Why Wonder Woman Is The One

Wonder Woman, otherwise known as THE ONEder Woman, made me feel empowered af. I can’t even describe the mix of tears and happiness I had emerging from the cinema. I’ve never left feeling so good about myself and my capacity- and also so hopeful that other directors will learn from Patty Jenkins and take some tips from her about the male gaze and how to treat women in film. Here are some spoiler free reasons why I loved it so much:

Women fighting each other was one of those things that I never realised I needed to see until I saw it. Yes OITNB has some catfights, and- as long as said woman has a pixie cut- Game Of Thrones is in, but a full on female battle is something that I’m pretty sure has never been done on screen before. Well there’s probably like warrior porn out there if you looked hard enough but you know what mean. Normally women are considered too ladylike to fight, and if they do then the director gives them nothing but a really sexy blood stain in the shape of a dick on their forehead to show for it. This was refreshing af. 

The guy stands up for WW when she’s catcalled. Okay it’s like a 10 second exchange but the fact the director acknowledged how women are treated in the real world and then, not only translated that into a film but also, showed what men can do to diffuse the situation is so important. Feminism isn’t always about women standing up for themselves independently, sometimes men will only listen to other men, so the fact Chris Pine confronts them is such an important step in educating men on how to help women in gross catcally situs.

It’s actually not that sexy. Yes Gal Gardot is an absolute catch but the reason she’s my background on my laptop isn’t because I want to wank over her, but because I love the film and what it stands for. How rare is that? Patty Jenkins manages to keep it all about the film- there are no BS boob close ups or upskirt shots, if the protagonist is being shown then it’s her face on camera. Apart from the heels, WW is dressed in practical fighting gear, and when there is a cheeky scene (I won’t spoil I won’t spoil but let’s just say the cinema heated up) then everyone involved is ‘sexualised’ rather than just Gardot. Female directors- it’s so important we don’t just say ‘directors’ because that majorly undermines how tough it is for ladies in this industry- are important because they capture the complete picture of womanhood so accurately, rather than having some middle-aged, white guy sat in an office in LA with other middle-aged, white guys trying to work out whether in the script their female characters should talk about makeup or boys first. Yawn.

It’s proved that women love action films too. For so long action has been defined as shots of James Bond, car chasing through Vienna, drinking alone at a bar or sleeping with some bikini-clad stick with zero character arch, and, while The Man With The Golden Gun is still my fave, I completely get why women have become disengaged with action. Why watch something that’s just men in suits, treating women like shit and shooting at each other? But this has re-introduced the genre to a whole new audience of girls like me who roll their eyes at comics and car chases because we finally have someone to relate to.

One of the main antagonists is a woman. It is problematic how facial burns are yet again synonymous with being a villain (pls stop now Hollywood burn victims have been through enough without you demonising them?) but it’s really cool to see a woman being the one to whip up criminal activity. We become so used to male villains with female sidekicks that it’s cool for a man to be at the mercy of a woman for once. Even if she’s trying to kill everyone. Probably should be a little less excited about this.

She doesn’t apologise for being treated poorly. There’s a scene when she walks into a parliament meeting that’s ‘men only’ (brb off to find the guys that had a hissy fit about a ‘woman only’ screening like at least you’ve always been able to make the blady laws) and all the men go silent and are like, the 1914 version of, ‘babe wtf u doing here’. In most films the woman would be all ‘I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have come, I’m clearly not welcome’ but Gardot refuses to apologise for rules that simply don’t make sense. And that’s brill.

How often do the women just stand back while the men fight for/over them? ALWAYS. But in this film, Chris Pine will underestimate WW, so get himself way too deep into a situation which he’s completely failing and then she’ll exceed expectations and get him out of it. Sound familiar? Exactly. It’s so precious because for most women, it’s so real.

So Teamales, have you seen Wonder Woman and, if so, what did you think? Was it your feminist fantasy or a misogynistic ‘mare? Comment below n tell me what you thought.