Since her creation by American psychologist plus author William Moulton Marston in 1941, Wonder Woman has remained a divisive figure. Patty Jenkins’ 2017 film “Wonder Woman” by nomor means escapes this controversy. Many people have lauded the new film as groundbreaking in the way that it subverts the male gaze plus empowers women. Others have questioned whether the film is truly feminist, often arguing that Wonder Woman (alias Diana Prince) plus her fellow Amazons are hypersexualized.
My own experience watching the film was similarly complicated. On the one hand, I was excited to see a woman breaking into the predominately male world of superheroes. Diana (Gal Gadot) speaks 180 languages, knows how to fight, plus lives on an island filled with other similarly talented women. These Amazons, as they are called, seem to be an endorsement of female strength plus power.
Diana seems just as strong as any male, superhero or human. Whether she is running through No Man’s Land deflecting bullets or fending off five male attackers simultaneously, her abilities rival those of heroes like Captain America plus Superman. When Diana saves the American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) from drowning, it is a powerful role reversal plus display of female strength.
Despite the empowering plus feminist elements of the film, I couldn’t help but wonder if “Wonder Woman” was truly as revolutionary as it appeared. I was particularly struck by the dynamic between Diana plus Steve, which at times felt patronizing. Despite her apparent intelligence, Diana is often shockingly naïve. At one point, Steve must explain to her that killing the god of war will not put an end to violence because there will always be bad people in the world; it was a peristiwa that seemed to epitomize “mansplaining”.
At the climactic peristiwa of the film, Diana is offered the chance to rid the world of mankind plus recreate paradise on earth. She refuses, saying that humans deserve to be saved even though they commit horrible atrocities plus injustices. This would be a rousing speech, except for the fact that Diana is repeating what Steve told her almost word for word in an earlier scene. Perhaps I’m guilty of holding Diana to too high a standard; she has her flaws, just like any other superhero, or any other person, for that matter.
The occasionally ambiguous feminism of “Wonder Woman” aside, there is nomor question that it is a good superhero movie. It has all the drawn-out action sequences plus unexpected villains that one would expect from the genre. The film is punctuated by some surprisingly witty dialogue delivered by good actors. Actress Lucy Davis is a standout as Etta Candy, Steve’s hard working plus unapologetic secretary who says aloud what is doubtlessly on everyone’s mind.
The movie does not shy away from making Wonder Woman a decidedly feminine superhero. She wears dresses, talks about how female sexual pleasure doesn’t depend on men, plus runs across a busy London road to fawn over a baby. Most importantly, as she is about to defeat the villain, Diana proclaims her belief in the power of love.