These days, it can feel like everything in the entertainment world has a subtext, a message or an agenda. Which, to be honest, is something Plugged In reviewers keep in mind when we sit down to watch a movie or TV show, listen to a song or play a video game.
Which brings us to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the second of two Sony animated Spidey movies featuring the alternate-universe Spider-Man known as Miles Morales.
Both Bob Hoose and I screened the movie. And even when watching and looking carefully for hints of subtextual messaging, we didn’t initially find any. At most, one might have seen angsty conversations between Miles and his fellow Spider-Hero friend Gwen Stacy (Spider-Gwen, who hails from yet another alternate universe) about whether to tell their parents about their superpowers as a metaphor for coming out. But the film didn’t explicitly endorse that interpretation.
In the days that followed the film’s release, much of the initial reporting about it had to do with a) how terrific the story is (it currently stands at a very high 96% on Rotten Tomatoes for both critics and viewers) and b) how it outperformed box-office expectations in its debut weekend (the second biggest debut of the year so far).
If it feels like I’m setting you up for a fairly large “but,” here it is:
By mid-week this week, the narrative had shifted in another direction, to another question: Is Spider-Gwen trans?
What? I practically yelled at the computer when I first saw the headline. I’d seen the film. I’d looked very carefully, as had my reviewing compatriot, Bob Hoose. No way, I thought.
But the shift in conversation, it turns out, was launched by two small, blink-and-you’ll miss them images that even someone looking carefully would most likely not notice. The first is a poster on Gwen’s bedroom wall of a flag reportedly using “trans colors” with the words “Protect Trans Kids” on them. Here’s that image above her door.
And in another scene, someone with really, really good eyes noticed that Gwen’s father, a police officer, has a pin featuring a pride flag pin on his uniform:
Those observations sparked speculation about Gwen’s sexual identity. Some believe that these images, when combined with her dialogue about feeling like a part of her was hidden and the pink/purple/white palate in many of her scenes, were “undeniably” code that Gwen either was trans herself or a metaphor for trans people.
Decider contributor Alex Zalben penned an article called “Gwen Stacy Is Trans, If You Want Her to Be,” essentially saying that the answer to this question is in the eye of the beholder. Vox’s Alex Abad-Santos titled his article on the topic “Why Spider-Verse fans see Gwen Stacy as a transgender allegory.” He also notes, “I reached out to Sony to see if the writing team, directors, or artists who created the movie had a comment about how Gwen Stacy has resonated with fans but haven’t heard back…. For [LGBT fans], it’s something special about this character that can’t be taken away.”
So how should we respond as parents, or as simply as fans of Spidey or this franchise?
First, I think we can say unequivocally that there seems to be a message here about protecting and affirming LGBT people, and those who identify as trans in particular. I’ll quickly add, however, that the symbols associated with that affirmation flash across the screen so fast that the vast majority of viewers likely won’t even notice them. Thus, it seems the filmmakers and distributors wanted to make a statement, but to do so fairly quietly in comparison to some of the more obvious LGBT representation we’ve seen in many movies and TV shows aimed at kids recently (with Disney’s Lightyear and Strange World being exhibits A and B).
For some, this worldview and message, however subtle, will be enough to make us say, “No thanks.” Others will acknowledge that while this message is present, it doesn’t necessarily have to keep us from enjoying a story that has other redemptive themes.
Going one level deeper, I think we have to recognize, yet again, that mainstream entertainment has largely embraced this worldview with almost evangelical fervor. It’s not going anywhere. And this point of view is going to keep showing up in movies, shows and entertainment that we might be interested in.
As parents, we have to decide how we’re going to respond and how we’re going to equip our kids to navigate stories that celebrate a stance on sexuality at odds with what Scripture teaches. To do that, we’ve got wade into an ongoing conversation about the purpose and place of God’s intent for sexuality in our lives.
The entertainment culture understands that this isn’t a one-and-done conversation. And I think we need to embrace the reality that we’ll need to keep talking about it as well.
Finally, I think we’d all do well to let Scripture saturate our lives and to ask God to help us to relate to those around us—regardless of who they are or how they identify—with grace and truth. We see those virtues exemplified in Jesus’ interaction with the woman caught in adultery in John 8. The men who hauled her before Him sought her death for her transgression. Yet Jesus responded, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7). After they all left, one by one, Jesus turned to her and said, “’Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more’” (v. 10-11).
Grace: “Neither do I condemn you.” Truth: “From now on sin no more.”
Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). And they flocked to Him. He affirmed their worth and their dignity, making Him a magnet to those who were broken, bungled and botched. Grace abounded in His love. Yet that grace was paired with a call to relinquish our self-focused ways of living and to embrace the kingdom of God. Peter writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14).
The stories we see—or don’t see—offer an opportunity to help our children understand these foundational principles. And they offer a parallel opportunity to talk about how we relate to others, including—and maybe especially—those who may not live or believe as we do, and how to do so with truth and grace.
So, should you see Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse? Avoid it? Boycott it? See it? Talk about it? I can’t answer those questions for you and your family. But I don’t think the issues involved are going away. And I’m convinced that we, as followers of Jesus, have an important and life-giving gospel message to speak into this ongoing dialogue in our culture.
17 Responses
-This was a good post. I know enough people who are passionate about protecting this group and others like it from persecution and danger even if they aren’t in that group themselves, and given the obsessive treatment of the subject matter at the hands of certain legislatures, it makes sense that in a diverse setting like Spider-Man’s, especially for someone with a job that’s going to get as heavily scrutinized as Gwen Stacy’s dad’s, we’d see at least a little bit of this sort of political representation. (My only concern about the specific instance of Gwen Stacy’s dad’s example is to make sure that that pin does not constitute a specific political or religious endorsement, which I don’t think would be appropriate given his line of work, but I really don’t think it does.)
-Well written argument here! I will be going, but when I let my kids see it, it’ll be followed by a discussion about what is right vs wrong in media.
-There is nothing wrong with being trans or queer. It’s beautiful to be yourself. Trans people have always existed and always will.
-If this is another movie from the last seven years with an LGBT character in it I am not at all surprised, but I have to say, I’ve met plenty of people who support those lifestyles but don’t live them.
-Also noticed #BLM on Miles back pack at school.
-I’d certainly hope so, he and many members of his family would directly stand to benefit from that idea.
Honestly, most of this is just speculation on the part of the Left. For one thing, it’s obvious Gwen is “Liberal,” but apparently, no explicit demonstration of Transgenderisim from Gwen is shown yet as Spidervese 2 & 3 are centered around Miles and Gwen’s Relationship. 🤔
This may change over time, but we’ll see what happens.
-I agree. I spotted the “protect trans kids” poster when watching the movie, but I dont think that shows Gwen to be trans. In the comics, Gwen isn’t trans. In the movies, nothing obvious has really shown her to be trans.
We DO need to protect trans kid like we would protect anyone. They deserve the right to live a happy life as much as anyone.
Every human being has a right to be loved. And we can’t deny them that just because they’ve chosen a path that we don’t approve of. That doesn’t mean we should affirm them in their sin though, that isn’t true love if you’re too scared to say something that might upset them. “Hate the sin, love the sinner.”
So, all in all, I take the pride flags as them showing support, not saying that Gwen is trans. It just doesn’t make sense canonically.
-I was excited to see this movie, but after seeing this explode online and now reading this article, I finally decided I won’t be seeing it. “Protect trans kids” literally translates to hurting children; that’s just evil. I can’t support that. I sometimes let blink and you miss it references slide, but it seems given the use of color palettes as an important part of the Spider-verse, this is actually quite in your face. It’s also quite disturbing how this comment section is full of very confused people regarding what is good and acceptable verses what is evil and debauched.
-I look forward to the day when every church is more upset about people being gunned down because they’re in a minority group, and sees them worthy of being protected, than they are upset about kids taking puberty blockers. (I don’t think Scripture actively condones the latter, but you’d be hard-pressed to prove that it’s a literal sin. Technically I don’t think even a chaste same-sex marriage would be considered such if we’re going strictly by what Scripture says.) Too many churches are silent about anti-LGBT hate crimes, and some of them actively celebrate when they occur. That is evil, because what those groups are dealing with is called murder. This would be no different than celebrating if Christians got gunned down by Muslims or Hindus for worshipping.
If we’re going to condemn the transgender body modifications being done on minors, we’d also have to outlaw infant circumcision (and I think we should outlaw that, since the infant can’t consent to that, and there’s no medical benefit), which ironically would draw the ire of too many religious communities.
-Erik, you are twisting scripture to fit your own social narrative. The Bible strongly condemns homosexuality, period. From a Biblical perspective, there is no such thing as a “chaste same sex marriage.” Marriage was created for procreation, between one man and one woman. That’s in Genesis. Actually, because the Government ratifies a same sex “marriage” does not equate the Bible doing so. It expressly does not. And puberty blockers are a sin because they are medically harmful to the body, which is the temple of God. They are also intended to disrupt a process ordained by God. Circumcision, however, was specifically instructed by God. Therefore, it is not only sinless, but it must be good. You are free to indiscriminately pursue sin, but don’t try to convince yourself and others that the Bible supports your pursuit. It doesn’t at all.
-Hey bro don’t let all this online speculation and interpretation block you from seeing this fantastic film, which is much better than most of what marvels been putting out recently, Sony kept all characters as close as possible to their comic and movie counterparts so things like changing a characters gender wasn’t on that list. On a sad but true note is that this is just a marketing tactic not really something done with good intention, this is what companies have been doing for the last couple years because everyone wants a piece of the pie called “pride”. I’ve watched this movie a couple times and the experience each time has been great and I haven’t let all these talks get in the way of me enjoying it and I for one say go ahead and enjoy this masterpiece for yourself.
-Gwen is not trans, and I don’t see that coming across at all. Her character was dead until they made spider-Gwen not even ten years ago. Gwen Stacy deserves all the shine she deserves after finally being brought back in a strong role.
-Anon and MacKenzie, thank you both tremendously.
– A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood also fits very well. Fred Rogers was a wonderfully strong, sympathetic person.
-Shes not stop trying to change the comics
-Dude did you even watch the movie. There are no subtle hints of her being trans. Stop writing click bait articles