UWM Students lined up Friday evening inside the Northwest Quadrant for a coveted spot at the premiere of Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie with Brie Larson in Captain Marvel.

Unfortunately, there was a mix-up on the website. It stated that 250 students would be able to go, but there were actually only 140 tickets available for both students and staff working the event. Even with the discrepancy of about 90 tickets, only 20-30 students were turned away.

The rest of the event went off without a hitch.

For those who’ve been waiting years for this movie, it was everything they hoped it would be and maybe even more.

Fair warning: spoilers ahead!

Captain Marvel was all about female empowerment.

It teaches us that women are not weak when they can’t control their emotions. Men in the movie are always telling Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) to control her emotions because they make her a worse fighter, but that’s not the case. When she finally lets her emotions run free, she’s more powerful than ever before.

It teaches us that it’s okay not to conform to the traditional idea of how women should act.  At one point in the movie, an antagonist screams at Brie Larson’s character, and she screams back, just as fierce. Unlike other superhero movies (with the exception of Wonder Woman (2017)), Carol Danvers is not made to look sexy or attractive when she’s fighting. She’s a warrior. Warriors don’t look traditionally attractive when they fight and women don’t either. 

It teaches us that we don’t have to prove ourselves to people. In the final fight, Carol is told to prove she can fight without her powers. In the middle of the cliche villain monologue, she shoots him with a proton beam and he goes flying into a pile of rocks. When she walks back over to him, Carol says an iconic line, “I don’t have to prove myself to you.” She doesn’t. Carol doesn’t owe her former mentor anything, she never has. 

And, most importantly, it teaches us to always get back up when we’re pushed down. During the movie, Carol gets flashbacks of her life before she lost her memory. Every single one of them ends with her being pushed down, falling or crashing into something. The turning point is when she sees herself getting back up. Once she remembers this, Carol forces herself to get back up. No matter what happens in life we always need to get back up.

Cover photo courtesy of GeekTyrant.com