Spoilers: 5 wonderfully feminist moments in ‘Wonder Woman’
Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers for Wonder Woman.
This isn’t your average superhero movie.
Wonder Woman is taking over the box office this weekend, with great reviews and a message of hope and goodness. As the first female superhero film in more than a decade, and the first solo live-action film for the character, it’s a big moment for the representation of women in film. Thankfully, the film delivers with a strong, compassionate woman trying to make the world a more peaceful place.
The film’s approach to feminism is subtle, often opting for a show-don’t-tell strategy, which works well with its overall tone. But there are a few moments that stand out.
The introduction to Themyscira
One of the interesting things about the film is the island where Wonder Woman/Diana (Gal Gadot) comes from, an all-female paradise where the Amazon warriors train. It’s pretty incredible to see the diverse, strong group of Amazonians training for battle, many of whom are real-life athletes. As a result, Diana grows up believing she can do anything.
It pokes fun at other portrayals of women in film
Perhaps the funniest sequence happens when Diana, trying to go incognito in World War I era London, tries on a variety of outfits. Steve Trevor (Diana's love interest) adds glasses to the ensemble they finally pick (after Diana laments the inability to kick in a pencil skirt). “Specs,” his secretary Etta (Lucy Davis) says, sarcastically. “Suddenly she’s not the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?” Let’s hope Davis never sees She’s All That.
It ignores the patriarchy
Diana bursts into meetings full of men, ignores when men tell her she can’t do something, likens a secretary job to slavery and constantly saves her male companions. There are societal expectations about how women are supposed to behave, both during the turn of the century time frame of the movie and in present day. Because she grew up on a secluded island among women, Wonder Woman doesn’t know what those expectations are and doesn’t care when she finds out. She also won’t apologize for being a woman. The movie champions her femininity: Her power isn't diminished by caring too much or experiencing her emotions. Instead, her love and kindness strengthen her.
And the male gaze
When Diana meets the ragtag men who form her team, Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui) ogles her and tries to hug her. It’s a small moment, but Diana resists this quietly by pushing him away, and later is defined not by her beauty but by the bar fight she wins.
It’s not just that Diana refuses to be objectified, the film refuses to objectify her. Director Patty Jenkins doesn't focus her camera on Gadot's body in a skimpy outfit. When Jenkins focuses in on Diana, it’s on her expressive face or the various weapons she wields.
Diana's big battle
This is the moment in the film everyone will be talking about. Unable to stand aside while civilians are suffering during the war, Diana climbs up into no man’s land in the middle of a trench battle and charges, despite an onslaught of bullets. The metaphor is striking — a woman standing alone in a field while a battalion of men tries to push her back. And she refuses to give up.
Before she storms onto the battlefield, Steve tells Diana that there's nothing to be done, that she can't help every person affected by the war. But Diana doesn't listen, she didn't grow up in a world that told her she couldn't do things because she was a woman. She simple does what she thinks is right. She saves people. And it's so uplifting to see her do it.