Black Widow’s Scarlett Johansson Explains Why It Is Important To Push The Conversation Around Gendered Superheroes

(L-R): Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Taskmaster in Marvel Studios' BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson recently promoted the film alongside her co-star Florence Pugh with a question and answer session with Glamour Magazine.

Yelena (Florence Pugh) and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

In one of those questions, Johansson explained why it is important to push the conversation around gendered superheroes.

Related: Black Widow Star Scarlett Johansson Claims Women Are “Underminded, Underserved, Under Appreciated, And Underpaid”

She explained, “Well, I do think the film is inherently female, partly because of Cate Shortland directing it. It definitely has… It sheds light on… It sheds light on an imbalance that women feel inherently because of how our society has been forever, thousands and thousands of years.”

Johansson then claimed, “The movie is about the subjugation of women. And the trauma that we have to help one another out of.”

(L-R): Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

“It’s a film about women lifting one another up so that they may thrive.  I don’t think that you can really take that out of this film because it is an ingredient there, and it’s about time, too. I kind of don’t want it to not be not there. I don’t know if I said that right,” she elaborated.

Johansson concluded, “Because it’s important. It’s an important piece of all of this. It’s an important piece of moving away from that having need to be a part of it too.”

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff and Florence Pugh as Yelena in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Related: Black Widow: Florence Pugh Says Film Is About “Women Getting Their Life Back”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard the film described as a movie about the subjugation of women.

Back in November 2020, an interview with Florence Pugh was published in The Black Widow Official Movie Book where she claimed the movie was about Black Widow and her character, Yelena Belova, being abused.

She explained, “Also, the storyline that we are telling is very horrifying. It’s about women that have been, essentially, abused and trained up to be killing machines.”

“As Scarlett said over and over, this is the right time for her to be telling [Black Widow’s] story. And we’re not shying away from the fact that this story is essentially about women getting their life back. And it’s a Marvel Studios film, too. That’s pretty rare, and it’s very exciting to be a part of that,” she relayed.

Yelena (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo by Kevin Baker. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

What do you make of Johansson’s recent comments about Black Widow?

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