Film is one of the media that has become an ideological machine either to maintain or resist dominant reality. The animated series "Batman: Caped Crusader" (2024) which was released last August shows the ability of film to challenge dominant gender ideology through alternative discourses. The latest superhero comic adaptation features Penguin, an antagonist character usually represented as a male gangster, gender-swapped by the series creators to a female. Although the movie brings new perspectives on women's position in society, it also gives rise to a contradictory discourse where the character remains positioned as a villain, like in the concept of femme fatale. Through Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, I uncover the underlying issue behind the gender swap and its contradictory femme fatale aspect in relation to the socio-political context at the time of the series’ release. The findings show that scenarios, dialogues, and visual elements in the series are able to present alternative gender discourses amid an increasingly politically polarized society. Unfortunately, these discourses become less effective as it is still tied to the femme fatale formula which generates the notion that to be dominant, women have to be positioned as antagonistic figures towards male protagonists.

Authors:
Richardus Krisna Dewandaru, University of Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

About the Presenter(s)
Richardus Krisna Dewandaru is a master student at Department of Communication Science, Gadjah Mada University. His interests include film discourse, gender studies, western popular culture, entertainment industries, and global media.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richarduskrisna

Additional website of interest
https://www.instagram.com/richardus_krisna/

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