‘Captain Marvel’ trailer provokes societal sexism

By Abby Wisecarver

The new “Captain Marvel” trailer sparked controversy over the acceptable amount of smiling female superheroes should display on the silver screen.

Most Marvel fans were ecstatic after watching the trailer for “Captain Marvel” that dropped a few weeks ago, but some are bound to nitpick. The topic of Brie Larson “not smiling enough” became the center of a heated debate.

The trending topic caught attention on Twitter when a user posted photoshopped images of Larson smiling in the trailer with the caption, “I fixed #CaptainMarvel! Thanks…” Larson just so happened to see people commenting on this, and she responded in the best way.

“Breaking news: You can be you,” Larson wrote on her Instagram story. “That means you can smile or not. You can be strong in the ways you want to be. You can own who you are. If anyone tells you different don’t trust them.” The caption was paired with photoshopped pictures featuring grins on the faces of moody male MCU superheroes.

Her response stood up to the haters in a classy way. By posting pictures of male superheroes smiling, Larson reminds us that our society does not hold men and women to the same standard.

Telling women to “smile” is archaic, and it’s a complaint thatrarelygets thrown at men. Larson’s impactful photos imply that women are here to entertain and to “look cute,” and denies them the basic right to their own emotions.

Captain Marvel is a female superhero who doesn’t play games. If she smiled and giggled in the trailer, people would ask, “Why is she so happy when this is supposed to be serious film?”

Society needs to stop being so harsh and nitpicky. Larson doesn’t smile in the trailer? So what? She’s playing a strong, fierce character. Dealing with criticism is just another day in Hollywood, so get excited to see “Captain Marvel,” which comes to theaters March 8.