Anita Sarkeesian Claims Ant-Man and The Wasp’s Main Plot is “Saving a Damsel in Distress” – She Gets Rebuked!
**Warning Spoilers for Ant-Man and The Wasp Below**
Feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian, who founded the website Feminist Frequency in 2009 and would go on to crowdfund a YouTube video series Tropes vs Women in Video Games decided to air her opinion on the latest Marvel Studios film, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Sarkeesian would claim, “The ENTIRE MAIN PLOT IS ABOUT SAVING A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!”
It took me a few days to realize this but #AntManAndTheWasp is a movie about a damsel in distress. THE ENTIRE MAIN PLOT IS ABOUT SAVING A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!
— Anita Sarkeesian (@anitasarkeesian) July 10, 2018
She would even agree that the subplot is about a damsel in distress as well.
yeah TRUE
— Anita Sarkeesian (@anitasarkeesian) July 10, 2018
Many folks quickly rebuked Sarkeesian and set the record straight on exactly what happened in Ant-Man and The Wasp.
She used her skill and knowledge of Science to survive in the Quantum Realm. She was able to get a message out and reprogram computers via telepathic possession, has an active role in the plot, and works to save herself. If that is a damsel in distress(it’s not) there’s no hope.
— Shway Norris (@ShwayNorris) July 14, 2018
Wasp is never in any distress, she’s a badass. Pym’s wife is never in distress. Ghost only comes close to being in distress because her powers are ripping her apart but she does what she can to save herself.
— James the Lesser Express Lane (@jtlats2) July 11, 2018
No it’s not. If anyone is the damsel in distress, its ant-man himself. Wasp is a badass and janet is stuck in a quantum realm and is easily the most powered of the bunch/saves the villain.
But try again. pic.twitter.com/lJ7CxldJyK
— James R. (@ThiccFrog7071) July 12, 2018
Or…a human being just in need of assistance after a very Heroic sacrifice..?
— ChronoBen (@TimelessBen) July 12, 2018
That’s not a fair interpretation, IMO. She’s an action hero who needs help. Is that any worse than Black Panther needing to be revived in his movie? Or Bucky being saved by Cap? When does it stop being a damsel in distress and start being equals who just happen to need help?
— travisjohnson (@travisjohnson) July 16, 2018
The North Valley Grimoire author Blake Northcott would add her own take.
In 2018, the ‘damsel in distress’ line is a worn-out bumper sticker. At best.
Janet van Dyne went subatomic to SACRIFICE HERSELF and SAVE THOUSANDS of lives. This was explained in 2 different movies. She was in CONTROL of her destiny. The literal opposite of being in ‘distress’. pic.twitter.com/FugxmlzbJg
— Blake Northcott™ ?? (@BlakeNorthcott) July 16, 2018
I’m not attacking anyone personally … critics have the right to their opinions, even when they’re objectively wrong.
— Blake Northcott™ ?? (@BlakeNorthcott) July 16, 2018
Others chimed in to correct Sarkeesian’s take on the film.
Exactly. saw this as a date movie on Saturday. It was Janet who had the courage to make the sacrifice that she did and it was her daughter Hope that had the greater motivation to get her back than Scott Lang did.
— Ms. Bacardi (@comicsandroses) July 16, 2018
Also, she plays a major role in her own rescue.
But once again I have to say ‘THAT’S NOT HOW ENTANGLEMENT WORKS!’
— Durinn McFurren (@DurinnMcFurren) July 16, 2018
also………….*spoilers*……………
she saves herself! hank just provided the ride! ?
— Kara Zor-el (@SupergirlofArgo) July 16, 2018
Also, she was her own savior, by directing the efforts of three people who (a) couldn’t find her and (b) couldn’t communicate with her. She solved those problems for them.
— CriticalBlast (@CriticalBlast) July 16, 2018
And if you actually watched the film. You’d realize just how wrong Anita Sarkeesian is with her take on Ant-Man and The Wasp. As many of the folks above clearly noted, Janet Van Dyne is anything but a damsel in distress. Is she trapped in the Quantum Realm? Yes. Is she distressed? It doesn’t appear to be that way at all. In fact, she turns Scott Lang into an antenna so she can communicate with her family to help them find her. She then even shows just how powerful she has become by taking control of Scott’s body and plugging in an algorithm that will allow Hank and Hope to find her. Even when Hank gets to the Quantum Real, he begins to lose himself. Janet actually saves him and the two reunite before ascending out of the Quantum Realm. Does that sound like a damsel in distress?
But what makes Sarkeesian’s take even worse is the fact that Janet knowingly sacrificed herself in order to save thousands of people from a nuclear weapon. She put herself in that situation.
And not only did she survive, she appears to have thrived and become even more powerful than before. She’s so powerful, she’s able to channel Quantum Realm energy and temporarily repair Ghost’s cellular structure using her mind. Janet Van Dyne is anything but a damsel in distress. She’s a survivor, a brilliant scientist, and above all a hero.
But even if Janet Van Dyne was a damsel in distress as Anita Sarkeesian claims, would it take away from the film? No. There would definitely be different plot points, but it wouldn’t take away from the film.
The damsel in distress motif is an absolute classic of storytelling. It appears in the Greek myth of Andromeda and Perseus, the Indian epic Ramayana, and classic European fairy tales like Snow White and Rapunzel. We even see it in the well-loved Shrek film. It’s even featured in one of my favorite films, Man on Fire, starring Denzel Washington. As Blake Northcott points out, it’s not about the motif or trope, or character type, it’s about the execution of it.
Janet van Dyne and Admiral Holdo are both recent examples of a strong female protagonist sacrificing her life to save thousands – but were handled *completely* differently.
When we respect a character, the death resonates. When the character is irritating, it rings hollow.
— Blake Northcott™ ?? (@BlakeNorthcott) July 16, 2018
Ant-Man and The Wasp is currently in theaters. It has grossed over $284 million worldwide.
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