Viola Davis Defends Marvel Against Martin Scorsese’s Criticism

Viola Davis Defends Marvel Against Martin Scorsese’s Criticism

Viola Davis is the newest celebrity to pick sides regarding the Marvel Universe versus Martin Scorsese debate. Earlier this month, Scorsese infamously compared superhero movies to theme parks saying “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese said. “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” 

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Viola Davis has now put her foot in the ring. According to The Hollywood Reporter, during the Rome Film Festival, Davis was asked about the situation, to which, she responded, “I do like a good Marvel movie. I do like a good DC Comics movie.”

“Albert Einstein said that imagination is more valuable than knowledge. If I did not have my imagination, I would still be poor Viola living in Central Falls, Rhode Island, who is not considered attractive or whatever,” she expanded. “My imagination defined me. I could escape into a world that’s infinite, a world that I could create on my own, a world where I could redefine myself. That’s where art lives.”

She continued, “Art lives in that world of imagination. It’s a playground there. It’s God’s playground. It’s not up to anyone to say what deserves to be there and what doesn’t deserve to be there. It’s anything that you want to be in that place can live there. And that is why we have some of the greatest painters, some of the greatest actors, some of the greatest writers, and that’s why we live. So I do believe that there’s a place for all of it.”

She also defended Scorsese’s freedom of speech. “I think he was voicing his opinion. I think it’s valid,” she said. “Everyone had a place, an opinion. But I like a good Marvel movie,” she added.

Davis is set to reprise her role in the upcoming Suicide Squad sequel.