The new Wonder Woman movie is awesome. It’s great.
It’s what many women have been waiting for. It’s all that. The Mary Sue has been publishing some very
good essays about the feminist view of the film. They are not the only ones.
There
are a few points I would like to raise. So,
spoilers ahead.
While
much has made of the Amazons, in particular the diversity in terms of age and
looks, let’s give a closer look to Etta Candy.
She’s more than just comic relief and truth speaking. She accepts Diana readily, acknowledging the
other woman’s great looks without any jealously.
This
aspect of bravery without superhero powers gets overlooked very often. While Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Falcon are
said to be the weakest Avengers, they are also the bravest – going into battle
with a lack of superhero powers or very expensive equipment that protects them
head to toe. Admittedly, Falcon is in
the middle, his wings in Civil War can deflect bullets, but this is not the
case in Winter Solider. These three are the bravest Avengers. This is also why Agent Carter was so popular as well.
Furthermore,
Etta’s ability is another thing that speaks strongly to Steve’s character. Despite what some others do in the movie,
Steve never doubts any woman’s ability.
He had enough sense to work, possibly hire Etta, and respects her
abilities. He is not surprised to see
her at his back. Further, he never
questions Diana’s ability, just the whole existence of Ares or Zeus. Even when he is seducing Dr. Poison, he is observant
enough to realize where her true interest lies.
He speaks to her as an equal, something that he does to every single
woman in the movie. He is the only male
main character to do so (his posse by and large do so, after Diana has proven
herself in the bar).
His
Marvel counterpoint is Nick Fury in the movies who relies heavily on Maria Hill
and Black Widow, getting their opinions before making a decision.
Another
fine and subtle point comes in Diana’s face off with Ares. Diana defines herself in terms of matrimonial,
not surprising considering the birth story she was told and her childhood. What is interesting is how Ares defines her –
as the daughter of Zeus, a child he had with the Amazon Queen. He never acknowledges Hippolyta’s name, he
sees her only in relation to the men whose only connection to her is in that of
blood – no emotional connection.
Further, he sees her only as a tool – and it appears so did Zeus. It is the Amazons who have the compassion to
see her as Diana.
Even Antiope who
pushes the Godkiller aspect of Diana must loves Diana, has compassion for
Diana. Every Amazon sees her as a
person, as something other than a tool or a weapon. It is such a telling difference, all in a few
words. Just like Ares’ attempt to get
Diana to kill Dry Maru is based on Dry Maru’s morality and scarred appearance –
he gets rid of the mask to show physical ugliness as well. Incidentally, why neglecting the ugliness of
war that Diana has seen. Jenkins makes
sure we know which is worse – Maru’s physical appearance is not something the
viewer (or Diana) cares about, the ugliness of war is. The disappearing of the mask is not a big
reveal moment. At that point in the
movie Diana and the viewer are one, we care about morality, nothing else. Jenkins does a wonderful job at highlighting
how ugly war is. She keeps the horror of
WWI.
| Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot. Source Papelpop |
Look,
it’s true that Wonder Woman’s costume is still a male gaze thing; hell, that is
true for a few of the Amazons. But,
there is so much here for a woman to love – the male butt scene but no female
nudity is only the tip of it. There is
such much nuance in it. It’s lovely, it
really is.
For
years, one of the best movie experiences I had was watching 300 and cheering
with every woman in the audience when the Queen stabbed the traitor. That was awesome.
Now,
the best movie experience I had was watching Wonder Woman.
The Best.
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