Final Project Script Rewrite - Captain Marvel PDF

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Professor Sherry Zane...

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CAPTAIN MARVEL FADE IN: The film begins with a dream sequence. In the first dream, Vers envisions a montage of the crash-landing that preceded her capture by Yon-Rogg and the Kree civilization. The frame hazily pictures a light rain of debris and a fallen Vers who brings her hand, streaked in blue blood, to her face, examining it with confusion. CUT TO the image of a smaller hand in the same orientation, this time streaked in red blood. Setting has shifted dramatically, exemplified by the sudden transition to a much brighter, more vibrant scene. Pan down to the face of a small girl (a young Carol Danvers) laying on the grass in the foreground. A winding road and a carnival scene lay in the background. The girl has clearly taken a fall - her face is smeared with dirt, blood peeks out from her nose, and her right knee, slightly scraped, peeks through a tear in her jeans. CUT TO a brief flashback: the girl sees herself in the driver’s seat of a go-kart, weaving between the other karts (driven by young boys) with ease. She looks to a man (her father) that stands on the sidelines, absentmindedly chatting with a friend. Desperate for his attention and approval, the distracted girl grits her teeth and floors the gas pedal. The man looks up with surprise at the sound of her sudden acceleration - the girl reorients herself, pulling her vision forward again, before abruptly crashing into the barrier. CUT BACK TO the image of her bloody hand that fills the frame again. The following shots are from her point of view: she plants her hands firmly on the ground and raises herself up, wincing slightly. The man walks towards her swiftly and furiously. A POV shot of the girl peering up as he looms over her: FATHER: [gesturing angrily] What the hell are you thinking? You don’t belong out here! YOUNG CAROL: [holding back tears] You let him drive. He silently clenches his jaw and shakes his head, turning around and retreating. The girl, disappointed and dejected, looks down at her scraped hands, then at her father as he approaches a small group of boys. He checks in on one boy in particular, smiling at him in approval and tousling his hair as the boy removes his helmet. End of dream sequence, CUT TO present day. An adult Vers is laying in bed, awakening from her dreams slightly shaken and confused. She knocks on Yon-Rogg’s door. He answers, halfasleep. YON-ROGG: [annoyed and tired]: Do you know what time it is? VERS: Can’t sleep. YON-ROGG: There are tabs for that.

VERS: Yeah, but then I’d be sleeping. YON-ROGG: Dreams again? [Vers nods in response. Yon-Rogg does so as well.] VERS: Wanna fight? [Scene changes to Carol falling over on a mat. The training/fight scene that inaugurates the film unfolds as written.]

The first change that I made is an addition to the dream sequence that inaugurates the film. Before Vers wakes up and commences her training with Yon-Rogg, she recalls a hazy memory of her childhood self racing go-karts at a carnival. This scene appears as a flashback later in the film, but I’ve chosen to re-work it, making some adjustments to its content and using it as an exposition scene that better frames Carol’s character arc. Of the manifold reviews that I read while conducting my research, a unifying complaint persisted: most critics saw Carol Danvers as an underdeveloped character, one who spends so much time trying to discover her identity that she seems like a blank slate by the film’s end, rather than a fully realized woman whose past and present culminate in the form of a truly cohesive, empowered hero. “If [the] film was genuinely concerned with presenting a layered, complex, inspiring female hero who could empower young audiences everywhere, then they would have crafted exactly that kind of character and movie,” writes one crictic. They continue: “Bizarrely, Captain Marvel is less interested in fleshing out its own hero than it is in filling in the black of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe.) This isn’t a film about one character so much as it is yet another marketing plank for weary audiences…” (Hertz). I tend to agree with Hertz; Carol is such a nuanced character with huge potential to reimagine what a female superhero looks like. The movie does so much right: unlike Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel is refreshingly unconcerned with romance - its heroine is driven by an intrinsic quest to discover her identity, not tether it to a man’s. Carol Danvers is noticeably unsexualized (certainly in comparison to Diana, at least). And, most importantly, in Brie Larson’s own words, Carol is a badass even before she’s granted her superhuman powers, positing that all women, rather than just exceptional women, can be heroes. “ Empowerment has two definitions,” writes one critic: “To be given power by someone or something, and to realize one’s own potential, to empower oneself… Captain Marvel embodies the lattter” (Watercutter). To me, more important than Carol’s quest to piece together the fragments of her past is her realization that she is powerful without having to prove it to a male authority. Although amnesia has created some distance between her past and present self, this dilemma - the constant urge to subvert male expectations and manifest her power through dramatic feats of bravery and strength - is

consistent in each iteration of Carol’s identity. By introducing this obstacle in Carol’s early, human life - then showing how it manifests itself in her future Kree life - the film clearly establishes a vulnerability that the audience can trace throughout her story. The foundations of this message are, in my opinion, already present in the film. I think that my changes, however, allow for a more intimate, immediate connection between Carol and the audience; juxtaposing this scene from Carol’s childhood with scenes from her life as a Kree warrior allows the audience to better associate Carol with a defining personal struggle that she must face before realizing her true potential. Her development is obviously multi-faceted: she learns of the Krees’ true intentions, liberates herself from them, reconnects with her past, and joins forces with the Skrulls - but what dilemma unites human Carol with her superhero counterpart? What does Captain Marvel have in common with her younger self? My re-write strives to answer these questions in a more direct fashion. This scene, like the training/fight scene with Yon-Rogg that follows, is motivated by Carol’s/Ver’s urge to compete with the guys, to prove herself worthy of being allowed in their inner circle. In my re-write, the audience sees that young Carol is already dominating the race track: she’s weaving around her peers confidently and effortlessly, a skill that she intrinsically possesses. It’s not her lack of power, then, that leads to her crash, but her distraction and desire to demonstrate this skill to her father. In her youth, Carol strives to prove her worthiness by associating power with masculinity, a subconscious “internaliz[ation}” of the “binary oppositions” framework that so often defines masculinity against femininity (America on Film: Part IV). “Gender roles and expectations” and the limits that they uphold dominate Carol’s life at this juncture. An adult Carol faces the same conundrum, navigating the same gender divides that are still firmly in place within Kree society: because “being feminine is thought to be tender,” while “being masculine is thought to be tough,” she is constantly chastised by her mentor for letting her emotions override her physical tact (America on Film: Part IV). But again, by the film’s end it is made obvious that she never lacked the power to challenge Yon-Rogg; what held her back was her focus on beating him at his own game, so to speak - in other words, defeating him in hand-to-hand combat on his terms, rather than bringing her own unique powers to the tale. Metaphorically, this represents a female finally shirking the shackles placed on her by a patriarchal society, a landscape designed to enhance male power places women at a disadvantage and teaches them to suppress their own unique abilities and operate by a man’s definition of “power.” Carol’s eventual decision to ignore Yon-Rogg’s constant requests to tone down her power, one that he does not possess, is the ultimate act of defiance and a refusal to play by rules put in place by (and to the advantage of) men. Clearly establishing this conflict as an impassioned struggle that follows Carol throughout her life makes her final stand-off with Yon-Rogg far more impactful. This scene seemed rushed, despite the fact that it should have been a huge moment for Carol, an emotional climax in which she finally overcomes the urge to prove herself and realizes that the only activation that her powers require is her acknowledgment, and embracing, of them. Her triumph in this scene is her refusal to take Yon-Rogg up on his offer to “prove to [him]” that she can beat

him by “knock[ing] [him] down [her]self” (1:44) - his attempt to trick her into disarming herself and fighting with one hand tied behind her back (because, somehow, it’s too weak and easy to use her exceptional strength - he suggests that without it, she’d be no match for him.) Her cool, confident response is: “I have nothing to prove to you” - after she blasts him away, of course. This is a demonstration of her releasing her desire for male approval, one that a patriarchal society has taught her to harbor, created by years of being jeered at and excluded by men throughout her entire life.

At 57:00. Vers (now called Carol) has just shown up at the house of Maria and Monica Rambeau. She approaches a small hangar filled with work tables, tools, and a small white plane. CAROL: Excuse me, I’m looking for Maria Rambeau. [A young girl emerges from the driver’s side of the plane.] MONICA: [timidly] Auntie Carol? Mom, it’s Auntie Carol! [She runs up to Carol excitedly and throws her arms around her waist. MONICA: I knew it! Everyone said you were dead! [She looks up at Carol with a beaming smile.] MONICA: But we knew they were lying. CAROL: [gently, confused] I’m not really who you think I am. [Carol looks up at the approaching Maria Rambeau, who peers at Carol in shock. CLOSE ON Maria’s face. Tears well up in her eyes.] Sudden CUT TO a FLASHBACK from Maria’s perspective. A brief montage follows - each scene jumps abruptly to the next. First scene: Maria and Carol, drunk and laughing hysterically, singing karaoke at a bar to Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly.” After finishing a verse, practically screaming the lyrics to each other, they drunkenly collapse into a sloppy, but gleeful, hug. Second scene: Evening. Maria has just finished preparing dinner for Monica, Carol, and herself. As she tosses a dirty pan and spatula into the sink, she peers through the large window directly

above the sink and watches a younger Monica and Carol laying on the front lawn, chatting and giggling. Maria exits the house and stands on the front porch. MARIA: [playfully] Get your butts inside, it’s time to eat. CAROL: [Lifting Monica and carrying her towards the door, the child’s arms outstretched like a plane]. Prepare for takeoff, Lieutenant Trouble. Maria makes eye contact with Carol. They give each other knowing smiles. Third scene: Broad daylight. Maria and Carol, donning their Air Force jumpsuits, are walking side-by-side on the tarmac, their helmets in their hands. They’re chatting lightheartedly, when Dr. Lawson calls for Carol. Carol looks at Maria with a bemused expression - Maria nods and juts out her chin towards Lawson, as if to say “Go ahead, I’m right behind you.” Carol jogs towards Lawson, who gives her good news (presumably that she’s been chosen to accompany Lawson on the experimental test flight for the new light-speed engine). Maria looks on as Lawson beams at Carol and Carol beams back; Maria looks on from an outsider’s perspective, slightly dejected. When Carol looks to Maria to share the excitement, however, Maria feigns pure, exaggerated enthusiasm and mouths “OH MY GOD,” giving Carol a thumbs up, then heading towards the two women. DR. LAWSON: [to Maria, teasing Carol]: Keep an eye on your friend here. She’s got an important job to do - don’t let her get herself into any trouble. At least not until after next Thursday. Maria grabs Carol’s hand and squeezes lovingly, feeling immense pride for her friend that is tinged by a more complex emotion: a feeling of rejection, invisibility. DR. LAWSON: [to Carol] You’ve got yourself a good co-pilot there, Danvers.

Establishes the loving relationship between them, emphasizing their friendhsip and camraderie to expel any notions of rivalry or tension. That is paramount towards Maria’s feelings towards her friend. But there is also a sense that Maria is constantly, unknowingly, relegated to sidekick. The film spends so much focus on how Carol is alienated as a female pilot. The film seems to make the assumption that Maria, as another female pilot, faces teh same hardships, but fails to explore what other challenges she might face as a black woman - bias, racism, etc. Explores feelings of invisibility - start to make this experience visible, give her perspectove, not have her character be fully defined by love for Carol and showing her support, happily accepting the role of sidekick. True intersectionality

Allow for critical race theory analysis Start with childhood flashback - she doesn’t remember who she is or where that memory came from, but it establishes a clearer line between having to prove herself/being pushed down - then last scene has more impact Trivial change, right? What did we accomplish by starting the film this way? For one, we get an good idea of who Carol was. Headstrong, brave, and unwilling to veer away from her goals because authority told her she couldn't hack it. We're also now emotionally invested in seeing these traits pay off for her positively, rather than her crashing into the dirt and being scolded. First scene - wanting to prove herself more - she wants his approval so much, so that at the end it’s more impactful when she rejects this…. Highlight scenes where she’s trying to prove herself to men...