Letter to the Director of Iron Man

Jon Favreau,

I would like to start off by telling you how much I enjoy your Iron Man movies. I love Tony’s humor and the action in the movies. I am, however, disappointed at the portrayal of the character, Pepper. I feel that so many movies do not give female characters enough credit for their accomplishments and instead focus on their sex appeal, their insecurities, and undeniable dependence on men. I will tell you right now, that I am not a crazy feminist. I actually have many traditional beliefs about the roles of men and women, yet I will not waver on my belief that women deserve respect. And I do not believe that Pepper, from the Iron Man movies does not have this respect and this portrayal will affect many women’s views on their worth.

Movies have such an effect on people, which you probably know already. And knowing this, I feel that the Pepper character should be portrayed as a much stronger woman than she has been portrayed as. For example, Pepper does get in on the action, which is so great for women to see that they can do crazy things as well. However, when Pepper does an investigation encounters Vanko in Iron Man 2, she is wearing a pencil skirt and 5 inch heels, which she would never be able to wear if she were to realistically run away from Vanko! I think that this image would give many women and girls the impossible notion that they must look good for men at all times, even when they are doing something that could be dnagerous. I would have rather seen Pepper rip off her heels and actually run. This would have been more realistic and would have made Pepper seem more legit.

Also, I feel that Pepper seems too dependent on Tony. She does so much for Tony, and yet Tony treats her terribly. If I did as much for a man as Pepper does for Tony and was still treated like dirt, I would get out of that relationship. And yet, many females watch this and acquire the false notion that if they wait long enough, their overlooked acts of love will finally pay off. I could see this as easily influencing abused women to think that eventually their partner will stop abusing them and actually love them. I am not saying that Tony is depicted as abusive, but many women and girls could use these principles in their own lives and continue to be hurt. And even if females are not in abusive relationships, they could be influenced to stay in terrible relationships because they believe their partner will change and one day realize how much he loves her.

I’m not saying that I want you to change the world and change how every woman and girl thinks. But, I would highly recommend that you critically look at the movies you are creating and see how the female characters are truly being portrayed. It’s great that Pepper can fight and help Tony, but how is she truly being portrayed? My hope is that you will do this and portray women in a more positive manner. They don’t have to necessarily fight and be the most hard core girl that was ever depicted on a screen, but they do deserve to be respected. I think that every female deserves that, whether on or off the screen.

Sincerely,

Megan Smith, a college student who cares