In what ways does Pattie Jenkins’ 2017 Wonder Woman eschew superhero stereotypes and present a strong female narrative?
Although superhero movies have become some of the most popular and successful movie instalments of the 21st century most of these movies have been about men and focused on their trials and triumphs while also creating and perpetrating negative stereotypes of women. The female superhero movie falls into one of three categories: the victim, the tomboy and the bombshell. In the first category the victim constantly finds herself at the centre of trouble and requires the main man in the movie to swoop in and save her, she is a passive and weak character. The bombshell tends to be highly sexualised, wearing tight clothes and
…show more content…
The male characters in the movie support and help Diana but at no point do they overshadow her or make her rely on them. Steve Trevor is given his own storyline, important in its own right but never more important than Diana’s quest. Diana declares herself independent from the beginning of her journey, flirting with Steve but also putting him in his place, ‘They came to the conclusion that men are essential for procreation, but when it comes to pleasure... unnecessary.’ Right from the beginning Diana is on her own journey, separate to that of the male characters, and she is able to rely on her own strength. Although Steve Trevor is constantly urging Diana to avoid danger and risks, she frequently ignores him, placing other people’s safety above her own and defending other’s, not being defended, ‘I will fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.’1 Diana proves her independence and strength repeatedly throughout the film, leading men into battle, running through No Man’s Land and attacking soldier’s terrorising a town, always despite being urged into safety by her male counterparts. ‘I cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost!’1 Gal Gadot’s characterisation of Diana also circumnavigates the victim stereotype, Diana’s innocence and naiveté of the world of man never overshadowing the strength and power she constantly evokes, her walk
In Hollywood films, the main protagonist of mostly all film are males showing how strong, smart, and how they are the perfect hero, yet woman are seen as the damsel in distress, soft, and weak. Women are seen as the girlfriend, the wife, or the mother. The value of the woman in films is determined by their male counterparts and their overall outer appearance. In movies women are seen as the same with all women are ditzy, dependent on someone, they need someone to hold their hand also that woman are too emotional, yet there are movies that show women as strong and dependent. Movies with female leads are growing and they show how woman are just as strong as male leads. Yeah, many women are strong in their own way; I know I sure am.
In addition, we will explore the context in which the members of the group communicate with their intended audience using mass communication. The last part will try to examine the recent changes in the comic-book world in regard to giving the traditional male superhero role to a female lead and what changes might it bring forth by breaking some of the female gender stereotypes and norms.
Superman does not have to prove to anyone he is ready to be a superhero whereas Wonder Woman has to prove herself first before being allowed to be a superhero. In addition, O’Reilly’s article talks about how Wonder Woman gets punished for rebelling against an authority figure while a male computer genius is praised by his superiors for showing strength and resolve against their wishes. Popular children’s entertainment also demonstrates how females are treated as found in the article The Smurfette Principle. The basic premise behind this article is that fact that in children’s movies and television shows, boys take a more central role while girls are stuck at the periphery.
In the long legacy of DC comics there are two female archetypes who couldn 't be more different: one is a paragon of virtue and one is a psychopath. One has an abusive relationship with an insane criminal that defines her identity; the other encourages women and girls to fight for their independence. One has decades of historical canon and an inception full of purpose; the other was meant to be a one-off and a short amusement in a kids ' cartoon, but exploded into a phenomenon. Despite their many differences, they are both beloved the world over. They hold constant interest for fans over the years and, for many women, both mark milestones of feminism. To understand this phenomenon more we will take a closer look at the characters of
Society always keeps the idea of heroes alive through media. Girls inspired by movies or television shows dream of knights in shining armor saving the day. These same shows often represent the women as weak and dependent on men. Men fight the bad guys and save the day while the women work behind the scenes giving information to the men. The gender stereotype of men protecting the women often reveals itself in television shows, especially in one episode of a television show called The Flash. The episode from The Flash titled “The Flash Reborn,” illustrates the gender stereotype of men as the protector of women and this negatively shows a stereotype of beautiful women that cannot take care of themselves.
Bercuci, L. (2016). Pop Feminism: Televised Superheroines from the 1990s to the 2010s. Gender Studies, [online] 15(1), pp.252-269. Available at: https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/genst.2016.15.issue-1/genst-2017-0017/genst-2017-0017.pdf [Accessed 14 Jul. 2017].
The movie included only one women superhero- the black widow, compared to most all male cast. In fact, in this entire film, only 3 women were given some type of speaking role, all which had really minor importance to the film. Most of these women were shown helping the male characters, helping them enhance their powers or providing a moral reasoning. While Black Widow’s combat skill were credential, she was essentially a superhero due to her manipulation skills. I find this super power not worthy of breaking gender barriers. This power plays with the mind and carries a feminine aspect to it considering that many regard women as highly emotional. Furthermore, the Black Widow was not given enough screen time to develop her character. In one of her scenes where she is found alone with uncontrollable Hulk, she was the only one that was shown defenseless where the fights between other superheroes are shown to be equally matched. The construction of the cast of this movie supports the opinion where the society fails to see women super hero to be empowering. Many of the fans consider the females presence in the action series to only be aiding the main masculine hero and providing romantic
Throughout comic book series publication the recurring theme of female suppression is prevalent in the Wonder Woman comic book series, there are several panels of wonder woman straining against the bindings of society. The Golden Age (1930’s -1940’s) women were portrayed as damsels in distress, in almost every comic book cover a lady is tied up with a man trying to save her. Facebook’s group created a page which focuses on the portrayal of women in comics, the site summarizes women in the Golden Age as career-oriented girls. Comic book characters as Nellie the
Women are deemed as a “minority” yet make up 51% of the world population and in 2014 made up only 12% of protagonists in films. And that is just on-screen, the percentage decreases as you go farther and farther into behind-the-scenes positions such as directors, cinematographers, and writers. Add race and ethnicity and those characters' percentages decline even more (Lauzen, 2015.) Women in film and television are often portrayed with emphasis based on their body type and in advertisement are largely objectified. The large objectification and misrepresentation of women in the media has led to an offset psychological view of women from growing up to adulthood.
Who doesn’t love a good superhero? The perfect figure, the spandex suit, the flowing cape, flawless looks, and the powers we can only dream of having. Superheroes have been around for ages now, leaving an everlasting imprint on our hearts. It is no secret that males dominate the superhero industry; both the heroes themselves and those who create them. Superman, Batman, Ironman, and Spiderman have become the top heroes of all time; there is nothing wrong with them holding the spotlight, but female heroes are underrepresented. There are notable female heroes, but they tend to be drawn with a busty figure that few women are naturally blessed with, and show little emotional rational in fights. Take Black Widow (Marvel) for example, anyone would love for her figure and kick-ass moves. Wonder Woman is our hero of the hour, she has made her way onto the big screen; casting her into the spotlight more than ever. She screams fights for love, promotes peace, is a beacon of hope, and screams feminism. What’s not to love? The new movie released on June 2, 2017, has called more attention to the American-spirited, Amazonian woman than ever before. The movie is the first fully female directed movie, Patty Jenkins brings a great female to the big screen. Although the movie is great and supports feminism, is the movie the depiction of Wonder Woman that should be idealized?
Frequently, most superheroes in cinema are portrayed by male characters rather than women, creating a distinction between gender roles. Indeed, through the passage, “These results may suggest to viewers that women are less important, knowledgeable, and capable than men – and less likely to be a hero” (Miller et. al) women are much less likely to be featured as the hero within the film, and more likely to be featured as the “damsel in distress” of the story. Furthermore, women are much more likely to be depicted in a sexualized fashion, even when displayed in the role of hero. This feature of women with a lack of dominance defies feminism, as they lack roles in superhero films and they are portrayed with the sole purpose of boasting
“Wonder Woman is a walking- and sometimes flying- paradox of attributions and images. She is, at once, a female sex symbol and feminist icon: physically vulnerable, morally virtuous, financially independent, self-determining, and, in tune with her womanly ways, self-sacrificing” (Wright 6). Wonder Woman was created by William Marston in order to show and achieve women empowerment. At the time that Wonder Woman was assembled, there were no women superheroes. The only superheroes that were created at the time were powerful, strong, fully-clothed, white, males. Even though Wonder Woman is just as powerful and important as other male superheroes, she is often easily centered out from other superheroes because of her physique, lack of clothes,
To some, wonder woman is regarded as a feminist icon. However, O’Reilly does not believe so because of the submissive themes that her creator included in the comics.
Many women are cast in a film but only a few land a leading protagonist role. Films like The Hunger Games, Lucy, Maleficent and Divergent are evident to be breaking stereotypical gender roles. Women are shown to be equally strong as men and less emotionally bounded to other characters. In the progressive Hollywood films of today, we visibly see the characters of women to be idealized as heroic, with brave instincts, intelligence, and in support of female empowerment, rather than idealizing their bodies only. Although still films are made that idealize the female bodies, such as female superhero characters, however, it could be safe to say that women will always be seen as a man’s desire or eye candy, so there will always be female roles available which would accommodate these characters for films: It is dependent on the genre of the
In the beginning of comics, it was male-dominated and that didn’t seem like it was going to change, until Wonder Woman came along, and this fact alone makes her a massive emblem of female empowerment in the world. She was still written by a man, but it was a start of a whole new era. Wonder Woman’s story begins on an island of all women who called themselves The Amazons. The queen of The Amazons wanted a child and her tribe told her to make one out of clay, and thus, Diana AKA Wonder Woman was born. Diana was “as lovely as Aphrodite, as wise