I saw "The Wolverine" for the second time this evening. Not only did I enjoy the film even more with the second viewing (I forgave the film for some of my earlier nit picks about the third act.), but I was able to level out my geekiness enough to look at the film Sociologically. Upon deeper sociological inspection, I was pleasantly surprised with how subversive this film is; unapologetically breaking barriers with its number of racially/ethnically diverse principle female characters. In fact, one of the first barriers this film breaks is a male centric cast. "The Wolverine has 4 principle female characters (shown above) and 5 male characters, a greater balance than any other superhero film. Additionally, through its many feminist themes and racial politics, "The Wolverine" is one of the most egalitarian summer blockbuster superhero films that I have ever seen.
Feminist Themes
There is no denying that "The Wolverine" is a film about James "Logan" Howlett. However, all of his decisions, actions and motivations are informed by the women that are around him. So much so, that one could say that there wouldn't be a plot (or point) to "The Wolverine" without its female cast. Many of the feminist themes in this movie involve passing the Bechdel Test, and are centered around the complexity and dimension of the female characters.
The Bechdel Test
"The Wolverine" passes the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel test is a test of female representation in film/TV. There are three simple criteria: 1) There must be two or more women in the film that have names. 2) These women need to talk to each other. 3) These women need to talk to one another about something other than a man. This criteria may seem simple (and it is), but a majority of films (especially superhero summer blockbusters) do not meet these easy requirements.
In "The Wolverine", the Bechdel Test is satisfied by the conversations between Yukio and Mariko, who are childhood friends. In these personal conversations they display caring for one another and discuss Mariko's new social position, and how to best keep safe from the threat of assassination. These conversation culminate at the end of the film with a reaffirmation of their relationship as sisters.
Complexity and Dimensions
Each female character in the film services the plot in a unique and specific way. Yet, most of the characters do not fall victim to being portrayed as two dimensional tropes. Mariko Yukio and Jean all enrich the story with their fully formed, multi-faceted and layered personalities, while Viper falls into a trope but makes up for it with some feminist behavior.
Mariko
Yes, Mariko is a damsel through out a lot of the film. Yet, in that role she shows strength through resistance and defiance. During each kidnapping attempt, Mariko is shown to be adept at self defense; she even displays deadly skills with a knife on more than one occasion. She is also shown to be both knowledgeable of her families company (enough to be trusted to run it) and compassionate to the needs of others (especially Yuiko and Logan). These character aspects allow Mariko to be spared the Damsel Trope and fails to become a victim to the ever popular "Women in Refrigerators" trope; something that even the 2008 mega hit "The Dark Knight" couldn't escape from.
Yukio
A shallow interpretation of the character of Yukio could be seen as "the sidekick". While she does travel with Logan and fight along side him, she does these things for her own reasons, and on her own terms. She seeks out Logan under the orders of her employer, Yashida. It is her job. its not about Logan, regardless of how enamored she is with him in the beginning. Secondly, she only attaches herself to Logan to prevent his death. Even then, she acts as his bodyguard; resulting in her saving his life more times than she's saved by him. At the end of the film it seems that this charge is one that Yukio takes seriously. She decides to accompanies Logan around the world, maintaining her "bodyguard" status.
Yukio is also given a tragic backstory that rivals Wolverine's. Yukio has the mutant power to see the deaths of everyone she meets. As a child, she "saw" her parents deaths and then witnessed it while she was in the backseat of the car. When Mariko was a young, her father Shingen took her to the southern part of Japan. Upon their arrival, they found Yukio eating out of the garbage. She was taken by Shingen to be a companion for Mariko. Through many years together, Yukio and Mariko's relationship grew into a mutual sisterhood.
Jean
Logan's "visions" of Jean act as his moral conscience in the film. They remind him of his past sins and his aching desire to end his life and "be with her". Jean's frank speech with Logan forces him to engage with some of the harsh realities of his life. Being haunted by Jean motivates Logan toward his over all end goal...to be faced with his role in Jean's tragedy, and forgive himself. She is the barometer of Logan's character arc throughout the film.
Viper
The one female character that is a bit one dimensional is Viper. She is regulated to the "Fem Fatale" trope. However, even though she isn't given much backstory or character development she emphasizes strong female characteristics in the way that she demands respect from Harada (boasting that she was the cause of Wolverine's weakness), subdues Shingen and effortlessly murdering a man who mistakes her for a prostitute.
Racial/Ethnic Politics
Of the principle cast, there are no Europeans. The ethnicity of the cast spans from Australia to the Netherlands, Japan to Korea and Russia. This is a breathe of fresh air in a genre that is typically populated with white ethnicities and national ties to the US. This eclectic nature of the casting continues with the extras. The film being set and shot in Japan all of the background characters, extras and enemies are people of color.
This increased diversity lead Director James Mangold to have over 1/3 of the films dialogue be spoken in Japanese with English subtitles. Mangold stuck pretty close to the rule that, if two native speaking Japanese characters were alone, they would speak Japanese. This was in direct defiance to the film trope of having everyone in a foreign setting speaking English. This was a fact that Mangold cautiously kept from the producers until right before release.
Conclusion
It is for these reasons stated above that I believe that "The Wolverine" is, like its namesake, one of a kind. It is a feminist friendly film portraying women with strength, complexity, and vulnerability, while minimizing or inverting the tropes that they do use. Also, this film represents people of color very well giving them diverse meaningful roles that ad texture to the story. This is a film to emulate to achieve equality in big budget pictures. While it is not completely perfect, it is a welcomed change to the women hating, masculine infused, adrenaline sucking stories that usually populate the summer cinema.
