Fantasies of white feminism: the human as “Other” in Captain Marvel

This essay examines the first woman-centered film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel (2019), which was both lauded and criticized in reviews for its unambiguous feminism. I use intersectional and Black feminist theoretical frameworks to argue that the film exemplifies a white feminist ideology whereby protagonist Carol Danvers’ (Brie Larson) humanity and womanhood come to stand in for her marginalization as an Other within the logics of the film. I analyze three sets of encounters between Carol and individuals or communities that the film marks in opposition or in alignment with her, sometimes interchangeably: the Skrulls, alien shapeshifters who are mistaken for terrorists but revealed to be refugees; Carol’s human advocates: her friend, Maria, and colleague, Agent Fury; and the Supreme Intelligence, a deceptive A.I. designed by the Kree, an imperialist alien race determined to control Carol and her powers. Ultimately, I conclude that Captain Marvel’s themes of individual empowerment and heroism operate as symbolic of a contemporary feminism that reinforces the familiar narrative that a white woman’s oppression and subsequent rebellion can stand in for the human experience, broadly writ.