Marvel Studios, the long-revered producer of favorites like “Spiderman” and “The Avengers”, is facing recent backlash from fans and artists alike.
Through the interconnected storytelling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), many feel that these superpowered tales connect with audiences in a way other film studios are unable to replicate.
However, recently released films have been subject to immense criticism, with a number of people feeling the company has been struggling to live up to the days before “Avengers: Endgame.”
Senior and superhero-movie-enthusiast Cassel Friemel articulated the main issues she feels are plaguing the MCU. “I definitely feel like the MCU has declined in quality. More specifically, they are prioritizing quantity over quality. Many people are tired of the current MCU formula: overdone humor, grandiose visual effects, etc,” she stated.
This supposed decline in quality has, by many, been attributed to Marvel’s mistreatment of their 3D animators and virtual effects artists.
A whistleblowing-artist, known only by the alias “David,” had plenty of grievances to air with the filmmaking behemoth. “I didn’t have a day off for five weeks… they were ten-plus-hour days…” This crunch has to do with the extremely short deadlines given by Marvel to contracted artists. “…we literally got shots in at the end of December for a show that was due at the end of January,” David reported. He went on to discuss the low wages and unrealistic workloads expected of the contracted VFX company.
AP 3D Art teacher Aimee Peters reflected on the conditions of Marvel’s VFX artists. “Early 3D animated films like ‘Finding Nemo’ took years to finish… I can’t even imagine how artists are able to animate entire reshoots in a month,” Peters explained. “Artists are perfectionists. No artist wants to put their name on a half-baked product, and the industry takes advantage of that.”
With the rise of Disney+ and increasing content consumption, VFX artists have more to fear
Since 2015, the studio has increased the number of films it releases by 80%. Disney+ has seen the rise of numerous Marvel shows, like “She-Hulk”, “Ms. Marvel”, and “WandaVision”, each with more content than any movie. This situation has become more daunting when the actual amount of Computer Generated Imaging is factored in. This production increase has fostered a VFX industry fed up with the unceasing demands of Marvel Studios.
Such a massive increase in quantity and deteriorating quality is deterring potential viewers and even longtime fans.
Freimel continued,“I feel that ‘Marvel fatigue’ has a big part in the current discourse… the quantity of films makes the MCU so over-saturated that it’s difficult for casual viewers to keep up. Most people don’t have time to watch 36 hours of content each year.”
However, she feels some of the recent criticism rings hollow. “recent discourse is driven by misogyny and racism, exemplified by the ‘She-Hulk’, ‘Ms. Marvel’, and other projects involving women and people of color. For example, viewers lost their minds when a Black man was the successor to Captain America, and, following ‘Captain Marvel’, Brie Larson was subject to a five-year-long hate campaign.”
To the average viewer, these issues may not register. Nonetheless, to the artists, this situation foreshadows worse conditions yet to come. “I think that the larger issue here is how this will affect the industry as a whole. Marvel sets a precedent for other film studios to overwork their artists, and the bar will be much higher for future artists,” Peters elaborated.
The future looks bleak for VFX artists. Marvel revealed its plans for future projects, and it seems that the onslaught of animation is not slowing down. Regardless, fans take to social media and voice their concerns with the dangers of overworking and oversaturation with the hope that the studio will provide a more positive influence on the artistic community.
