How Suicide Squad Shook Up A Whole Genre

Perspective

It is a proven fact that the vast majority of filmmakers and writers working in western cinema today are male, which is why we have become accustomed to viewing stories through the male lens. It wasn’t always this way – a century ago, female filmmakers helped to found the film industry on an equal footing with their male counterparts. Those days are long gone, however, and the debate about the reasons for that change has raged for years. We can’t solve it here, but we can celebrate the fact that Suicide Squad is a giant leap back in the right direction.

“But, it’s written and directed by a white man!” I hear you cry. Yes, it is, but that’s the point. Suicide Squad is proof that even white male filmmakers can make movies that work outside of their own narrow perspective, which highlights the sheer laziness of anything else. The film is written and directed by David Ayer, but of its 11 main cast members, only three are white men. The central characters are Deadshot (played by Will Smith), Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) and Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis). Joining them are El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Slipknot (Adam Beach), and The Joker (Jared Leto).

This means that we are seeing the tale from a perspective that is different from the vast majority of movies in the same genre. The conversations that Deadshot has with, and about, his daughter; the juxtaposition of the way in which Harley Quinn thinks of herself, and the way she is regarded by the men around her; the single-minded determination of Amanda Waller – all of these nuances combine to create a core for the film that is entirely unique among comic book movies.

Additionally, there is the fact that this is a film about villains – and that is, in itself, something different. Not only are we accustomed to viewing these stories through the perspective of white men, we are also used to viewing them through the perspective of heroes. Traditionally, these films are about right and wrong – the heroes fight the villains, win, and we are all left feeling better about ourselves. Suicide Squad tells us that we should feel better about ourselves even if we are villains – because nobody is perfect, and the world exists in a moral grey area, anyway.

The reason this shift in perspective is important is because it forces us to look at superheroes in a different way – through the eyes of the villains. Historically, to us, superheroes like Superman and Batman have been our champions. They’re on our side, because we’re the good guys, too, right? But to villains, superheroes are terrifying and intimidating. They are powerful beings that can do real physical harm, and have a tendency to incarcerate or kill as they see fit in the name of the greater good.

So when Suicide Squad tells us that nobody’s perfect – shouldn’t we find superheroes a little scary too? If nobody is perfect, then neither are they. What if they make the wrong choice? As Amanda Waller says, “What if Superman decided to rip the President from the White House? Who would stop him?” We’ve seen Superman wrestle with his conscience and his moral obligations before, just as we’ve seen Batman walk a very dark path. That’s the power of perspective, and that’s why it’s just as important for white male directors to be able to deliver perspectives other than their own, as it is for Hollywood studios to also hire filmmakers that aren’t white men.