It’s very rare that anyone can agree with an opinion published in i09, a website that reports on genre media and science from a far left perspective. However, it’s take down of James Cameron for claiming that “Wonder Woman” was a step backward in the depiction of women in the movies. However, he has a kind of twisted logic.
Gal Gadot is too attractive for women to identify with
Cameron claimed that his female characters, played by such people as Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver, were more relatable because they were not as beautiful as Gadot and had human flaws.
Sarah Conner was, after all, a terrible mother and, in the second “Terminator” movie, more than a little crazed. However, she won through with grit and determination. And lots of firepower one might add.
The perspective of a curmudgeonly 60-year old unwoke male
Speaking as someone who is not female and does not identify as such, Cameron is full of dove feces. Women and men do not just admire characters that have flaws they can relate to. They really adore characters like Wonder Woman who have qualities of courage and compassion that they want to aspire to.
Wonder Woman, as is the actress and former soldier who plays her, is beautiful to be sure (and one has to add that Hamilton and Weaver were not exactly homely in their day.) However, that quality adds and not detracts to her appeal, at least in the view of people who are not as woke as Cameron.
To put the matter succinctly, every man wants Diana, and every woman wants to be her. That is one reason why “Wonder Woman” is one of the most popular movies of 2017?
The secret to the character’s appeal is the scene in the trench when she begs the men to liberate the village from the Hun beyond no man’s land. When the men refuse, she takes up sword and shield, climbs out of the trench, and charges into the face of a machine gun.
Steve Trevor and the other soldiers, previously reticent about going into a killing field, take up arms and follow a demi-goddess to the gates of Hell. I would have done it, bad back, poor eye sight, and fear of bullets and all. Who wouldn’t?
Wonder Woman is thus not just a super hero, but a leader, who brings out the best in everyone who is around her.
That depiction is not a leap backward but is the most glorious, beautiful example of woman as a hero ever to be shown on film. One cannot wait for the sequel that will be set, we are told, in the Reagan 1980s. The Soviets better be prepared to tremble.