“Thank you, Captain America”: How Captain America: Brave New World’s controversial line exposes Hollywood’s colonial mindset

Before diving into this discussion regarding Captain America: Brave New World, it’s important to establish a few key points.

Stories shape how we perceive the world.

Hollywood, with its global reach, has a powerful hand in defining those perspectives. These narratives often prioritize Western perspectives, particularly those that frame the United States as the ultimate force of justice.

In many cases, this results in depictions that simplify complex geopolitical situations, presenting a version of events that upholds American intervention as both necessary and welcomed. Even when unintentional, these themes reflect longstanding patterns in media that deserve scrutiny.

Critiquing these tendencies isn’t about dismissing a film’s artistic merits. It’s about ensuring that storytelling evolves with nuance and responsibility. This isn’t an attack on Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie, or the team behind the film. Instead, it’s a deeper look at how a single line in the movie connects to a broader Hollywood pattern, one where Western perspectives dominate and reinforce outdated colonial narratives.

This isn’t about fixating on one moment in a blockbuster film. It’s about understanding how media shapes perceptions, especially in global power dynamics.

Stories have weight, and when a film as culturally significant as Captain America: Brave New World echoes long-standing Hollywood tropes, it’s worth taking a step back and asking why these patterns persist. Recognizing these patterns doesn’t diminish the work or its creators. Instead, it invites us to reflect more critically on the stories we consume and the messages they reinforce.

Disclaimer: Context and Intent

This article is based on extensive study and analysis of superhero narratives, drawing from sources such as The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on Pop Culture, a course featuring the late Stan Lee and Michael Uslan, as well as Power and Responsibility: Doing Philosophy with Superheroes.

It is also informed by historical knowledge and an in-depth understanding of film studies. The goal of this discussion is not to attack any individuals or works but rather to critically examine the persistent patterns in Hollywood storytelling. Recognizing these trends is essential for fostering a more nuanced and responsible approach to media.

---

A moment that speaks volumes

Three words:

"Thank you, Captain America."

And just like that, we’re back in Hollywood’s old habit of glorifying Western intervention. In Captain America: Brave New World, this moment is not just an unfortunate accident. It is an intentional part of the film’s narrative, reinforcing a long-standing trope that Hollywood has yet to abandon.

In Captain America: Brave New World, a Mexican leader utters this phrase after their group suffers an attack from a Mexican militia funded by the U.S. government. It’s the kind of line that might seem innocuous in a vacuum, but in the larger context of Hollywood’s storytelling, it hits differently. We’ve seen this movie before. The North American hero steps in, fixes the problem (often one his government created), and walks away draped in praise.

---

The Golden Age of Comics and the narratives we should have outgrown

Superhero comics were born in a world of clear-cut propaganda. The Golden Age, stretching from the late 1930s through the early 1950s, was filled with muscle-bound heroes punching Nazis and defeating exaggerated foreign threats. Captain America himself made his debut by socking Hitler in the jaw—undeniably badass for the time, but also emblematic of the black-and-white moral framework that dominated those stories.

Decades later, we should be telling more complex stories. Yet, Captain America: Brave New World risks slipping right back into that simplistic mindset, swapping out real-world nuance for a feel-good moment where the U.S. once again comes to the rescue. The fact that Sam Wilson, a black man now representing a nation with its own history of imperialism, is the face of this intervention makes it all the more uncomfortable. If the first black Captain America was just another tool of American foreign policy, what was the point of his struggle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier?

---

The North American savior trope: Hollywood’s favorite crutch

From Indiana Jones to Black Hawk Down, Hollywood loves a good North American hero swooping into foreign lands to save the day. It’s a trope that frames Western intervention as both necessary and universally welcomed. Never mind the historical reality of coups, invasions, and economic exploitation. This narrative absolves America of its role in global crises by positioning it as the ultimate problem solver.

What makes Captain America: Brave New World’s handling of this moment even more troubling is how it erases Mexican agency in their crisis. If a militia funded by the U.S. government is attacking Mexican civilians, then logically, the U.S. is part of the problem. But instead of reckoning with that complexity, the film opts for a moment of gratitude. The Mexican leader doesn’t demand accountability; he thanks the guy carrying the shield. That’s not just frustrating. It’s propaganda disguised as heroism.

---

When heroism becomes propaganda

Captain America has long embodied North American ideals, but those ideals have never been static. Steve Rogers' journey was, at its core, a challenge to blind patriotism.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier exposed the dangers of government overreach and surveillance, while Captain America: Civil War raised critical questions about unchecked authority. The introduction of Sam Wilson as the new Captain America should have marked a turning point, redefining what the shield stands for in an era that is more skeptical of North American interventionism.

Instead of embracing that evolution, Captain America: Brave New World clings to outdated messaging. Rather than breaking free from past tropes, the film reinforces them, wrapping an old narrative in a new costume. That isn’t progress. It’s regression.

If Sam’s Captain America is just another agent of the U.S. government cleaning up their messes abroad, then he’s no different from the CIA-backed operatives Hollywood has been glorifying for decades. It’s a step backward, not forward.

---

The importance of critical storytelling

None of this is to say that Captain America: Brave New World is beyond redemption. The movie (reshot and remade as we have become aware) came to confirm these concerns, showing that Hollywood still struggles to tell stories that move beyond outdated, oversimplified narratives.

However, the fact that a single line has already sparked debate speaks to a larger issue. Hollywood’s persistent struggle to move beyond tired, oversimplified narratives.

There’s an opportunity here, not just for Marvel but for blockbuster filmmaking as a whole, to tell stories that acknowledge the complexity of global politics. Superhero films can celebrate heroism without reducing non-North American characters to helpless bystanders. They can depict North American heroes without automatically positioning the U.S. as the world’s moral compass.

At its best, Captain America has been a franchise willing to question authority and redefine what it means to be a hero. Future Captain America films still have the chance to carry that legacy forward. But if it chooses to uphold the old American savior trope, then maybe, just maybe, it’s time to rethink what Captain America really stands for.