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Jillie McLeod
Opinions Reporter
A little over two weeks ago, Marvel released Eternals, the newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With this release, Marvel took a huge step forward in film and media representation. The movie features the MCU’s first onscreen LGBTQ+ kiss and showcases a host of diverse actors.
The Eternals follows a group of protectors sent to Earth to help humanity grow and features the many identities that are the reality of our world. Notably, a Black gay man (Phastos), played by Brian Tyree Henry; a deaf woman who communicates using sign language (Makkari), played by deaf actress Lauren Ridloff; and an Asian woman lead (Sersi), played by Gemma Chan, are all featured characters, among others with similarly diverse identities.
While each of these characters’ identities was highlighted, they were not used to guide the plot, which is rare in mainstream media today. Often in media attempting to be progressive, identities are used as the “villain” of a story. This portrayal leads to the inclusion, while sometimes accidental, of harmful tropes and stereotypes that make the representation of certain minority groups unrealistic and not relatable. Having media that does not promote the harmful stereotypes around different identities is important because it challenges the narrative people are used to seeing.
In the film, each of the character’s actions is motivated by different factors. For Phastos, his motivation is his family: his husband and daughter, instead of a wife and their kid. Marvel does an excellent job of incorporating the reality of Phasto’s family without perpetuating stereotypes that can become harmful quickly. They wrote in an onscreen kiss between him and his husband, which is a big deal for both the film and queer community. The movie also displayed the normalcy of a queer family, helping to discredit the narrative in most popular media that families can only look a certain way.
When appropriate representation is incorporated into movies and other media, it chips away at the narrative that there is only one “normal.” Our world is diverse, and the media should portray that. In a way, Eternals is supposed to represent humanity, and so it makes perfect sense that all facets of humanity are shown: different races, sexualities, abilities, and more.
In addition to opposing harmful stereotypes, proper representation allows people to relate to the media they are consuming. When people walk into the movie theatre, they are not expecting to see themselves represented on the big screen; it is a big deal when it happens. Why? It should not be rare to see something other than the straight, white, “norm” that the media has exclusively portrayed until recently.
Representation in modern media is a work in progress and will likely remain this way for years to come. However, the forward movement in the film industry, seen most recently with Marvel’s new release, should be celebrated and used as an example of how films can include diversity. When different identities are incorporated into large-scale films, it helps break down harmful stereotypes and represent diversity on screen that can be seen in the world today.
