Supergirl Doesn’t Need Your Approval

Supergirl

(Warner Bros Pictures)

Starring Milly Allcock, Jason Mamoa, Eve Ridley

“You’re not always nice, but you’re kind. And you’re not always perfect, but you’re good.”

This was a line said by Ruthye (played by Eve Ridley) to Supergirl, the titular character in the recently released movie with the same name. This one sentiment underpins the entire film, and perhaps explains why Supergirl has been met with vapid and, at times, misogynistic complaints since its release. Women have long been taught that goodness and likeability are one and the same, and that female superheroes need to first fulfil the role of satisfying the male gaze to be praised or even accepted.

So, is Supergirl good? Is it likeable? Does it get lost in feminist rhetoric? Is Milly Alcock (who plays Supergirl) “pretty enough”? I watched this movie for Waxx Lyrical to find the answers!

Upon my entrance into the cinema, I began watching Supergirl as though it were any other superhero instalment. The action seemed to be there. There were comedic moments. Jason Momoa was excellent, as usual. The soundtrack was badass (included Wet Leg, Wolf Alice and Le Tigre back-to-back at one point), as was Supergirl herself. Maybe there were some moments when Milly Alcock’s performance felt a little flat, and maybe I was disappointed she didn’t don her suit until much later, but the movie seemed like a pretty solid and enjoyable exercise, and Supergirl didn’t feel like some lacklustre attempt at a female protagonist. Even better (or worse, depending on which side of the misogyny fence you sit on), Supergirl didn’t have a love interest. There was no romance, no ultra-sexy suit and no inkling that she needed a man to be powerful or have agency. Supergirl was independent, had integrity and was ultra-strong. But she wasn’t obnoxious about it. She just seemed to be way too busy living her life and later saving everybody to countenance the idea that she might need a Tinder account.

All this being said, you might wonder why this movie has drawn the ire of so many people (or, if we’re being honest, men). While many men have enjoyed the film, there are a large number who have been offended by pedantic issues. They feel Milly isn’t pretty enough, which seems ridiculous. Why do you need to be pretty or sexy while saving the world? Why is Superman allowed to wear his ridiculous underwear on the outside while Supergirl has to be a sex symbol? Equally infuriating for some men is that Supergirl spends part of the movie being, well… a bit of an asshole. She’s not likeable or smiling all the time or fulfilling gender norms. She’s a good person; she’s just going through a rough time. And yes, she’s not always nice, but she is kind. She’s not always perfect, but she’s good. Supergirl teaches us that you can be unlikeable and grieving and messy and still be a good person. Or it teaches us that Supergirl wears earrings in the poster when she’s not supposed to be able to, as one man pointed out. Whichever of the two messages you think is more compelling.

So, to sum up, and without having explored any of the plot in this long diatribe, I think that Supergirl is an enjoyable movie that isn’t a painfully poor attempt at having a female lead. It treats Supergirl as though she’s a male superhero, and her life isn’t contingent purely on romance, but suggests that she can also be an interesting, accomplished and flawed individual in her own right. While this seems to have irked many people and led them to deem this a bad film, I think I will be more readily recommending this effort than sharpening my pitchfork.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI9e89dyLt4