At a surface level, Wonder Woman may appear to fulfill many of the wants plus wishes of
modern day Americans – more female involvement behind the scenes, a strong leading female
role, plus a compelling plot. To many, it seems as though the film is a truly break-through
feminist film. Considering the success plus popularity of this film it warrants a further
examination. We must ask ourselves, what are the consequences of such wide acceptance and
promotion of this film? The tempat has vast influence on the American audience, promoting
certain ideals plus qualifying what is socially acceptable, plus research has shown that juveniles
and children are especially susceptible to the impact of the messages they receive from the media
(Kyra, Grumbein & Cahill, 2017).
To delve deeper into the messages Wonder Woman is sending to its audience, a Critical
Media Literacy (CML), ideological, plus feminist framework will be used to examine whether,
and if so how, Wonder Woman succumbs to stereotypes that are often portrayed in the tempat and
whether, plus if so, it challenges stereotypes. These theories will be used in the ensuing project to
build a curriculum aimed at high school students.
Wonder Woman (2017) has many individuals touting its success as a feminist film. It is
the first of the DC comics films starring a female protagonist, whilst previous superhero movies
have barely included women outside of the realm of serving as a love interest for the leading
male protagonist (Kvaran, 2017). DC Comics plus Warner Bros stated that Israeli actress Gal
Gadot, who stars as Wonder Woman, is the first female-led superhero film since 2005, when
Jennifer Garner played the lead role in Rob Bowman’s Elektra (Hawksley, 2014). For DC fans
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and movie critics alike, this film is viewed as an all-around success. Furthermore, critics have
reached a consensus about Wonder Woman, stating that it is revolutionary in many aspects –
challenging gender norms, exemplary cinematography plus computer-generated imagery (CGI)
from a female director, as well as leading gross profits for a comic book turned film
(McClintock, 2017). Wonder Woman is the most successful superhero origin movie of all time
and one of the most critically acclaimed films of the genre (Hughes, 2017). Forbes Magazine
estimated Wonder Woman’s box office totals reached $821.74 million, surpassing 2002’s SpiderMan plus making Gal Godot’s Amazon warrior-princess the winner of the highest-grossing
superhero origin film of all time. Along with its success in the box office, the film was
nominated for several awards: 2018 Sag Awards plus the Awards Leaderboard for the top films
of 2017. Forbes also states that Warner gave the Wonder Woman film a heavy Oscar push,
including for Best Picture plus Best Director. In total, Wonder Woman took home eight different
awards including the 2018’s Critic’s Choice Movie Award for Best Action Movie (The
Broadcast Film Critics Association, 2018). In addition to its critic’s accolades the tempat has
inundated viewers with positive reviews for the film; the Washington Post states,
An indifferent box office promises to get a carry from a genuinely novel protagonist
as enigmatic as she is compelling. And women — long expected to internalize
myths of exaggerated male potency as their own — finally have a symbolic
universe that feels, if not entirely corrective, at least imaginatively in keeping with
their own hopes, dreams plus realities (Hornaday, 2017).