There is no doubt that, since the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s ‘Iron Man’, a lot has changed in the franchise in terms of diversity; and feature films like ‘Black Panther’, ‘Shang-Chi’ or ‘Eternals’ and series like ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ and ‘Ms. Marvel ‘-which has presented the first Muslim heroine of the MCU- are a good example of this.
Superheroes so white
But this clear change for the better when it comes to representation continues to be insufficient for many voicesincluding those of members of the industry such as Anthony Mackie —the current Captain America— or Jessica Alba. The American interpreter of Mexican descent, who played Sue Storm in 2005’s “Fantastic Four” and its sequel, has stated this in an interview with Glamor UK.
“Even if you look at the Marvel movies, which is the biggest driver of fantasy and entertainment today, because it’s kind of a family thing, it’s still pretty Caucasian.” “I’d say I was one of the few back then [en referencia a ‘Los cuatro fantásticos’]… And it was before Marvel was sold to Disney. But it’s still more of the same.”
That of representation in Hollywood is another of the battles waged by an outspoken Jessica Alba and that has previously referred to the problem of sexism in the Mecca of cinema. Last year, during a conversation with People, the interpreter shared her experience and her point of view on the subject.
“I always wanted to be treated the way I saw men being treated. Men were told ‘Oh, you’re so smart’ if they had ideas for the character in the story, but for women it was like, ‘ What? Do you have an opinion?’ It was like you were aggressive, whereas a man was assertive and powerful.”