Empowerment Versus Commodification: The Contradictory Representation of Women in Black Widow (2021)

Abstract

This article aims to delve into understanding women’s representation in the film, especially regarding the issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment in a male-dominated, capitalistic industry. Women as commodities is an issue that is often found in films, and Black Widow (2021) is one of the films that brings this issue to light. In Black Widow (2021), the commodification of women is masked as empowerment. While the film portrays strong female characters, their empowerment is destabilized by the Red Room, an institution that commodifies women and transforms their bodies into instruments of violence through mind control, forced sterilization, and militarized training. The object of this study is Black Widow (2021), with a focus on the Red Room as a site of gendered oppression. The objective is to analyze how the film represents women as both empowered and exploited. This research uses qualitative feminist film analysis to understand how the film represents women’s empowerment narrative, particularly in superhero characters. This study utilizes Luce Irigaray’s “Women on the Market” as the theoretical framework to examine how female bodies are controlled, weaponized, and stripped of agency. Through the findings and analyses, it is apparent that Black Widow (2021) critiques violence against women but still supports patriarchal control over femininity.