She-Hulk director responds to criticism “tearing apart the CGI woman”

The head creatives of Marvel’s She-Hulk have defended their use of CGI, which has been massively criticized in the lead-up to the show’s release.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, one of the newest upcoming MCU projects, has been getting a lot of flack for its… troubling use of CGI, especially considering how much the show is seeming to rely on it.

While many workers of Marvel, be it the VFX artist themselves, or actors in the show like Jameela Jamil, have agreed with the fans critical sentiments, creatives who reside higher-up have gone on record to defend the CGI.

The show’s writer Jessica Gao, director Kat Coiro, and star Tatiana Maslany reacted to the Disney+ series’ CGI controversies at the show’s Television Critics Association’s press tour panel, stating that the reason it was being so criticised was because due to sexism within the industry.

She-Hulk isn’t just a CGI problem, it’s a “problem of the female body”

She-Hulk follows Jennifer Walters as “she navigates the complicated life of a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7 superpowered hulk.”

As the title and the synopsis of the show suggests, the show is heavily centred on a woman. And it is generally agreed upon that women often have it much harder in the showbiz industry, due to issues such as impossible body standards, sexual harassment, and general sexism.

And the creatives of She-Hulk have stated that this mindset is what has led to the onslaught of hatred towards the visuals of the upcoming show.

Coiro responded to disappointments that Walters hadn’t made more buff in her hulk form, saying as per The Hollywood Reporter: “In terms of the CGI being critiqued, I think that has to do with our culture’s belief in its ownership of women’s bodies.

“I think a lot of the critique comes from feeling like they’re able to tear apart the CGI woman. There’s a lot of talk about her body type and we based it on Olympian athletes and not bodybuilders. But I think if we had gone the other way, we would be facing the same critique. I think it’s very hard to win when you make women’s bodies.”

Star Maslany went on to describe how She-Hulk reflects themes of criticising women’s bodies: “What I find really compelling about the story is she when she’s She Hulk she’s treated very differently than when she’s Jen.

“There’s a lot of having to affirm her intelligence when she’s Jen and assert her role and trying to get respect, whereas when she’s She Hulk there’s this inherent sort of awe inspired by her that’s at odds with how she wants to be perceived.

“Her anger, her largeness, her taking up space in a room, is all fertile ground for us to play with, flip the standard on its head so you can laugh at it.

“We’re so fixated on women’s bodies, whether it’s aesthetically or politically or in terms of rights or in terms of autonomy, I think what we do in this show is is touch with all of these concepts.”

Marvel’s VFX team has bared the brunt of CGI issues

The panel also responded to the accusations of how Marvel overwork and abuse of their VFX staff which is arguably what leads to their substandard work.

“This is a massive undertaking to have a show where the main character is CG. It’s terrible that a lot of artists feel rushed and feel that the workload is too massive. I think everybody on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers,” Gao continued.

“We stand in solidarity with what they say the truth is,” Coiro also said.

“We work with them, but we’re not behind the scenes on these long nights and days. If they’re feeling pressure we stand with them and we listen to them.

“I feel incredibly deferential to how talented these artists are and how quickly they have to work,” Maslany added.

“Obviously, much quicker than probably should be given to them in terms of like churning these things out. We have to like be super conscious of the work conditions which aren’t always optimal.”

She-Hulk premieres on Disney+ on August 17