deliberate abdication of responsibility. It is Nebula’s fault that he has her suspended in a torture chamber, he says, because she arrived and tried to kill him. It is up to Gamora whether Nebula suffers more, or is released – she just has to tell him the location of the Soul Stone.   

This is, perhaps, the most infuriating aspect of this patriarchal ‘divide and conquer’ strategy – that the goal is for men to retain power and authority, and the strategy involves the abdication of responsibility. It is, essentially, the having of cake, and eating it too; all of the perks, and none of the pain. ‘It was like this when I found it – I just carried on so it wouldn’t fall apart.’ This is why this scene is so powerful – because it drags that central concei...

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