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New animated "Wonder Woman" movie reflects America's conflicted feelings toward feminism
I should tell you upfront that I'm not generally a fan of animated movies — they tend to bore me unless they were a childhood favorite — but my partner Lori likes them, and she occasionally makes me watch them with her (as penance, I suppose, for all the lesbian movies I make her watch). Last night, we watched the new straight-to-DVD PG-13 animated Wonder Woman movie from Warner Bros., directed by Lauren Montgomery and based on a story by Bruce Timm, William Marston, and Gail Simone (who is currently the head writer of the Wonder Woman series) about the journey of the Amazon princess Diana from the hidden island of the Amazons to New York and D.C., as she seeks to stop Ares, the God of War (Alfred Molina) from unleashing chaos on the world. Ares, the Greek God of War Virginia Madsen (Sideways) voices the Amazon Queen Hippolyta, Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds, Sin City) voices one of the fiercest Amazon women, Artemis, and Keri Russell (Waitress, Felicity) is surprisingly perfect as the voice of Wonder Woman herself. Throw in Marg Helgenberger (CSI) as the voice of the god Hera, and you've got a solid and eclectic cast of women. Here's the trailer so you can get a sense of the movie before I dissect its cultural relevance: Official Wonder Woman Trailer
From an entertainment perspective, this movie combining Amazonian women, a female superhero, ancient Greek myths, clever writing, and great animation is fun to watch. A few minutes into it, I even put down my iPhone to give the movie my full attention — and it takes a lot to get me to do that! Wonder Woman and the other Amazons are shrewd warriors, and that's a refreshing change from most action movies these days, where the women just wait around to get saved by men.
From what Lori tells me, the Amazons' extreme fanaticism in the movie about war and bravery in battle — and dismissiveness of the one character who preferred reading over fighting — is not really an accurate representation of the Amazons in the comics, who also prize the arts and an ideal, balanced society, but that detail didn't bother me too much. (Although I must admit, there was so much emphasis on the "we are warriors, hear us roar!" theme that I was expecting a Klingon to pop up during one of the battle scenes and shout "today is a good day to die!") From a cultural perspective, the film is an interesting reflection of America's mixed feelings towards feminism. While this movie appears to have a strong feminist message, it also has a strong anti-feminist one — much like current American society in general. The Amazonian women in the movie are presented as strong, independent, and wise (although not perfect), and Diana's journey to becoming Wonder Woman is a story of bravery and sacrifice in the tradition of all great heroes. The Amazons including Persphone, left, Artemis, center, and Diana, right There is ongoing conversation (sometimes nuanced, sometimes not) between Diana and Steve (Nathan Fillion), the pilot who crashed on the Amazons island and started this whole chain of events, about the evils of men and sexism, like in this conversation between Diana and Steve when she wakes up after a battle and learns he chose to save her instead of stopping the bad guy:
He goes on to tell her something to the effect of "not everything a man does is misogynistic" and that he saved her simply because he cares about her, etc. But except for that conversation and a few others, Steve is mostly portrayed in a — forgive the pun — cartoonishly sexist way. When he is first captured by the Amazon Queen, he tells her, "your daughter's got a nice rack." It doesn't get much more stereotypical than that. So it's no wonder that when thugs attempt to rob Diana and Steve in an alley, Diana not only refuses to hand over their money, she demands an apology, "for contributing to my present disillusionment with men in general." I found a clip of that scene on the movie's official MySpace page: Clip of Steve and Diana in the alley
When Persephone (Vicki Lewis) — an Amazon who betrayed them to help the God of War — is dying, she accuses the Amazon Queen of denying her a life of families and children, telling her "the amazon are warriors, but we are women, too." What? Having her say "but we are women, too," instead of "but we are human, too" reinforces the sexist idea that all women want families and children, and all or most men don't. That's simply not true, no matter how many times American culture tries to say it is. Persephone's argument that she should be able to choose to fall in love and have a family is valid, but it's just as valid for men as for women. Ultimately, Wonder Woman clearly falls on the "empowering" side of how it portrays women, but it's constrained by the contradictions of contemporary American beliefs: that women should be strong, but not too strong — and look effortlessly glamorous at the same time. Independent, but not too independent, because they ultimately need true love and children to complete them (a message the kiss between Diana and Steve at the end also subtly conveys). The aide who tells the President at the end of the movies that the evil forces have been neutralized by "armored supermodels" is pretty accurately summarizing the ideal woman in contemporary American pop culture: beautiful, fashionable, and just a little bit dangerous.
This makes a movie based on a decades-old comic series drawing heavily from centuries-old Greek mythology surprisingly relevant to 2009 America. If we're lucky, it might even provoke thought and discussion about sexism among its viewers. If you haven't seen Wonder Woman, I recommend it; if you have, let me know what you thought in the comments. (You can read fuller reviews of the film at EW, Wired and DVD Talk, and check out the movie's official site for more photos, etc.) Submitted by on March 4, 2009 - 6:56pm. |
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Great analysis
Of course, I heard all of this last night while I was trying to watch the movie, but it was fun to read it again. :)
Felicity's voice as Diana's? Perfect. All I need now is the DVD movie version of Amazon Attacks from the comics story arc about the Amazon's attacking the United States. No judging...it's complicated and not the Amazon's fault they're attacking the U.S. I'll be a really happy camper when that DVD movie comes out.
Now, I'm off to watch my Wonder Woman DVD again.
-Life is a Venn diagram
Dayum, Lori got Me Beat On Commenting First About WW
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Rats!!! LOL. It's all good. Hooray. About freaking time WW got written and presented properly. Is it out on DVD? Or in the movies? I love your review Sarah. I think you meant Rosario Dawson as Artemis.
Thanks a lot for the review. I'm excited! I can't wait to see this in 3-D!
Update: Nevermind, I see it's already out on DVD. I'm so buying it tommorrow when I get paid. Still excited!
A line taken from my poem "She" It is SHE who awakens my soul..."
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Tingles
I LOVED IT - much better than Watchmen
As for why I hate the Watchmen movie, msg me. It takes too much space to post it here.
I didn't think that the Diana and the thugs in the alley was bad for feminism. I mean, here's Diana, a woman who's grown up WITHOUT any men and being taught by her mother all of the evils of male privilege without actually meeting men. Her quotes, as a result, are pretty understandable.
As for the "we are women, too" quote, I also was like, "hmmmm...." It was kinda dumb, and I am totally with you that she should've said "we are human, too" or "I wanted a child and a family myself."
Ooh ooh, and what about the nod to "Kingdom Come" when Diana switched places w/ Hades just as the lightning was about to strike! Wow!
Oh, and the "armored supermodels" comment. I didn't take it as any more than in comics, EVERYBODY is hot. (The mainstream characters, anyway.)
Lastly, let's never forget a comment Bruce Timm made regarding his decision on drawing WW:
"I didn't want the 'body builder' type of the comics." (not verbatim)
...jerk.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Great review, great film...
I'm much more into the Bat-family when it comes to DC properties, but I've got to say this DVD made me want to go pick up some back issues of Wonder Woman. It was a fun take on the character.
The voice cast was terrific. I was honestly concerned about Keri Russell when I first heard she'd be playing Diana, however she proved me wrong.
great post about the new
great post about the new Wonder Woman DVD. Thanks for finding clips that everyone can watch, it makes reading the article a whole nother experience. thanks Sarah :D
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I confess a great regard
I confess a great regard for Gail Simone and her long-established ability to write popular mainstream comic storylines that present admirable female characters to the masses - and her involvement in this animation leads me to muse that it's a tad harsh to critique the bejasus out of Persephone's character here - after all, in this tale, Persephone lives under and has rebelled against a régime which removes choice. Hipployta's Amazon society effectively outlaws procreation;Persephone and her sister Amazons are not permitted the option of reproduction, which means that her position (viz., "Your rules suck, Hippolyta...") is hardly to be regarded as cognate with one providing a resounding and unqualified endorsement of the "idea that notion all women want families and children ..."
The espousal of freedom of choice isn't sexist ...
Love'n'Kisses
Vindafarna
I agree...
...up until Persephone said "but we are women, too." The use of the word "women" instead of "human" or some other gender-neutral term is problematic.
There's nothing sexist about wanting to have the option to have a family, but it is sexist to position that desire as something inherent to being a woman, rather than to just being a well-rounded human being.
i *heart* you, Sarah Warn...
(No worries, Lori. It's totally platonic!)
Not only do you write about pop culture from a lesbian perspective, but from a FEMINIST perspective, and this makes me squee with joy!
Thanks for the heads up on this one! Gonna grab it as soon as I can.
P.S. I think Lynda Carter in the TV Wonder Woman series is so totally my root. WW LOVE FOREVER!!!!
I just watched the Wonder
I just watched the Wonder Woman movie, with your concerns in mind, and I can sorta see where you are coming from, but from the exchange, it did appear to me that the issue was that the Amazons were being denied the choice to procreate, not the generalization that all women families and children. I can see your argument, but I don't think Gail Simone, the writer, intended the statement that way, but as a statement over having control over one's body, and the option to have children if one wants to.
And while I understand your concerns over not using a gender-neutral term, the Amazons do not see themselves that way. They are a single-gender society, who divide the world into 'Man's World' and 'Their (Woman's) World'. The Amazons segregate themselves from men, and as a result seem to define themselves as women above all else. As with all societies that seek to segregate themselves from the larger world, they define themselves by what is different from those they seek refuge from, not what is the same. In that context, I think the use of women makes sense.
I hadn't heard of this
I hadn't heard of this movie, but it looks good. Thanks for the post. And this quote that you included is the best. It really sums things up.
"Remarkable, the advanced brainwashing that has been perpetuated on the females of your culture. Raised from birth to believe they're not strong enough to compete with the boys, and then as adults, taught to trade on their very femininity."
— Diana in Wonder Woman, the animated movie
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Warriors, women, families, and children
Just like tv lesbians getting pregnant, there seems to be a trend with movies and their leading warrior women. Have you noticed how they can be portrayed as being really tough but they need to bring in a child so they can show their softer sides?
I'm looking forward to watching Zoe Bell in her new series...I just hope they don't throw a child in the mix to prove that she is indeed a woman.
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Losing lesbian street cred every second of the day
Loved It!
OMG
not only american
It's been ages that I watched Wonder Woman, but I never before realized that her name is Diana, greek goddess of hunt.
Loved your article and have to add, that the conflicting or somehow misogynic portrayal could be applied to europe as well. Most women caracters, no matter how strong or wild they are portrayed, don't seem to be complete if they don't break down at least once because of their secret desire for a child. Makes me cringe and more often even mad.
And yet still, the movie does sound tempting, but I've got to wait until it'll be released in German (if at all) cause this type of movie is no fun when I get mad on my own ;)
> I even put down my iPhone to give the movie my full attention
How do you get away with this Sarah? I'm not even allowed to check mails and other vital channels during commercial breaks *g
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Thanks for the great
hmm...
I really need to get this. The animation looks great. From the reviews I've read, the way they handle gender issues will probably annoy me...a lot. But I guess I can overlook it. I want to see Wondy kicking butt!
BTW, how about an AE interview with Gail Simone someday? She writes a lesbian character in Secret Six and she's totally a friend of the gays.
saw this in class
My instructor got his hands on it before the release, we watched it in class and I thought it was freaking AWESOME!!!! There were parts where I cringed, mostly whenever Steve opened his mouth. In defense to him with the, "Your daughter has a nice rack," comment, he did have the truth lasso around him. lol. I was a big fan of Aries, and even bigger when Aries and Alexa had that nice moment at the end. :)
I was a bit hesitant when I heard Kerri Russel was doing the voice because I'm so used to the Warner Bros. Wonder Woman, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed her as Wonder Woman.
I was annoyed at the end though when Diana did that whole, "Oh Stevie..." line just to appease him. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
It's not just the lasso.
Hippolyta. One of those 'I'm going to mock and annoy my captors' things that is done so often on fiction (and, apparently, in real life).
No thanks
The mixed signals this film sends are very unsettling. I didn't enjoy the way Diana qualified to go on her mission, any of the male character's comments, and the Barbie doll figures the characters have been given.
On another note--Did anyone else sense a a lesbian subtext between Artemis and Diana?
Re:
Aside from the Ares as prisoner thing, and Artemis being there (in the comics, she's from an offshoot of the Amazons who are not immortal), the origin of Diana (if not the Amazons), including the fighting to qualify, was taken DIRECTLY from the comic origin, which has been consistent ever since her debut in 1941.What didn't you like?
And really, Barbie Doll figures? No need to engage in hyperbole. All the female characters I saw had realistic proportions. I saw no breasts the size of watermellons, or waists you could wrap one hand around (which define unrealistic Barbie dolls), but healthy figures that would be expected from people who engaged in a lot physical activity.
I understand that women come in all sizes, and women of largert sizes should be more properly represented, but the Amazons are a warrior society who value combat and physicality. And in such societies, you are not going to see a whole lot of diversity in body types.
As to subtext, I didn't see it between Diana and Artemis, but, as Alexa was dying in Artemis' arms, it looked to me like they were about to kiss before Alexa disappeared. I picked up some subtext in that scene.
Body diversity
Yes, women come in all sizes, and yes, you can reasonably expect a group of warrior women to be young, muscular, and toned. But you could also expect a high number of them to be disabled or disfigured from injury. I haven't seen the film, but does it include disabled Amazons? Or the older ones who have retired from active duty? I'm curious.
Judging from the photos here, I'm struck by the fact that all the women seem to have the same body with different clothes. Even very fit women will have differences of height and proportion and, um, bust size. (It really makes you wonder if the Amazons all wear each other's bras.)
I love the analysis in this blog post--I do love it when this website really analyzes media instead of just reporting on it. The article has really piqued my interest in the film, and the changes that have been made in this version. (I didn't think ST was always such a jerk.)
There are no older Amazons.
There are no older Amazons. They do not age as long as they remain on Themyscria (their island). And technically, they are ALL retired, since they haven't seen actual combat in several thousand years (although they nonetheless continue training as they would if they actually had enemies to fight).
As to disabled Amazons, none were shown, but given that they haven't seen actual combat in so long, you couldn't expect many to be injured. And, we only really saw 5 of them in any detail (Diana, Hyppolita, Artemis, Alexa, and Persephone). All the others were just background characters.
And yeah, I get the differing heights and proportions and bust sizes, which you could reasonably expect. And, generally, you see that in the comics, but this is animation. And it is very difficult to have those differences in animation, and keep it consistent, than it is in comics. Not to mention, it's also more expensive to do so.
This is a case of expediency and budgetary concerns having to take priority over realism.
directed by...
The director, Lauren Montgomery, deserves a shout-out... especially on this site. She's one of seemingly very few women in the industry, and she's already at the top of her field at a very young age.
After reading a couple of her interviews about this movie, you can tell she was excited to be working with a great female lead character for once.
Her blog:
http://laurenmontgomery.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the info!
Wonder Woman Interviews
There are currently interviews with a whole buncha folk involved with the movie at:
http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20298
Did I see a different movie?
wonder woman
I love this movie though because I'm such a Wonder Woman fan! I can't wait until they do the actual film.
Wonder Woman
As I watched I quickly found myself enamoured with the Amazons and full of admiration for them! They are so strong, so smart, so skilled! I really want to learn more about Wonder Woman.
I found the "armored supermodels" comment funny but, when I think of Amazons I really think of the peak of health, strength, intellect, agility, etc, the ultimate female warrior. I don't think WARRIOR when I see most supermodels. That isn't meant to be offensive to supermodel's its just I don't really think of them as Amazons.
The term supermodel seems amiss. I understand the comment of the presidential aide to be funny. To poke fun at how strange these beautiful armoured women seem coming out of nowhere and battling. I also see it as poking fun at society's inability in many ways to describe a strong beautiful woman, in the most obvious way linguistically (showcasing modern popular/common language's serious limitations in capturing the complexity of what is woman) but I see the comment as speaking to our culture's perception and labelling of a woman. Defining women I guess.
The comment can be easily seen as an oxymoron merging two very foreign ideas "supermodel" "armoured" reflecting on two other cluster of ideas that are thought of as antonymous: strength/warrior/dangerous/
The presidential aide takes on the role of popular culture/society with its limited views of what a woman is and the amazons take on the role of 'complex woman/female'. So you have one (aide/pop culture/society) commenting with obvious confusion and limited understanding on the other (amazon/complex woman).
Hmm
I wrote that a 4:30 AM, I hope it managed to convey a point without rambling too much.:)
In my defense I do tend to write in a very "stream-of-consciousness" manner when I am writing at my most inhibited (or tired).
Darn, I can't seem to edit my comment... I meant to say "because" instead of "but" now I am negating what I said about the comment being funny. Oh dear.
Oh well, it was just a comment I hope it makes sense!