How FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Villainizes Trauma – Nerdist
How FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Villainizes Trauma – Nerdist
Maybe I should write a separate post, but I’m lazy so I’m just going to add my two cents to what this article already so well puts in words. I didn’t like FATWS. Didn’t hate it either, it’s entertaining and goes into some important issues, but when it comes to Bucky, the character I admittedly have an emotional attachment to, it went the very opposite way of what I would have liked, of what I would have felt did him justice. Maybe it’s just me, maybe I have a biased understanding of why Bucky Barnes became far more popular than Marvel ever anticipated, but I think it had a lot to do with his vulnerability, his trauma, the tragedy of his story and strength of his character. You know, like when, after years of being used and abused, on the run, falsely accused, he willingly, without a hint of doubt or rebellion, goes back in the ice, puts his life on hold for fear of being once again used as a weapon, stripped of his own will and turned into something he definitely doesn’t want to be. Maybe I’m wrong and his popularity is mostly due to how good Seb looks in tight black leather.
I know fandoms have a tendency to develop their own tropes, hcs and shared truths that usually don’t exactly align with what canon and its tptb have in mind. Fandom piled up torture, abuse and then sorrow and regret upon Bucky, but there were already hints that tptb had a far “lighter” take on his backstory and how willing a participant he’d been in it. And that was exactly the route taken in FATWS! No longer a victim, no longer a deeply good man in the most horrible, dehumanizing situation, but a somewhat willing participant who was just a bit misguided on what he and HYDRA were doing; like a soldier who chose the “wrong” side because of propaganda and comes to realize s/he wasn’t exactly told the whole truth. This obviously, completely contradicts what we got in previous films where it was clear enough he had no saying whatsoever in the matter, the mind wiping and conditioning were so strong he had no choice but to become the Soldier and obey. But of course, real men (and even more so super heroes) don’t do trauma, they shrug it off like it’s nothing and Marvel made sure, once again, not to deal with it in a serious manner, dismissing it almost entirely and, in the process, villainizing Bucky (Stan Lee, who told Seb “Remember, Bucky is one of the good guys!” must be turning in his grave). This Bucky not only is perfectly fine with all the violence inherent to making his amends, but has to be reminded by the psychologist that killing is a no no, implying that he’s perfectly fine with it. Such a stark contrast to the deeply distraught man we see in Wakanda when T’Challa shows him the new arm and he wearily asks “Where’s the fight?” or CW Bucky who just wants to be left alone and tries to escape instead of fighting and actually proclaims that “I’m not gonna kill them”.
Marvel lost such a good opportunity to deeply humanize one of their characters and showed once again how little they understand or, above all, want to understand, about psychology, trauma and, basically, just being human in general. More than pain or anguish, what most victims of no matter what sort of abuse feel is worst is powerlessness, the feeling of not being able to save themselves or those they care about, and that tends to linger long after they’re safe enough. But of course, if Bucky wasn’t that traumatized, Marvel didn’t need to go there, didn’t need to address how deeply stressful it would be for him to pretend to be the Soldier. Yet, the scene was even played for laughs, without the slightest protest or sign of discomfort from Bucky.
FATWS’ story could have been exactly the same changing only the motivation and overall attitude. That the world still distrusted Bucky Barnes and wasn’t willing to forgive and accept him as a good man, it makes sense, but what would have been truly interesting was the journey of Bucky Barnes accepting and forgiving himself. That’s not what we got and there’s a huge difference between an angry man who seems to be making amends because he’s forced to as part of a pardon and one who’s struggling with his own past, his own deeds that weren’t exactly his own but were nevertheless performed by his body. For me, it would have made so much more sense and would have been so much more satisfying if Bucky had realized there was a way to minimize what he had been forced to do and, despite the weariness, the disgust he came to feel for that sort of activity, had decided on his own to make amends as a way to atone. In fixing the world a little bit, in making it a little better maybe he could eventually find a way to, not entirely forgive, but at least ease his guilt and live with himself, his past, his trauma and the feelings of powerlessness that certainly came with it. In that process, he could slowly become the hero he’s supposed to turn into.
Overall, I think Marvel’s approach to therapy wasn’t just in-world terrible, it’s a dangerous depiction that may actually harm young or vulnerable people in the real world. For a time, some claimed it was an accurate depiction of how it worked in the Military and I’d have been perfectly fine if that was indeed what they were trying to do, pointing out how veterans have to struggle with lack of proper support. Pretty sure now it wasn’t the case and I’m afraid some people may think that was appropriate in any way. It wasn’t, that’s not how therapy and a client’s relationship with a therapist should work. There’s a huge difference between being challenged in a friendly, caring way and being bullied like that. So, if you need help, be careful, you should not feel threatened, that’s not how it should work. In-world, I was particularly upset that she chastised Bucky for not being more outgoing with people, having more contacts on his phone, etc. To me it felt particularly cruel and proof of how little she truly knew about his background, how he had no family left, how he’d been in hiding for so long, how much he probably was suspicious of people he doesn’t know given how they could turn out to be HYDRA… Instead of gently nudging him into being more trusting, into learning how to function in the civil world, she chooses to bully him. Tough love is only one of two things, either you’re really not trying hard enough to reach and connect with the other person or you tried and failed. It’s always a failure either way.
It’s pretty common in the VA to not get the help you need with regards to trauma, but that’s because the VA is known for consistently screwing over veterans regardless of medical condition. I’m sure it’s not all of the VA but enough that I’ve got some horror stories being on the opposite end of that. With my chronic migraines that cause near daily headaches that last for hours, I should be able to get up to 80% but I’m fairly certain I’ll be lucky to get 20 even with the fact I need daily medication for functionality.
I’ve heard of people who should have gotten 100% and be lucky to get 20 because the doctor marks down that they’re healthier than they are even when shoving on damaged areas and making them scream in pain. It’s horrible and even now people struggle to get treatment once they’re out. Ive had a friend go through a stroke. Another with brain cancer. One whose immune system attacked his spine. Another with lupus. And this is all physical ailments, not including trauma.
I also want to point out that as a prisoner of war, Bucky Barnes cannot legally be held accountable for what he’s done under duress. The fact that he’s being treated like a criminal is absolutely fucking horrific.
He’s not Bergdahl.
He was a POW who fought until they fried his brain so bad he didn’t know which way was up. The fact that there’s literal video evidence of electroshock lobotomy being performed on him should attest to the fact he wasn’t a willing participant. Whoever his attorney was should have been drawn and quartered for this perversion of justice.
Captain America: Civil War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely said in a 2016 interview that [for Bucky to find happiness was] “a little too unpunished” and that he was “100% guilty.”
WHAT THE EWWWW
That’s why my Bucky canon stops at catws
I would also like to point out that the canon-adjacent Wakanda Files outright state that it was as if Sgt Barnes was asleep when he was the WS.
But I do think that Sebastian Stan did play some discomfort in the soldier scene in TFATWS. He is clearly not okay after, and Sam even reaches out to check on him subtly. Sam also does seem genuinely worried for Bucky’s well-being and not in the sense of him “breaking bad.” Perhaps I’m misinterpreting this, or maybe it wasn’t even meant to come off that way in the script. Even that moment when Sam says, “do the work,” it sounds like a real therapist urging a client to try to help themself as opposed to telling him to apologize for things he had no control over.
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