“Wonder Woman,” the smash hit superhero film about the Amazonian warrior princess, had elicited plenty of bandwidth since months before it opened, particularly about political issues surrounding the film. However, people approach the movie from a variety of viewpoints. One, likely the majority view, look at “Wonder Woman” as an action-adventure thrill a minute entertainment that shows Gal Gadot hacking and slashing the Germans with wild abandon. A lot of feminists, on the other hand, view the film as a girl-power epic, a woman showing the men that she is just as good as (better than!) they are at smiting evil.
However, a third way to look at the movie has arisen. Clearly, in the opinion of some, like M. Hudson writing for “The Federalist.,” “Wonder Woman” is an allegory about Jesus Christ.
How a pagan Amazon became a Christ figure
The comparison seems incredible at first glance. Wonder Woman is a gorgeous female who exudes raw sexuality. Jesus is usually depicted as an unassuming bearded fellow wearing robes. Wonder Woman likes to hack people with her sword. Jesus, with the exception of the incident with the money lenders, confined his activities to preaching the Gospel.
But the similarities are important well. Wonder Woman has life breathed into her by the Greek god Zeus and later goes out into the world to redeem it from evil.
In Diana Prince’s case, that evil is World War I, the most unnecessary bloodbaths in the history of the world. Instead of having to be crucified and then brought back from the dead, Wonder Woman wants to kill the war god Ares, whom she blames for causing the conflagration. There is even a moment when the Amazon hero has to decide if humanity is even worth saving.
She decides that, for all the evil that humans cause, that they are worthy of her efforts.
How long will it take for feminists to be triggered by Wonder Woman as Jesus?
Whether it was the intention of “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins to retell the story of Christ in the form of a superhero (something, by the way, has also been done with Superman) the idea may be enough to swell the audience with people of faith.
They are a community that is understandably skittish about modern popular culture. The movie does have a PG-13 rating for violence, action, and some suggestive content.
The question arises, how soon will it take for some of the movie’s more feminist fans to be triggered by the idea that the superhero film is a Christian allegory? The spectacle should be something to behold.
