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53. How Can Christian Fans React When Fantasy Creators Get Cancelled? Part 1
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Mar 2, 2021

My Novel ‘The Mermaid’s Sister’ Arose from True Depths of Mourning
Articles | Carrie Anne Noble on Mar 1, 2021

The Icarus Aftermath
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 26, 2021

My Screenwriter Mom Introduced Me to Fantastic Sci-Fi in the 1960s
Articles | Jason William Karpf on Feb 25, 2021

52. Do Christians Really Need Science Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 3
Podcast | Lorehaven on Feb 23, 2021

Join Our March 11 Livestream Exploring Christian Reactions to Fandom Cancel Culture
News | Lorehaven on Feb 22, 2021

The Hourglass and the Darkness
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 19, 2021

Venus is More Than Just a Love Goddess
Articles | Shannon Stewart on Feb 18, 2021

Introducing Fantasy Enthusiast and New Lorehaven Writer Shannon Stewart
News | Lorehaven on Feb 17, 2021

Stories with Bad Ideas Can Still Help Us Grow
Articles | L.G. McCary on Feb 15, 2021

Gretchen and the Bear
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 12, 2021

The Mandalorian is a Religious Fundamentalist, and Here’s Why That’s Awesome
Articles | Josiah DeGraaf on Feb 11, 2021

Introducing Fantasy Creator and New Lorehaven Writer Josiah DeGraaf
News | Lorehaven on Feb 10, 2021

51. Do Christians Really Need Fantasy? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 2
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Feb 9, 2021

The Death and Rebirth of Magic in Children’s Fantasy
Articles | R. J. Anderson on Feb 8, 2021

Torch
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 5, 2021

Fictional Magic Systems Can Go Beyond Rules and Reveal Deeper Characters
Articles | Elijah David on Feb 4, 2021

How God Uses Story Villains for Our Good
Articles | Zackary Russell on Feb 3, 2021

Introducing Sci-Fi Creator and New Lorehaven Writer Zackary Russell
News | Lorehaven on Feb 2, 2021

50. Do Christians Really Need Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 1
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Feb 2, 2021

Frank E. Peretti to Give Keynote Address at Realm Makers Writers Conference This July
News | E. Stephen Burnett on Feb 1, 2021

Fugue for the Sacred Songbook: In Eb Minor
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Jan 29, 2021

How A Year Without Superhero Films Rebooted Our Universe
Articles | Jason Joyner on Jan 28, 2021

New Book ‘Reading Evangelicals’ Will Focus on Famous Christian Fiction
News | E. Stephen Burnett on Jan 27, 2021

Introducing Superhero Novelist and New Lorehaven Writer Jason C. Joyner
News | Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2021

49. How Can We ‘Terraform’ the Church to Enjoy Fantastic Fiction?
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Jan 26, 2021

Militant Secularism Could Force Christians to Create New Subcultures
Articles | Mike Duran on Jan 25, 2021

Flight of the Raven
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Jan 22, 2021

‘One Piece’ Manga Reaches Chapter 1000: How Did This Pirate Become King?
Articles | L. Jagi Lamplighter on Jan 20, 2021

48. What Were the Top Seven Issues for Lorehaven Readers in 2020?
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Jan 19, 2021

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The Mermaid's Sister, Carrie Anne Noble
Etania's Worth, M. H. Elrich
Cinderella Spell, Laurie Lee
When Desperate Measures Are All You Have Left, J. C. Morrows
Fractures, James C. Joyner
Torch, R. J. Anderson
The Terran Summit, Anna Zogg
The Xerxes Factor, Anna Zogg
The Paradise Protocol, Anna Zogg
The Awakened, Richard Spillman
The Ascension, Richard Spillman
Love's Sacrifice, Kelsey Norman
Unbroken Spirit, Kelsey Norman
Seed: Judgment, Joshua David
Reviews

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The Icarus Aftermath
“Arielle M. Bailey’s The Icarus Aftermath spins a golden yarn of vivid characters and gripping emotion, set in a world ripe for exploration.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 26, 2021

The Hourglass and the Darkness
“Kyle L. Elliott’s novel The Hourglass and the Darkness posits a world before the great Flood, starting a promising series.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 19, 2021

Gretchen and the Bear
“Carrie Anne Noble’s delightful fantasy/sci-fi mashup Gretchen and the Bear defies every expectation.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 12, 2021

Torch
“Torch blazes a solid conclusion to the series’ themes of just leadership and racial reconciliation among fairy folk.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 5, 2021

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53. How Can Christian Fans React When Fantasy Creators Get Cancelled? Part 1
Fantastical Truth, Mar 2, 2021

52. Do Christians Really Need Science Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 3
Fantastical Truth, Feb 23, 2021

51. Do Christians Really Need Fantasy? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 2
Fantastical Truth, Feb 9, 2021

50. Do Christians Really Need Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 1
Fantastical Truth, Feb 2, 2021

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The Fantastical Elements of Romantic Fiction, part 2
Parker J. Cole, Mar 4

Settling the Solar System in Science Fiction, part 3: the Moon
Travis Perry, Feb 24

The Fantastical Elements of Romantic Fiction, part 1
Parker J. Cole, Feb 17

Settling the Solar System in Science Fiction, part 2: Venus
Travis Perry, Feb 11

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Does ‘Engaging Popular Culture’ Include Right-Wing Talk Radio?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 9

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E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 6

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Captain Marvel: Fun, But Not Phenomenal, and That’s Okay

Captain Marvel is just a fun movie, so let’s not pretend it is some wonderful/terrible “woke” story.
E. Stephen Burnett on Mar 12, 2019 | 1 comment

You’ve heard all the fuss over Marvel’s Captain Marvel and feminism. Given all that, I expected at least some ultra-feminist stuff in the actual movie.

Instead, the movie only delivered a few male characters making lewd remarks, which hardly even hurt our hardy heroine.

Plus we got one reference to women being kept out of combat situations.

Plus we got a quick montage of our heroine picking herself up after, say, a go-kart wreck, or a baseball stumble.

If that’s “woke” feminism or progressive propaganda, then this “culture war” should be a cinch.

Quips don’t help us invest in character growth

I must say, the film, stumbles a lot in trying to achieve two contradictory goals.

First, Captain Marvel wants to show us fighter-pilot-turned-alien-commando Carol Danvers, consummate tough girl, offering versions of ’90s-action-movie-tough-hero smirk-‘n-quips.

But second, the movie also wants to show us this story: “Here is a person whose emotions were trained out of her and who must recover this to become truly strong.”

Problem: we have to be told by exposition or other characters about this progression. Unfortunately, Danvers (Brie Larson) never persuasively shows us this progression. At the movie’s start, she’s smirk-‘n-quipping and throwing proton punches. At the movie’s end, she’s still smirk-‘n-quipping, and throwing larger proton punches, while also flying.

The smirk-‘n-quips stay the same no matter what stage of the journey she is. And this may be a result of writing or direction, not Larson herself. She could really take off as a fun character in Avengers: Endgame (the same way Natasha Romanoff took off in The Avengers).

Stop this endless fandom war

Mind you! I enjoyed the movie. It’s a fun rollick. It was similar to the “just for fun and characters” intents of Thor: The Dark World or Ant-Man and the Wasp.1 Clearly its makers didn’t truly mean the film to be a great ode to feminism.

It does not try to show even a surface-level view of a human problem, like Tony Stark’s struggle with PTSD in Iron Man 3.

It also does not attempt to break ground for the genre while still following the general Marvel film tradition, such as Captain America: The Winter Soldiers or Avengers: Infinity War.

But if the film didn’t even give us this much–why for have we been having all this fandom fighting?

At Speculative Faith last week, I tried to explore why fans turn against their favorite franchises. This article was inspired by the Captain Marvel debacle. But honestly, the backlash against Captain Marvel makes little sense. By contrast, the backlash against Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi makes more sense. Unlike that film, Captain Marvel brings back fan-favorite characters and doesn’t mock them.2 It’s not trying to “subvert” fans’ expectations.

What about actress Brie Larson’s comments that seemed to demean men?

Well, I can understand any fan feeling put off, after any actor goes out in front of her/his movie and says something like, “This story isn’t meant for you.” It’s hard to feel welcomed after that.3

At the same time, it seems clear that Larson, or someone, felt the movie needed some kind of Big Social Meaning. But now this can be shown as the remedial measure that it was. Why? Because the movie, frankly, didn’t share this Big Social Meaning on its own. Instead, this Big Social Meaning had to be provided from outside.

That should invite Marvel fans’ sympathy and perspective–not our automatic mockery and boycottery.

It’s just a movie. And that’s okay.

Discerning viewers can enjoy this for what this is.

But let’s not set up Captain Marvel to be something its makers clearly never (seriously, anyway) meant for it to be.

  1. Unlike some Marvel fans, I defend every movie in the franchise. For example, fans often call Thor: The Dark World one of the worst Marvel movies. That’s absurd. It’s not the worst, certainly not craft-wise. Whereas Ant-Man and the Wasp frankly offers some bizarre editing and suffers as a result. But even that movie isn’t trying to be some great artful achievement. ↩
  2. Captain Marvel doesn’t mock its characters, yes. Spoiler here. One possible exception: the film shows the very silly reason Nick Fury got his eye scar. It also literally pictures an alien cat-creature swallowing one of the most powerful objects in the universe, an Infinity Stone, and then hawking it up on Nick Fury’s desk. ↩
  3. By contrast, the makers and actors of Black Panther invited everyone to the world and challenging themes of Wakanda. Sure, the film and marketing paid special attention to black viewers. That makes perfect sense, especially given the fact that the movie was literally set in Africa. But the movie’s marketing offered a tone of inclusive joy. I felt welcomed in enjoying and talking about the movie. Still do. ↩
E. Stephen Burnett

E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi and fantasy as well as nonfiction, such as The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (coauthored with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore, from New Growth Press). Stephen explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven.com and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, help with foster parenting, and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.

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  1. E. Stephen Burnett | If You Didn't Like That Christian Ministry's Anti-'Captain Marvel' Article, Read This | E. Stephen Burnett says:
    March 18, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    […] of Captain Marvel‘s supposed radical feminism have been grossly exaggerated. If anything, adding even some preachy feminism could have given the story more substance and direction. […]

    Reply

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