Black%20Widow%3A%20Did%20the%20film%20tackle%20MCU%27s%20darkest%20issues%3F

Scarlett Johansson%u2019s Black Widow is finally here! Scarlett essayed the role of Natasha Romanoff for 11 years since she made her debut in MCU%u2019s Iron Man 2. The movie is currently breaking pandemic box office records, it is more like a personal story, one that touches on childhood trauma, abduction, brainwashing, and human trafficking. 

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The Red Room: 

We first saw Natasha Romanoff in the Red Room was in the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron. In a series of flashbacks, we saw Natasha%u2019s childhood including when she was earning ballet, learning to use a gun, and many more things.

 Fans assumed they would see a lot more Red Room flashbacks in the Black Widow movie. Although Red room I the basis of the entire movie, we do not get to see it that much. Instead, the film provides a series of montages during the opening credits depicting brainwashing, combat training, and more, all set to a haunting Nirvana cover.

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Human Trafficking:

The issues that take place in the Red Room touch extremely dark flashbacks much darker than what we got in Age of Ultron. The Red Room is one way to describe the reality of human trafficking. 

Numerous clips in the movie explain the above point: seeing the sisters drugged at the airport and put in a shipping container to make the journey from Cuba to Russia when Natasha finds out Dreykov took her as a child, paid her mother, and then killed her mother. The moment that truly sells the human trafficking element in the movie is Dreykov’s grand speech to Natasha. He says, “The most disposable workforce in the world is girls.”

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 Many of these things tend to happen daily in certain places, and thus the movie tried to shed some light on these dark realities. Movies like, Whistleblower and Taken are some great examples you wish to learn more about it. 

Dismantling Dreykov

One of the main motivations for Natasha to destroy the Red Room was her dreadful memories and how she was brainwashed and forced to do terrible things while working for Dreykov. Natasha thought she destroyed the Red Room when she defected S.H.I.E.L.D. But later when she finds out the room still exists and Dreykov is still in charge of it, she is compelled to confront him again. 

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This premise is incredibly personal for Natasha because she has to revisit the darkest chapter in her life. Dreykov represents a type of villain that exists in our world even today: human traffickers.

The important message of this film is about overcoming your past, reconciling your mistakes, and being strong enough to erase unhealthy programming. This film really showcases Marvel%u2019s ability to tell a personal story with global implications. No other MCU film has come this close to an issue as dark and tragic as trafficking. 

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