Birds of Prey makes big step toward inclusivity in industry

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Blanca Cantu, Opinion Editor

   With many fans being worried about how Margot Robbie and her costars will perform in a female-led superhero movie considering the on and off performances of Warner Brothers DC women, Robbie, Rosie Perez (Renee Montoya), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress), and Ella Jay Basco (Cassandra Cain) managed to revive the Gotham’s classic colorful and punk-like style. 

   Costume designer Erin Benach showed how much she differs from the other men within the superhero franchise through completely revamping Harley Quinns style; unlike in Suicide Squad there were no see-through tank tops or short shorts to be seen on Quinn or any of the other women in the movie. 

   Now, with director Cathy Yan, her amazingly shot action scenes and colorful sets that had viewers thoroughly invested in wherever in Gotham the characters were taking you. Yan’s brilliance here only showed how diversifying directors in superhero films can truly save your franchise. 

   Many would argue that DC simply formed her into a Deadpool-like character considering Birds of Prey has an R-rating and included Quinn breaking the fourth wall the entire time. Though this is somewhat true, the writers and directors made sure she did stand out in her own way with her elaborate style and a team never seen before on the big screen.

   Also, in terms of having a few firsts, Quinn and Montoya managed to be the first lgbtq+ superheroes to be represented on the big screen for DC. Though it was subtle, it was a big step considering the years of erasure lgbtq+ heroes have had to undergo in order to please big studio audiences and companies. Since this movie has received nothing but praise so far from those who aren’t upset about the less-sexist costume changes, there is certainly hope that Quinn’s bisexuality will be addressed again as well as how Montoya is a lesbian. 

   Along with that Quinn was finally made out to be her own character, needing no help from the Joker. With Suicide Squad many romanticized their clearly abusive relationship, but Birds of Prey made it official that the relationship was never good to begin with and was not going to be happening again anytime soon. 

   In the end there was nothing truly horrible about this movie; if anything one could say how killing off the main villains in their first movie might have been a bit extreme, for I know that I was secretly hoping Black Mask, played by Ewan McGreggor, would be staying around to cause more chaos in Gotham for later movies. However, Black Mask happens to be quite a horrible character, so I have no real complaints about his violent death.

  When it comes down to it no matter if one is an intense fan or could care less about what DC films have to offer, Birds of Prey is sure to be highly entertaining and hilarious. The plot itself isn’t hard to follow like most Marvel films these days and the ending left its audience curious about what more would be offered from the group in the future.