a spinoff, THIS is it!

[@jamescarr1265]

Hahaha. As a man I enjoy Glee and appreciate that it actually gets its target audience

[@Spectrum0122]

No but i legit wanted a battle rap episode so badly

[@amarissimus29]

What is this word, man? It's a little ambiguous. Could you please elaborate on what you mean by the word? Is there some kind of discernible objective fact about you physically and/or psychologically that this word describes? The reason I ask is that I'm a marketing consultant interested in targeting a demographic I've read about where that would frequently pops up, but it's exact composition eludes me. It's fascinating. I'd love to know more.

[@vex_13]

You're a man? Shame!

[@Revz8bit]

Characters like Cersei Lannister showed how a female character can be brutally strong without using her fists

[@BoneHammerher]

Quite an unbelievable character. Required alot of suspension of belief. Exhausting really. I would have turned it off if I wasn't watching it at my friend's house. Not my idea of entertainment, except when her brother was doggy styling her. I can only take so much yapping.

[@MarcIverson]

The terrible thing about life is that so many people have to learn their lessons the hard way. Sometimes they absolutely insist on it.

[@vladpiranha]

In extreme cases, if they're stubborn enough, they exist to serve as a warning to others.

[@jmal]

Sometimes it takes a swift application of blunt force trauma to a person's visage to make them rethink their course.

[@AutomationDnD]

Yup & the _More Often_ they try (the hard way) *the MORE insane* they appear

[@scottshapiro2795]

I always think of Lord of the Rings when thinking of girl bosses. Those movies are very male centric, but the few female characters in the movies were badass. Galadriel isn't killing ice trolls and bullying everyone like in Rings of Power, but you can just tell she's a badass and very powerful. Then you have Eowyn who is allowed to have a "flaw" or have a weak moment, only to rise from it and defeat one of the strongest characters in the world. That's how you do it.

[@chandie5298]

males actually really enjoy admirable, strong female characters with a great character arch and does this without degrading and demeaning males... Look at Ripley from Alien series for instance. 100% female, not trying to be male, there are strong male characters but she is the lead character....there are also incompetent and/or weak male and female characters. ie. people with all of their strengths and flaws. Ripley is not a Mary Sue. The entire problem is that the writers/directors hate males, WANT to degrade and humiliate males and show them as incompetent morons.... and they are shocked and amazed that male audiences do not like it.

[@s.patterson5698]

​@chandie5298 Precisely...I love badass female characters, Ripley as you mentioned, then you have the character from Atomic Blonde, also the women from ANDOR and WARRIOR...all are well written characters.

[@hartunstart]

@@chandie5298 You got it. Girl boss is not the problem. Man hater feminist boss is. Cara Dune, Lara Croft and Alita are OK. And, considering LOTR, Shelob is female.

[@jonfreeman9682]

She was serious bad assery as she even saved Gandalf. And she went 1 on 1 with the Eye forgot the baddie's name.

[@DangoWangochu]

Goat for a reason

[@tkmad7470]

Ripley from Alien was written extremely well and played to perfection by Sigourney Weaver back in 1979. They had the perfect template for super strong female characters for over 40 years and yet they can't manage to bring themselves to do it.

[@ericfisher1360]

There is the problem. Ripley was not written as a woman at all in the first film. The characters femininity was just a side effect of being played by one.

[@alexeycherkashov6913]

Ripley didn't want to become a dumb fighter. Nor would she, longer than it was necessary

[@sandman_says_runrunner4701]

Exactly. We even see her feminine, nurturing, and maternal side come out when she finds Newt. Sarah Connor is another often cited example of a well written character in both Terminator films (there are only two).

[@rickj.392]

maybe the issue is that aside Ripley and Sarah Connor (which are 40 year old characters) there hasent been anything good on the female side. Ok, follow my reasoning here for a bit, how many movies have male leads ? (a bunch right?) are they all winners ? No. Most of them arent but you know its the business, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Reeves, they all had movies bomb. So im saying, well lets female lead movies bomb, tinker with the formula, let there be girl bosses until you figure out how to make good ones. Just dont pander them like that, "see we made an all girl movie".

[@keonkla]

@@ericfisher1360 Also another point, Its funny how they cant write strong female characters without inserting man hating into it lol. All that talk about men "not needing to be a masculine man ,Just be a good person" yet they themselves are incapable of being good people. Might have to just drop lady lead movies in general.

[@sacrilegiousboi978]

4:26 - 4:51 perfectly sums up the main problems with the Girlboss trope

[@robchuk4136]

In regards to how media outlets are dealing with this: "It's like watching someone with an almost complete jigsaw pizzle that simply refuses to put the final piece in place becasue they dont like the picture it forms."- Oh, that's good. That's really good 👏👏

[@brianthom6798]

You could apply this to plenty of political commentators as well.

[@dbaider9467]

The guy has a following because he can write. That analogy is out-of-the-box thinking. Neat stuff.

[@Banji_Codswallop]

Holy hell. I litterally read this comment PRECISELY as he said that quote. That was scary

[@kathleenhensley5951]

Darn near perfect, if you ask me. They just won't accept the obvious.

[@henri191]

I miss characters such as Seline ( Underworld ) , Beatrix ( Kill Bill ) and Rita Vrataski ( Edge of tomorrow ) , but nowadays i only see characters such as Ray ( Star Wars ) and Captain Marvel ( Marvel )

[@Higesgirl]

Don't forget Akasha from Queen of the Damned.

[@snakuvudu]

Frieren as well.

[@ScáthachAssassin]

You mean Ray and Captain marvel are different characters? I didn't realize...

[@jaybee9269]

@BetaSuqad >> They mentioned Beatrix (The Bride).

[@BadDubII]

Kate beckinsdale was class as Seline

[@noblepolygon8694]

Just like sports, non-liberal, non-metropolitan women don't really care about girl boss stuff. They like traditional stories, romance, and above all a good story. (example: my girl only cared about what happened to Po when we went to see Starwars. She couldn't care less about Rey & Star Wars in general)

[@SubZero-hs9xc]

Thats subjevtive af,people, in general, like good stuff, Majoris of the mainstream ones, like Rey, arent

[@lilywoodrow7881]

I'm reminded that Wish could've actually been a good movie if they didn't cut out everything remotely interesting about it. We could've had a cute love story between Asha and the star boy. We could've had _a hero couple vs a villain couple._ But Disney decided it was deathly allergic to love stories and gave us that nonsense instead. Thanks, I'm gonna go watch Tangled another dozen times

[@steventhomas231]

Exactly. Look at barbie at the box office.

[@papalaz4444244]

Do you think anybody believed this fanfic made up of tired memes because I have looked at your channel and I don't think you have actually seen a woman.

[@papalaz4444244]

@BetaSuqad That's a shame because it's utter shite

[@Dorvahn]

The problem is never 'a female lead' it's that 'girlboss' is the characters' only attribute! Give them flaws, strengths, and character development.

[@emna773]

My hatred of the girl boss can be summed up in Endgame with the girl bossy lineup mid battle, that made no sense and took me out of the fight. Speaking as a girl

[@jogymogy3691]

The End Battle was shitty anyway. Best part was the portal scene. Right after that everything fell apart.

[@Scarl3t03]

a perfect battle it's show, every scene it's just perfectly connected, then *PAUSE* look at those strong women ;) *UNPAUSE* battle continue

[@ltb1345]

@@Scarl3t03 Yeah, it made no logical sense.

[@fanofgodjimindiva2497]

@@jogymogy3691 No, Best part was Thanos punching Captain Feminist out of the movie

[@irshadazeez4764]

Yeah that moment was pure agenda.

[@Looking_for_my_place]

As a woman, THANK GOD! I havent watched a single "girl boss" series or movie. I have no interest in seeing a woman doing it all. 😴

[@SubZero-hs9xc]

"Doing it All"

[@DigitalYojimbo]

aliens, terminator, t2 and hunger games with Jlaw were all decent.

[@robinpickett7618]

Hallelujah!

[@papalaz4444244]

"a woman" yeah right. No actual woman would type that shit

[@MamaMOB]

I'm literally at the point that if I see a female as the lead I'm not interested. They literally made me sexist against my own sex. I don't trust female leads in movies anymore.

[@kylestoddard2881]

This video is the perfect description of the utter stupidity of the entertainment business. Well done!

[@extrakerned]

It's insane how they've forgotten business 101... give the people what they want. Barbie and Top Gun are prime examples of understanding target audience. Marvels? ooof.

[@Meleena2218]

One of my favourite characters growing up was Evie from "The Mummy". I related to her a lot: our love of Egypt, reading, and being a little clumsy (lol). Evie was strong in her own ways and supported the other characters where they lacked. They were a team. And where she lacked, she asked for help. And in the sequel, she got even better when O'Connell taught her to physically fight. Shes an often overlooked character when these discussions come up but a well rounded one

[@calistafalcontail]

Oh yes, and I loved Patricia Velásquez as Ankh Sun Amun! I watched this movie and The Mummy returns to many times. She was the most beautiful women in the world to me back then. Not for a single moment have I thought that these women werent kinda bad ass just because they did things for men or got saved by men here and there....apart from the fact that Evie saves her husband in the end anyway.

[@jcb3393]

Why do I now hear Drinker saying "well rounded, indeed! Heh, heh, heh" (With zoom-in, of course)?

[@Meleena2218]

@calistafalcontail right! Another thing, too, is if this movie was made now under the DEI rules, we wouldn't be able to have that actress play her because of diversity hiring. We would have been robbed of these two great casting choices.

[@sonicrevic4928]

Man, i absolutely love Evie. She is the brain of both movies, but never comes off as mean for no reason. Her flaws are adorable and the dynamic with O'Connell and her brother is what makes the first movie so good.

[@rustyhowe3907]

Not to mention that character was responsible for letting loose all the chaos of the curse, so what does she do? She doesn't run away or blame anyone else, she owns up to it and decides to fix it with or without anyone's help.

[@elviakerlick1163]

Perhaps one problem is the "Ripley factor" (or "Sarah Conner factor" in a tiny font); the success of portraying a female protagonist in an action genre picture. Sigourney Weaver said in an interview that her character should never be written "as a gym coach, gruffly telling everyone: 'Now listen up! Here's what we're gonna do...'" That is, the character's actions and motivations must be consistent with their nature. No one wants to see a flawless heroine anyway. It's overcoming believable limitations that's interesting.

[@brenturner1160]

Connor*

[@JonathanVachon777]

Well said. I watched rebel moon yesterday and it was freaking boring because of that. The hero is a female and she never loose pretty much. And you can feel the ideologies in the movie. Its really bad

[@sealboy1211]

Well said, Sarah and Ripley were not rolling in masculine energy. They are believable characters.

[@urlauburlaub2222]

Ripley was just used, because it would not be acceptable in a feminist age, that a male destroys the Alien queen with pure force. That's why it's a female, written by a man and made superficially female.

[@2MeterLP]

@@urlauburlaub2222 LOL, '79 was definitely not a "feminist age". You need to un-poison your brain and come back to reality.

[@johnwick1883]

Every single male character we all know and love have flaws. That's what makes them more believable. Thank you Drinker.

[@Ricardo-ur5os]

All these “girl bosses” are ironically made by man haters. They claim that men are sexist towards women but then make the most trashy, sexist characters and blame the audience when they get bashed for it. They completely ignore the countless examples of well written female characters that men, more so than women even, love!

[@dannypalin9583]

Last year, a book called MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios was published. I came across it in a comic shop in Manchester. I was almost convinced to buy it until I leafed through the book and came across the chapter on Captain Marvel. The authors blame "sexist nerds" for the character, her actress and her movie dying on arrival. That chapter is a perfect example of a lack of accountability which has become the norm in recent years. Unless you're heterosexual, white and a man, it's never your fault. It's racism, sexism, etc. MCU: The Story of Marvel Studios was published in 2023, and aged like milk before it's even a year old. The Marvels, Echo and Madame Web have all been trainwrecks. The way these people have tried to handle the situation is the equivalent of trying to put out a fire with petrol.

[@jonfreeman9682]

Hmmm whos' gonna buy a book like that. Clearly the title is misleading.

[@SpFlash1523]

The book also ironically acknowledged that the M-She-U is real.

[@ThatAnnalisa]

Thanks for the warning. I'll skip it. I'll wait for a more honest book.

[@origami83]

Funny thing is they claim the 'angry nerd audience' is just a minority but also claim that the same group is to blame for tanking a movie. Cant have it both ways.

[@dennisrounds1996]

Exactly

[@swoozie]

Matrix 1 and Terminator 2 are masterclasses on how to write strong female characters at this point

[@NektarVision]

don't forget alien(s)

[@Mikilangelo]

@NektarVision I was just about to say that!

[@Dogfather1]

@@NektarVision ya Sigourney weaver 100%

[@NektarVision]

mad max fury road, sherice theron....so hot right now@@Dogfather1

[@Dogfather1]

@@NektarVision Charlize ya absolutely… how about Jamie Lee Curtis in her 30s👌

[@auran82]

One thing I did like in Top Gun Maverick, was that there was a female pilot in the group, but the movie never went down the path that so many movies lately would have gone because she existed in the movie. She was treated as a real character, I remember one other character taking a dig at her, but she shut him down and was just part of the team, and her gender never played a part in anything plot wise. She was just another top gun pilot, there because she was the best of the best, at the school to learn and prove herself (like everyone else who was there). I remember mentioning this to my wife after the movie finished, because it was so weird lately to have a movie which just treated all the characters as actual characters, not just standins for whatever message they were trying to tell. I think the biggest failing the studios are making in trying to bring in more female viewers is that they fail to make characters at all that require more than a sentence to explain all their character traits. Just write good characters, tell a compelling story and you will eventually bring in new fans. Or in my wifes case, have hot guys named Chris play interesting characters and she'll come along to the movie to check it out.

[@Tyrant96]

Well said🍻

[@tubelious]

yes, wow... imagine having personality driven characters instead of characters being solely a representation of it's gender.

[@givmi_more_w9251]

I feel called out with the last sentence.

[@zildog]

I didn't even consider her gender. I just accepted her as part of the squad and that was it. Sure they made her front and center in a number of scenes but the woke mind-virus was never injected into this film... and thank God for that.

[@mrkeogh]

Imagine being judged on your abilities 😮

[@S317537]

I am a woman that enjoys superheroes and action movies but I am not a fan of the recent female lead movies. My main problem is the writing of the characters - they are flawless and don't grow at all because “they have been women!?!” (a statement mentioned in she-hulk). So I want to see strong CHARACTERS with flaws that grow and improve, men or women

[@Swa6Eyes]

something to keep in mind when watching any of these girlboss movies Schrodingers Girlboss: The woman is constantly in a state where she is simultaneously oppressed and empowered at the same time, whenever a conflict occurs with this character the writers will choose whichever state is more beneficial to the character.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

So thats why these movies is Boring as all hell & uninspired.

[@panan7777]

GREAT COMMENT !!!

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

Honestly the interesting thing is movies like this are built off Historial falsehoods acting as if all men back then treated Women bad & all men were rich & had 0% problems.

[@MrReubenTishkoff]

That's real world schrodinger feminism in a nutshell. At least they represented that accurately! 😂

[@tjbooker8585]

Nicking this, I will use this in a discussion on MCU and absolutely take full credit for it being my musing

[@ibezzant]

Here's a perfect example of why this is killing studios. I bought Indy 1, 2 & 3 on VHS. I bought the same trilogy on DVD. I saw Crystal Skull on theaters. I bought the original trilogy on blu-ray. Then I bought them again on 4K. I literally won't even stream Dial of Destiny, let alone go to the theater or buy the 4K. I refuse to give money to a studio who kills the legacy of arguably my favorite film character by inserting a hamfisted girl boss. Extrapolate my experience of one franchise to all the ones they've killed amongst the countless people like me who've spent their money for 30+ years supporting these properties they've bastardized. No wonder they're losing billions.

[@johnames6430]

dont worry women will for sure buy 8k Barbie movie when its remastered

[@fookingbattisaur2943]

tbh I enjoyed dial of destiny

[@gamingweasel4633]

For me, the property that I mourn the most for being ruined is Star Trek.

[@stephensedlon8414]

ESG money received from girl boss characters will more than make up the loss

[@OldPanther]

I'm the same but for middle earth content. The lord of the rings 4k is on my list for this year.

[@JackChurchill101]

Reminds me of the corporate board in Robocop 2 when they are resetting his parameters... "What about the environment? Could we have him speak out on environmental issues?" "I don't see why not..."

[@CoalCoalJames]

Love when he's preaching to the kids, reminded me of growing up with "troupes" that would come to school to do cringe raps or musicals about not doing drugs or saving the environment.

[@tacticalmattfoley]

Robocop was highly predictive of our future, wasn't it??

[@johngunderson5463]

@BetaSuqad Go away now

[@PBRatLord]

​@BetaSuqadgo play in traffic. At night. Wear all black while you're at it

[@brunomadeira8432]

And at least in Robocop 2 Dr. Faxx was screwing Robocop on purpose...

[@spaced28]

Perfect video - one of your absolute best mate, well done!

[@Super-wk6jx]

There was a 90s TV series that was pretty popular, it was called XENA and had two female Leads. Seems Hollywood not remember the 80s and 90s. Sad Ripley noises.

[@invisibleshuffle]

Good point and I gave you a like for the "sad Ripley noises", but amusingly even though I think you meant Ellen, my mind lept to Ripley from Metroid fame. So sad alien dragon noises, heh.

[@origami83]

I bet they would even screw up a remake of Xena if they ever tried to.

[@2012sonora]

Xena had more character development in her first appearance in Hercules than most of these female character have during their entire franchise.

[@CastlesKingSide]

might I add that it was a SPINOFF of a show called Hercules, and ended up being more successful and more fondly remembered even after so many years. Now off i go to blast that epic opening theme on repeat a dozen times

[@paulbrawley2595]

I loved the episode where Gabby was poisoned and Xena had to fight off an entire army...by herself!!!

[@noodleresidue]

I’m a female with traditionally ‘masculine’ interests. I can’t stand the majority of romances and musicals. And I still have zero interest in watching any of these shitty superhero films. The idea a film is ‘catered’ to me because it features a bunch of one dimensional and boring female characters is insulting; I find the idea I will automatically relate to them because they also happen to share my gender to be incredibly sexist. I’ve never given a shit what gender the characters are, only that they’re interesting and written well. And honestly, I think the majority of people- men and women- feel the same. My favorite films are the Lord of the Rings trilogy, an infamous sausage fest- and guess what, nobody had a problem with Eowyn being a badass in that. Because she was a well written character in a well written film. How these movie execs fail to see that is baffling to me.

[@threewiseman1]

This is what I keep saying. The concept of representation is a good one - for programs aimed at young children. By the time a child is aged 10, if they struggle to see the value in a character that does not 'look like them', I think that speaks to developmental issues that need to be addressed.

[@janellekilroy2008]

As a woman, I am in complete agreement.

[@la_scrittice_vita]

Greetings fellow female-with-nerd-tastes. I know just what you mean because I remember feeling the seed of this as a girl with Wonder Woman. It's basically "Hello little lady, you girls have your very own super hero." F#(< that, I'll decide what I like, thank you and it's not that condescending claptrap.

[@la_scrittice_vita]

​@threewiseman1 Yes, fiction building empathy by leading you to share the struggle of those you have nothing in common with was the purpose of fiction going back to ancient greece. It is literally what Aristotle wrote about in the Poetics. "Representation" and wish fulfillment power fantasies are completely at odds with the drama for adults that so many comic book fans want their superhero stories to be seen as. Quite apart from the appallingly uninteresting girl boss fad, you simply cannot do both at once. You can make 78 Superman or Logan, but not both at the same time.

[@Exodia_Misogynist]

one word: DEI

[@rextucker3184]

Recent Marvel movies have come straight out of the gate, taken one step, and dropped over dead. Soon as we see it in the distance we know what it is. Everyone just kind of gathers around, pokes it a few times, and goes on.

[@Crazieyboy15]

….It managed to take a single step? 🤨

[@RoninReshi]

Marvel is approaching M. Night Shyamalan territory. Produce enough bad movies and find people groaning or laughing when the trailer ends with 'Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.' He too took a break and returned with some success (congrats). Doubtful Disney will manage to figure out how to do the same effectively given their track record.

[@marissashantez6051]

@@Crazieyboy15 A small step on its first day...then plunk.

[@marissashantez6051]

@@RoninReshi Every movie he made in that time period is infinitely better than any marvel film. They would work fine if they were understood to be films which dont have a large scale audience, but do have small dedicated one. What Marvel is doing is much harder to understand.

[@Crazieyboy15]

@@RoninReshi At least with Shamalan, I can say he had PASSION in his nonsense. Was is always good or even understandable? Maybe not. But I can respect his attempt to at least put some of his heart into his work.

[@big566bunny]

I fully approve of Hollywood losing billions of dollars more. Keep on keepin' on.

[@nicholasphillips6166]

When Top Gun: Maverick came out, which was super successful and a good film to boot, Hollywood decided not to follow that film's clear blueprint to success. With TG Maverick, they could have gone with the premise of a young female pilot showing 'washed up' Maverick how it should be done. But instead they decided to make a story focusing on the titular, main character, not belittle him in any way, respect the original material. That's the way it should be done...

[@Feja2503]

''focusing on the titular, main character, not belittle him in any way, respect the original material. That's the way it should be done...'' Nahh, degrade beloved characters. Let them be killed off or surpassed by a 15 year old girl with superhuman talent. No hard work needed. Just raw talent. Then mention how good she is and how bad the old patriarchy is. Tell us how girls can be better 100 times. Mhm, make the stronger, smarter and cooler. Mhmm.

[@jaredschmidt8013]

@@Feja2503be sure to REALLY emphasize how good and awesome she is. It all means nothing unless you have to remind the audience every 5 minutes of how much of a strong kick-ass woman she is.

[@cedricwork1670]

​@@jaredschmidt8013And it's purely ONLY because she's a girl. It came naturally to her. No learning necessary. She's perfect out of the box. It's so stupid how men have to go through the grueling crucible of learning.

[@3lric81]

if u shit on soldiers especially veterans. the us army wont allow u anymore shootage of their jets and ships. ur basically done doing these movies at all.

[@tommyhinzo7]

Imagine how the recent Star Wars triology could have gone if the writers actually respected the characters of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. And that's a pretty low bar.

[@jordanknox5587]

I'm convinced these companies will keep at it regardless. No lessons are learned in Hollywood.

[@jackielogan9104]

The biggest W is the constant loss of money.

[@time2play961]

the female mc?

[@DF-ni5sy]

Maybe the movie biz is just a tax writeoff/offset for the corporations

[@Edwin-iw4ze]

They're definitely slow learners. I think they'll still insist on doing all girl movies, but just put out less of them for a while to try and draw people in that way.

[@Hero_Of_Old]

Yes, because its not about money.

[@CruentusV]

the trouble with studios taking "almost a decade" to realize what they were doing was wrong, is that the audience they chased away to make room for the audience they wanted but never existed has had plenty of time to find other things to do beside watching their unentertaining products in an inconvenient environment at overly inflated prices. television didn't succeed in killing movies as much as studio executives did. these executives turned a habitual clientele into a discerning and critical one...

[@stanedgie5910]

true, and the market they were chasing were either not interested, or too busy cancelling people than actually watching what they demanded be created for them.

[@JoJo-vg8dz]

The problem is that the owners of these studios think they can force 95% of people to change their tastes. They are deranged fanatics.

[@JoJo-vg8dz]

Gender confused people want to normalize gender confusion.

[@derekhamel2991]

Well said

[@aldunlop4622]

What it killed most of all was movie theatres. I remember in the 90sa group of us used to go to the movies once a week no matter what was on, because there was generally something good on. Sometimes the boys and girls would split up and go watch their thing. We decided when we got there. Nowadays it's something people only do if they already know the movie's going to good, because it's fucking expensive. If there's nothing really good, people stay home and stream something instead.

[@raphmaster23]

As a female who spent 6 years in the US Army i have to say my experience was definitely less Captain Marvel who was being told she couldnt fly or something. And more Maverick Phoenix with people just being people and being modivating.

[@wefinishthisnow3883]

I've been saying this for 8 years and people are finally catching up. The next step is to question WHY this level of incompetence was permitted.

[@MakeYouFeelBetterNow]

Those of us who have been paying attention the last 4 years know.

[@winstonz]

​@@MakeYouFeelBetterNow identity over quality

[@b.a.barackas2141]

one of the answers rhymes with "HACK SOCK"

[@geocow2]

A small minority of very vocal activists managed to overtake the entertainment companies.

[@gabriels9636]

Believe it or not, this is all related to this contemporary and very liberal ideology that everyone can identify to anything, making people doubt about the fundamental concept of male/female and that everyone should agree that’s how we should think now.. It’s started with LGBTQ+ mouvement and was about acceptance and acknowledgement but now it got everyone so confused and butthurt about it. Collectively we are dumb af 😂

[@twinklepug]

I think that’s one of the reasons I love Ghibli films so much. The lead characters are mostly female, but they have weaknesses with their strengths and you have male counterparts that also have weaknesses and strengths. But they come together and help and support one another. It’s not competitive.

[@mhjmstultiens]

This. While both sexes often don't understand each other, in the end we're just two sides of the same coin. Doesn't mean we have the same (dis)likes and want to be the same. There's no "unisex" human being, a "one size fits it all".

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

Ghibli films are peak

[@Lithosagymfan173]

Cool, like the Sequel Trilogy then! And personally, not too much of a fan Ghibli movies(My Neighbor Totoro is peak fiction though, very wholesome movie).

[@aartinegi1867]

We need to talk about Ghibli movies more!!! They are the best!!

[@teresar6348]

They often end up being foils, and the gender on each side isn't always the same either.

[@jermaineishmael7225]

You are without a doubt the best person to perfectly articulate this topic not a single point was missed.....balanced, fair, honest, reasoned arguments very refreshing to see keep it up

[@blob643]

Agree, I don't mind if Disney caters to women, but I have a problem when they are looking down on men just to elevate women, that's an insult to both gender because they are saying that men are pathetic losers and women can only be better if men are worse. And then we have the anti-woke fanatics who exclusively complain about how woke things are even going as far as to pull shit out of their ass just so they can complain (Remember the dead space remake gender neutral bathroom outrage). Anti-woke in the west are approaching absurdity of the anti-woke in south-korea (If you don't know certain people go frame by frame in game's promotion, game's art etc looking for a certain symbol insulting the size of their dongs even if it is just accidentally similar. And no matter if its coincidence they will make sure to go to social media and cancel whoever made the thing they just saw) As for our favorite drunkard critic, he does complain about woke shit but that's just a part of it, he also gives other reasons why he hates things other than it being woke. And while he does bring it up, our drunkard gives valid reasons why the thing being woke has been detrimental to its success and quality.

[@ItsLikeFerrari]

Every video ever published by this channel. Absolute one of the top KZbin channels

[@rosannamarie7093]

As a woman I loved Starbuck and Buffy and Sydney (Alias), Ripley and Princess Leia and Black Widow and others that rang true in the universe it depicted. They didn't sideline or eliminate or negate the presence of men. They were organic and weren't out to demonize all male characters. I avoid films that either destroy iconic male heroes (Star wars, Terminator, Indiana Jones sequels) or just drop a bunch of females into a poorly written story and think I'll bite. When did hot male heroes and super heroes go out of fashion for the heterosexual female? It hasn't for me.

[@hibernopithecus7500]

Hollywood has turned into the playschool teacher who takes the blocks from the boys so the girls can play with them, only for the girls to keep playing with dolls while nobody gets to play with the blocks.

[@Anon-i2z]

Its a Canon Event

[@jaredschmidt8013]

That’s actually the perfect analogy to describe what is happening.

[@crazychicken7125]

nice analogy

[@WopRicci]

Another thing that has ended my love of cinema, Is now knowing what kind of people most of these actors are, what they publicly say,support or endorse.

[@Doxymeister]

Fair point. I went into the Depp v. Heard lawsuit with a definite bias against Depp due to his on-stage comments about assassinating a president. By the end of the lawsuit I had to admit that not only did Heard not get abused, but that SHE had done the abusing to him. But it took a real effort of will to try to be fair in how I viewed all the evidence--and it also colors how I view his roles in movies. Since I don't like the person--Johnny Depp--it's been hard to enjoy any roles he plays, simply because of him being so vocal politically. And a lot of the Hollywood types seem to believe that the public needs their views on things that have nothing to do with acting or movies.

[@crazebamm]

@@Doxymeisteryep. I’m a JD fan but honestly I could care two sht’s about his political views. I love so many actors in the work they do but once the credits hit, I don’t care lmao. I don’t seek their views to skew mines.

[@Endru85x]

Yep, i expect actors to deliver entertainment, i don,t care about their views or what they do in free time. I want politics, i will turn on debate about that, actors don,t have to be expert at everything, just let them do their job@@crazebamm

[@cuteponyboy]

You really think what they publicly support/endorse is their own opinion?

[@lazarian4428]

I do my best to separate an actor's personal self from the work they do to portray characters on the screen. But it's really hard to watch a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger now without hearing the words "screw your freedom".

[@jaywatanabe4706]

I work in marketing and the first thing every creative needs to know is “who is the customer or audience for my product?”. When you are coming in to market an existing product you don’t just suddenly change the customer segment you market to just because you don’t like the old one. You may over time expand your audience, but you never abandon your core customer base! And you certainly don’t insult your core in the process! NEVER! To do so is to risk losing your customers and your whole business. Then there’s the whole issue with ‘tokenizing’ people to appeal to a new audience segment in a shallow way. As Drinker points out that’s essentially what these writers did with the Female "Girl Boss". How are these characters more than a cheap pastiche of what a woman looks like? They aren't. It’s a shallow, one dimensional portrayal of this demographic that is totally unrelatable. That's exactly what South Park was taking the piss out of in the Panderverse! I can guarantee that this fiasco will be a front and centre case study of what-not-to-do in Marketing 101 clasess across the world for the next 20 years! If Disney/MCU/Lucas Films want to salvage their brands they should send every staffer back to basic marketing training and fire the executives who were in charge of this madness. Kathleen Kennedy would be a good start and send a clear signal to the rest of the staff, investors and disenfranchised customers that they mean to start fresh.

[@rb98769]

The issue is precisely that their priority (the creatives at least) isn't to draw the biggest audience or make the most money for the movie.

[@Freakymation-z4d]

Like creatives have any power in the showbiz, they're wagies that obey their bosses, and said bosses can hire anyone, including non woke creatives.

[@jaywatanabe4706]

​@@Freakymation-z4dagreed that a lot of creatives didn't have control over the overall direction. That's a decision by leadership at the top - the Kathleen Kennedys. They would then go out and contract the creatives to work on a project (usually third party companies, not wagies). Clearly the core root of the problem lies at the top, which totally abandoned their base audience in pursuing on a non-eixstant one. As I said, those folks should be fired for such disasterous decision making and absolute ignorance of fundamental business practices. That said, everyone else below them is going to need re-training to re-orient them in the direction the new leadership needs to take this ship. Everyone has to be pulling in the same direction if Disney/MCU/Lucasfilm is to be saved from ruin. So I think the real question is does Bob Iger have the leadership capacity to axe Kennedy or is going down with her?

[@Patrick-pv9pe]

I'm a VP of Marketing and co-sign this 100%.

[@Omnicron800]

My genuine question as someone who knows nothing about how these choices are made, how can people who work in your field seriously look at these trailers put them together and feel people will seriously be excited unless it’s just new to them, as a nerd of a lot of different things it feels like the same is being done all around and almost every new movie or show feels almost like a parody.

[@markheins3214]

I'm watching this 6 month later for the first time and Drinker nailed it on the head. Perfectly phrased and dead on.

[@givmi_more_w9251]

Now this might come as a bit of a surprise but ... I'd go out on a limb and say women who like capeshit do so specifically because it isn't 'for a female audience'. Also, seeing Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth helps, too. We don't want female-only casts, we want handsome hunks, too. Just like a male audience certainly appreciates Natasha Romanoff.

[@sztallone415]

This^. I went to watch the earlier Marvel films with girl friends and ofc they had their favs or celeb crushes. Certainly the obligatory shirtless scenes were appreciated by the female (and I guess gay male) audience. Funnily, I've been saying what you say for years: that this hard push for making seemingly everything 'female centric' actually harms women in the way of robbing them of the handsome hunks as you put it. And it's not just about a 6 pack - many women like competent men, and Cap or the original Thor was competent with a likable personality, which increased their appeal tenfold. I'd wager a handsome hunk with the personality of a wet sponge, a himbo doormat, wouldn't hold your interest.

[@mata4r43un]

^this. The only reason my wife is agree to accompany me to watch marvel movies, specifically, the avengers, is because Chris Hemsworth is there as Thor. Similarly, she is not complaining when I take her to see Justice League and Aquaman, cause Jason Momoa is there.

[@Great_Watt]

You never once hear the word "objectification" come out of any women's mouths when Chris Hemsworth or Evans take their shirts off in MCU movies, do you? Do any of the female actors undergo 6 months of intense gym training to build a superhero physique for the role? Has a woman ever been topless in an MCU movie? No? Then the men have actually been objectified way more than any of the women. Funny how that never gets brought up. It's almost as if there's a hypocritical double standard at play... I'm all for attractive people in these roles, male and female. Get to the gym, get your shirt off, wear tight uniforms. Whatever works. We all like looking at pretty people, there's no need to try and lie about that to look like some paragon of virtue.

[@givmi_more_w9251]

@@sztallone415 Yep. Captain America simping for some useless bint would make me drier than the Sahara desert, e.g. But apart from the uh, aesthetic value, the dynamics of an all-female group can quickly degenerate into pure drama, false niceness, and just overall uncompelling and tedious. All-men groups of course have their own problems, or can have. I've never seen a war movie with all male soldiers where I'd say 'meh, their dynamics were dumb', tbh.

[@givmi_more_w9251]

@@Great_Watt I freely admit that I like looking at well-built male bodies, especially when the character is likeable like Cap. I will say that I like my fanservice uh, plausible, and fitting with the scene. The 'Thor gets his clothes ripped off' in Love and Thunder is just contrived to show Hemsworth naked, e.g. Now while still nice to look at, that feels manipulative. But otherwise? The actors know what they're getting into, they get paid well for it, I'm not gonna sit there and have a moral dilemma if I see a handsome man on screen flaunting his physique. Just like I won't chastise my boyfriend for appreciating skin-tight catsuits on attractive ladies in films and games. One character that combines good writing and eyecandy is Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager. My point being: women can be both: eyecandy and good characters, you don't have to make women ugly and frumpy so people can appreciate tehir inner values. That's actually quite insulting.

[@Ladykyra101]

Guess I'm not female enough. I didn't know Madame Webb was even out. 😂 And even if I did know, I would never go see it. My new form of entertainment is YT reaction channels. Thanks for holding it down, guys! ✊🏾

[@klintmacnugget6688]

🤣

[@cheynepearson1960]

I used to be a massive fan of the Spider-Man comics, and Madame Webb didn't feature in any of the books I'd collected as a youngster. I first discovered her in the 90s cartoon as a kind of oracle character that helped guide Spider-Man when it mattered most, if I remember correctly. The point I'm getting at is, what the hell are Sony Studios trying to do giving these b and c tier characters their own films? I haven't seen the Morbius film either, but from I know of it I haven't missed much. Seems the studios are really scraping the barrel these days!

[@mr.voidout4739]

You know, I've not seen ONE promotion for it. No commercial, no posters last time I was at the theater (December, Godzilla)... nada. Only ever heard about it mid-January. They knew they were spitting out a sub-par movie and didn't even mass-market lol. Or hell, for all I know, maybe it's that 10million PS5's short of forecast that's got em strapped😆

[@1Talentas]

I saw a comercial on Twitch of Madame Webb. :D Twitch is the place where a lot of women come to watch things , yes? :D :D

[@kirk2767]

Nerd Crew has a new review out.

[@BHackn]

Got a new 4K TV and I fell off the MCU wagon right around “Civil War.” I thought I would go through all 33+ movies in timeline order. The decline came fast and hard, every female lead movie my GF was on her phone or walking around doing stuff and would say “I’m still watching!” Came to the conclusion of most woman didn’t want these movies either.

[@Pugerino]

Idk why you stop at civil. There’s still endgame Infinity war. And a lot of single movies that are still good. Just don’t pick shit movies you aren’t gonna watch

[@user-vg8ox3he1i]

@@Pugerino I'm in the minority who absolutely HATED 80% of Endgame. So many of the problems people complain about in the MCU are in that movie. Bloated plot. Endless "jokes". Lack of seriousness. Total pandering and nostalgia bait. Fat Thor. Tony's Dad. Capt back in time. The end of the movie is a fight with a version of Thanos that we just met. Terrible.

[@zannis5441]

@@user-vg8ox3he1iI don’t think we are the minority just uncommon,because the majority wasn’t thinking logically critically hard enough :p

[@Lithosagymfan173]

You want to tell me that Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 2 didn' make her like this?

[@GaijinGamerGirl]

That's you realising that your girlfriend was watching the guys in movies and dreaming of her upgrade. The day will come when you find you've been cheated on or she has moved out 😂

[@ck7250]

Critical you are the best. I share your videos with my best friend and my 78 year old mom.

[@bobbinsgaming3028]

The only addition I'd make to this excellent analysis is that the very biggest, most successful films are often those you might place naturally in the "male" genre - LotR, Maverick, The Avengers etc. The reason for this is whilst these films appeal to men due to their strong male characters and male-centric themes, lots and lots of women ALSO love strong male leads and male themes like action and adventure. Far more than the proportion of men who enjoy romance or musicals, for example. So if you're going to make a blockbuster movie, if you pander to the woke and neuter your male characters, you'll not only turn off your male audience, but also the sizeable number of women who also really, really like watching Tom Cruise or Chris Hemsworth being heroic, strong male characters. Plenty of women still want a hero, even if studio creatives have decided that's now heresy.

[@glitterkitty1979]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@CuT7yFlaM]

And on top of that, those sucessful movies/stories are just quality. Whether it's a male or female lead, a good story will prevail over a weak one every time. It just so happens that the character is female in those cases. It does make a difference, youcan explore certain things and not some others in both cases, but in the end, it must be the desire to create a great piece of entertainment or litterature that drives to a commercially successful piece. But lately we're being gaslit into thinking that female lead = success, it's not that. One of the last thing that I enjoyed a lot who happened to have a female lead was The Queen's Gambit, as the character is fascinating and you root for her as she gets better at chess while dealing with her issues. That was a great show and I wish there were more like this one. Whether the character was female or not didn't matter really.

[@mr.sinjin-smyth]

Yet it somehow isn't an issue in anime with scores of OP characters (male or female) in the last 10 years alone. I wouldn't be surprised if modern Hollywood writers have been taking cues from anime in producing recent "girl boss" driven movies.

[@00ammy00]

Exactly this! I'm a woman who loves sci-fi and fantasy, and LOVES male characters actually being strong male characters. Maybe I don't love male-centric movies for the same reasons a male audience does - where my dad loves Lord of the Rings solely for the battle scenes (he's not much of a fiction fan), I'm in it for the strong relationships and brotherhood between the fellowship. Arwen, Galadriel, and Eowyn are all great female characters, but they are SUPPORTING characters and I would never want them to take the place of the strong leads of Aragorn, Frodo, Sam, or Gollum, just because they're women, no matter how badass they try to make them. One of my most favorite fantasy book series is Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (who's a woman), which is also comprised mostly of a male cast (though again, the female characters it does have are all also great). The fact of the matter is, I like these male-lead stories for being the way they are.

[@PrashanthB-bi7lc]

Women love masculine men, and men love feminine women. It's so stupid that this is something we have to say now. And anyone, irrespective of gender, can be heroic by their actions. Your character doesn't have to be an arrogant, rude jerk to be considered strong.

[@tarron3237]

Imagine the makers blaming the mythical female audience

[@houseofhas9355]

It will not end. It will morf into something new. Did you hear they are rebooting RAMBO with a female ramabo! 😂 What's next die hard with black Muslim Lesbiaan.

[@MamaMOB]

You can't hold us accountable! We're not responsible for anything even the things that we do! Like making shitty shitty shitty movies!

[@MamaMOB]

​@BetaSuqadStop spamming!

[@ianoz1]

@tarron3237 Who else are they going to blame... themselves?

[@mikoto7693]

We exist, but not in high numbers and even we hate the girl boss thing. Is it so hard to create movies with a balanced mix of male and female characters with different skills and personalities to bring to the team?

[@firstchevalier]

They haven't learned. They're just taking a breath, lamenting that they tried to move too fast, and trying to figure out how to incorporate The Message in a more subtle way to shift opinions in the direction they want. Make no mistake, they haven't learned a thing and they aren't changing other than their tactics.

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

I think the term "The Message" makes you guys sound even more fragile then when you use the word woke.

[@outsidelookingin4657]

I think you absolutely right, I'm a fan of the LitRPG Genre of books and I'm seeing the sneaky little nudge by certain authors to dip into the Woke VR it's suttle but it's there. Like in movies it take you away from the story. Your cruising along and the author throws in some Woke BS that has NO Relevants to the actual story and it just throws me. Really Pisses me right off.

[@ltb1345]

True. That's exactly what Disney/Lucasfilm did with the start of The Mandalorian, back when people thought they were doing a "soft reboot" or finally going in a different direction. So much for that!

[@mikehunt7419]

​@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 Nobody cares what you think.

[@mattturner5429]

​​@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 Speaking of fragile, on a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a period do you have when asked to define what a woman is?

[@chadw8119]

Once again, you’ve just perfectly stated everything we were all thinking, as only you could articulate. That’s why I love your content

[@rsd3719]

Star wars and LOTR in particular probably wouldn't be that hard to win people back. Those are franchises that a lot of people are invested on and truly want to see them succeed. Seeing them do Tolken dirty like that was almost heartbreaking, they talk about appropriating culture, Tolken is English culture.

[@MarkDeSade100]

Not just English culture, Tolkien is the father of modern fantasy and anyone who loves fantasy novels/games/movies should hate them for disrespecting his work.

[@entropybear5847]

My copy of LOTR and other Tolkien works haven't been edited. All I'm seeing is a bunch of losers making expensive but bad fan fiction. I imagine Star Wars fans with original copies of the sequels/prequels feel likewise, though perhaps to a different degree.

[@AzureBlaze1212]

Star Wars in terms of anything to do with Ewan and Hayden HIT!!!! 🔥 anything after that and Og Luke sky walker idc but for those two I will see any show any movie any day because those two actors built my child hood

[@Bombur888]

Eh, I don't know about SW. I could maybe be interested in a good old republic movie or something like that (and even then I probably wouldn't be that excited), but anything where the sequels are canon is dead to me. Might even have been dead since the day they decided to kill the old EU, to put it frankly.

[@MSgt5J071]

I agree that Star Wars and LOTR could win most of the fans back, but not under Lucasfilm or Amazon. They have tarnished the brands, so it would take a wholesale purge of the current regimes for the former fans to even take notice. Great damage has been done, and it would take great time and effort to fix anything. An apology from Lucasfilm and Amazon for putting out garbage and then blaming fans for their failures should also be forthcoming...

[@ariamaddison257]

“The Girl Boss era is dead.” - And nothing of substance or value was lost.

[@inendlesspain4724]

Except a lot of once great franchises that have been destroyed in its wake.

[@Сайтамен]

Hopefully they won't swing into another direction and make an era of bland boring boy bosses...instead of just hiring good writers...

[@Wolffman109]

Other than the beloved IPs that were sacrificed on its altar.

[@Dereliction2]

To the contrary, we've lost a decade of actually good media to the Girl Boss.

[@jonfreeman9682]

Girl Boss era is just getting started and going thru some growing pains that's all. There's been hits like Barbie Black Panther 2 Black Widow Wonder Woman 1 and misses but they're figuring out what works. There is a huge huge market for girl boss... if done right. But how to crack the formula. So it's a period of experimentation right now.

[@tc7420]

Their biggest mistake was making movies for the women who only see the rom coms. The women and girls who like super hero movies liked them the way they were before all this nonsense.

[@la_scrittice_vita]

You might think so but the girl bosses can't have male love interests so the rom com girls won't pay to see this sh't either.

[@cedricwork1670]

Well, that's precisely what they tried to do in She-Hulk -- make action into romcom. It was so infuriating to watch. It was like being led on by a girl who knew she was leading you on and only ever had the intention of friendzoning. What did you gain from that except that you wasted my time and yours?

[@tresende2x]

The trick is a well written romance. If it's a Fantasy, then that romance should be a Fairytale. I'm sick of this attempt to inject our real world dynamics into the relations between men and women in fantasy movies. It's cynical to the extreme, it provides no emotional beats and leaves everyone bored and feeling jaded AF. I wrote a book that does this properly, I hope. It's called BRAVER: A Tale Of The Afterlife and comes out March 1st. Please get it and enjoy it, not only for the alternative classic take it provides, but hopefully you'll get a full scope what it means to exist in a world where your body is rotting somewhere in a grave while you set that aside, hold to your courage and the strength of your bonds to forge a path where others were too afraid to do. I think it's a better Message than what's being peddled by the mainstream today.

[@cathyoldrich]

The girlboss will never die as long as Hallmark exists 😭

[@monkfishy6348]

If anyone ever says men don't like female leads because sexism, just point them directly at the roaring success and acclaim of Arcane. A TV show with multiple female main characters, based on a video game dominated by men, for a genre primarily enjoyed by men.

[@Archangelm127]

Exactly. It's just like playing tabletop: play your f*cking character, and don't break the fourth wall. 🤣

[@vinny.g5778]

Arcane was super epic, and I'm a man, I also never heard of the game before watching it, only new it was from a game. And I just loved the show, can't wait for the next season...if it comes out....one day

[@yigitdnr7260]

it will come out this november!@@vinny.g5778

[@shadowdragon7347]

Arcane was so good! Another example would be the "Alien" series because we love Ellen Ripley. Feminine characters are more intresting when they are characters and not unstoppable forces of nature.

[@maxsommers6843]

You can point to virtually any female led action property from decades past: Alien, Xena, Buffy, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Underworld... the list goes on.

[@Michael-zf1ko]

3:31 "They seem to regard audience demographics as a problem that needs to be fixed." I feel like this is the crux of a lot of problems nowadays. We got idiots in charge who see nothing but demographics and somehow consider themselves to be fighting racism and sexism in areas where it doesn't exist. It's bizzare.

[@chadly211bucks]

I appreciated this as well. Men like what men like, same for women. I didn’t go see Barbie cause I’m some sexiest dick, it’s not my jam. And my wife has never watched any RE movies. Both are okay.

[@xxxscumbagxxx8089]

They are the exact people who they complain about and seek to destroy. They judge people off appearance and only see them as a number or an object. Its pretty fucking ironic

[@DevineInnovations]

You say that... but Ghostbusters 2016 bombed almost 8 years ago and here we are.

[@doughbafett]

Sony at least learned their lesson with that IP.

[@Jabberstax]

You're right. They won't change. Just find new ways to force their BS onto us.

[@johnw8578]

50 or 60 mistakes later...

[@johngobble]

I dunno movies take a long time to make we’re basically getting the last of this batch of movies seeing as movies now are early enough in production to get reworked or just canceled all together

[@bevynq]

2016 had a lot going against it. Most SNL alum films are bad and it had massive amounts of sequal-itis. That the trailer was execrable did not help.

[@projectmonk9673]

“A competition that only allowed one side to win.” Very well said.

[@BrownieInTheBin]

Tangential point - As is normal with my demographic, I've been reading lots of articles on psychology and romantic partnership and funnily enough, a large amount of these articles are starting to say things like "How to Obtain a Successful Partnership with a Man Because You're 35 and Lonely: Make Him Feel Valued," "Activate His 'Hero' Instinct," - essentially, men like it when you appreciate them for their natural personalities: they enjoy being helpful and needed and strong and dependable to women and women are attractive to men when they are sweet and supportive and in need of assistance and not abrasive. For the last 10 years, I have actively opposed the man-hating. It's really nice to see the mainstream waking up and being like "oh, so people actually like feminine women and masculine men!!"

[@s0nnyburnett]

250,000 years of basic life facts that some of us have to relearn.

[@astronomyfan8145]

"women are attractive to men when they are sweet and supportive and in need of assistance and not abrasive." Be very careful with that. Everyone needs assistance sometimes. Gender shouldn't be a factor in that. And I think characters should be portrayed with all of their faults and strengths. Their gender does not matter. The problem is that these "writers" seem to think gender is ALL anyone sees and/or cares about. And stories don't grow from gender alone. The sooner they figure that out, the better. Hopefully.

[@merrylderrickson3147]

great points. tho i'd make a distinction. The mainstream has NOT woken up. This is all top-down. The reversal is not them waking up, it's one of two things: Either it is a genuine push from the bottom up that cuts through the mainstream...which is rare.. In most instances tho, it is the Mainstream recognizing they must "loosen their grip on the narrative" (so to speak) as a means to retain their own credibility when they see a brushfire of sentiment that they know they can't impugn, insult, reject or ignore. all academic crap, not related to your post other than to say...don't give these talking heads too much credit --- they are the primary source of all the agitation, they deserve no credit for peeling back, particularly for the fact that they are only doing it to retain their positions and places of authority or influence

[@johnowen9349]

They tried to fix what wasn't broke. The problem is you're not going to convince young women to go back into the cultural box.

[@rafaelroldan4507]

Thanks !

[@kaunas888]

Probably the best female action character that I have seen is Ripley from Aliens: likable, relatable, resourceful and courageous, not because she is not scared...but because her cause leaves her no choice but to rise to the occasion despite her fear. This is someone that audiences can relate to, and like, and cheer for. Not some obnoxious Girl Boss superhero who had everything handed to her because she is female.

[@Ithirahad]

Yeah, this girlboss stuff just reads as... what do the gender-studies people call it... "internalized misogyny". Apparently strong women have to be nonhuman and not experience human challenges and problems, because allegedly human women can't overcome them like men can! :P

[@Jim-km2dx]

another one is Cat Tully from GOT.. she fucks up constantly but still has good qualities as well

[@TheBaumcm]

I think that is the problem we have these days. They write in tropes, rather than creating human, relatable characters. In days gone by, we didn’t worry about whether the character represented us by label, but rather whether the character represented humanity. It’s why some films that seem to appeal to men on paper, like Gladiator, are so popular. The characters appeal to all human beings, not just a subset. I think it is indicative of the greater problem of people only seeing people who look or act like them as human.

[@yomammasaurusrex9571]

Check out Blue Eye Samurai. I promise it's not weeb nonsense.

[@biobiobio7777]

The really noticeable effect is how quiet so many of them have become. It used to be "Sexists mysogynist fanboys are the reason for..." and whatever version of that statement. But they're not that loud about it anymore.

[@lukewalken1316]

But I thought they said these movies weren't made for "sexist,misogynistic" fanboys

[@gundammon]

They're not "as loud" about it anymore because those jobs are getting eliminated as the economy is slowing. Online "news" companies, tech companies, and media companies have not been doing as well recently as they were. The people who would gripe online about "sexist, misogynist fanboys" were NEVER the ones who were buying the product; they were just mouthpieces. That's why media properties that pander to these audiences has almost always failed--because they made a product that was supported by people who never cared, for an audience that doesn't exist. The core audience quit giving a crap a long time ago about name-calling. I think they all collectively shrugged their shoulders and said "Call me whatever you want. I'm going to hang onto the physical media I already enjoy, not buy your subscription-based/digital copy, and continue to do what I've been doing anyway. Eventually you're either going to run out of steam, and/or run out of money. We don't need you anymore."

[@Nobleheart111]

The volume has decreased, but the words are simply more widespread.

[@EnFuego79]

Probably because they are winning in the more subversive arena of raw censorship at the search engine, shadow banning, and woke AI level. Veritas has an interview with a google exec blatantly stating that they will do everything in their power to manipulate elections in their favor - WEF agendas.

[@raghuveer8137]

Call me misogynistic or whatever but I don’t really enjoy female lead movies because as a man I can’t relate with a woman. Men see a hero and think “i wanna be like him”. Women see a hero and think “i want him” It just doesn’t work the other way around

[@sicksock435446]

I found a stream that played Madame Web 24/7 and for a few glorious days it was the best movie viewing experience I've had in years just because you could read other peoples reactions in real time.

[@Exodia_Misogynist]

People should be payed to watch that garbage