Last Friday, March 8th, Marvel released its latest superhero movie: Captain Marvel. The movie sought to make Carol Danvers, the main character, an iconic feminist role model for young girls and women everywhere. However, there has been backlash against this feminist agenda among the Christian community. In his article Behold Your Queen, The Real Conflict in Captain Marvel, Greg Morse cites the Danvers statement and “traditional” American family values to “lament Disney’s new queen.”
Morse uses the Danvers statement to assert that the idea of “sameness between the sexes” is simply a myth. Using the idea of the “traditional” American family, he then moves on to “mourn” when men sought to “protect and cherish [our] women.” He goes on further to note that Captain Marvel advocates for daughters and mothers to shed blood on the battlefield; however, he claims that through excluding women on the battlefield, men are affirming, respecting, and honoring their women. This sentiment reflects the idea of the “breadwinning” husband and upholds the family values that were used during the mid-20th century to oppose the feminist movement.
In fact, during this time, many conservative Evangelical women used their roles as mothers and wives to support or lead the fight against feminism. Phyllis Schaffly was a prominent figure during this time who led the STOP ERA (Stop Taking Our Privileges) movement. This movement sought to stop the ERA ratification to the US constitution which proclaimed, “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex” (Dowland, pg. 143). She led this movement through using her stance as a submissive woman, as a wife, and as a mother to garner support. She promoted her claim to “stop ERA” through asserting that doing so would protect her rights to be a wife and to be a mother.
The sentiment of the STOP ERA movement and the opposition to feminism in the mid-20th century echoes heavily throughout Morse’s article. Morse uses his religion and his union with Christ to uphold this sentiment and to oppose the message that Marvel sends through Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel). He goes on to compare men, husbands, and fathers to Christ, “the good shepherd who laid his life down for his people,” and, moreover, through his suffering “saw to the welfare of his mother”.
Therefore, the anti-Captain Marvel sentiment stems from family values that have been heavily rooted in Christian culture which began to appear decades before the movie’s release. Carol Danvers’ rise to “superhero” greatly contrasts the deep-seated feminist opposition conservative Christians have held: the inherent difference between men and women as asserted in the Danvers statement and the idea of “traditional” family values. Many rejoiced in the movie’s strong feminist message and others, like Morse, grieved the conservative Christian ideals which opposed – and continue to oppose – feminism.
Citations:
- Dowland, S. (2015). Feminism. In Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right (pp. 129 – 153). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Morse, G. (March 11, 2019). Behold Your Queen: The Real Conflict in Captain Marvel. Retrieved from: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/behold-your-queen
contemporaryamericanreligion 
Wow! These days, even comics and movies have deeper meanings and hidden agendas. This was very interesting to read (I also read the article you cited). I appreciate your review and the critical importance to write these blogs without taking a side or weaving in your opinion. I am, however, going to add my opinion in this response. My first reaction was shock; shock that people actually looked beyond and within this movie to find a secret plan or ulterior motive. When did “we” become so critical and judgemental that a movie has a deeper meaning? Captain Marvel is a movie for entertainment and fun! I watch movies to escape my reality; I don’t watch movies to find hidden meanings and political statements. My second reaction is sadness — sadness that the American public seems unable to just watch a movie.
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This is a super interesting post! I had no clue that Captain Marvel was receiving backlash for having such a strong female leading role; I feel as though a lot of movies nowadays have been portraying women in such way, so I wonder why this movie in particular is getting hate. I can only assume that the author of such article would be of an older generation, because the traditional family values is something they grew up with and grew up believing. Seeing such a progressive idea as a strong, female lead role who fights for justice (as a man would usually do), is probably quite shocking for him. I think younger generations will find this movie empowering and awesome, as most of us haven’t grown up in strict traditional family role households.
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This is an argument that I did not know existed until I read this! The information you presented is very well written. It is something that people will start to think about more, especially with the movie being out for more than a month now. Great post!
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As I am reading this, I recall the number of times I have heard this idea of women staying home and men “breadwinning” by members of christian groups. I wonder what scientific credibility if any these strict gender roles have. I have heard from a prominent psychologists that women and men are psychologically much more similar, on average, than they are different. If this is true how can it be said that one group is fit only for staying home and the other only for working in the business world. My pondering aside, do you think there is a way for Christians who wish to believe in a difference between men and women to do so without using these strict gender roles?
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