Undeserved Love: The Message of Wonder Woman
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Undeserved Love: The Message of Wonder Woman

The Wonder Woman movie explores the complexities of human nature.

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Undeserved Love: The Message of Wonder Woman
ScreenRant.com

I don't go to the movies very often. Either I don't really want to watch any specific movie, or I can't find time or somebody to go with. It's strange, but whenever I do go to the movies with my family, I typically have something interesting to say about whatever we're watching. That is true for Wonder Woman.


Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this movie; my family is more aligned towards Marvel, and DC's attempts at a cinematic universe have ranged from mediocre to memetically bad(I think the only good thing about Suicide Squad is the style of its posters:)

Infer whatever you will from this, but it reminds me of Hot Topic.

But for this one, I heard good things, and my family went to see it before it left theaters. It was a good thing that we did, because honestly Wonder Woman does a very good job weaving its theme into its setting and characters. (Warning: Spoilers.)

When the movie begins, Diana(Wonder Woman's true name) lives peacefully on the Greek island of Themiscyra with her fellow Amazons, a tribe of immortal warrior women created by Zeus to protect humanity. When a plane crash-lands in the island's lagoon, Diana discovers that the world is currently in the midst of World War 1, and sets out to slay Ares, god of war and sworn enemy of the Amazons, and end the war with the help of the American spy Steve Trevor. While setting the movie during this period may seem strange, it fits well with the overarching themes of the film. In the movie, Ares is described as corrupting the hearts of otherwise noble humanity, forcing them to fight and kill one another until ultimately we would destroy ourselves. It makes sense that the infamous "War to End All Wars", one of the high water marks for senseless death and destruction, was assumed by Diana to be Ares' doing. At one point Diana is even brought to the trenches at the front line, where both armies had been holed up for almost four years fighting over the same several miles of land. Occasionally one army would try to break through, only to be shot down by artillery or bombed with mustard gas, or blown up with a grenade. Once the dust settled, the wounded would be carted away, the dead recovered, and life in the trenches would continue until the next attack. Of course, Diana, in full Wonder Woman getup, actually crosses the "no man's land" without a problem, because she's Wonder Woman.

Throughout the movie, Diana is confused and disgusted by the atrocities both around her and that humans have committed: Steve's crack team to get to the front being a scam artist, a smuggler, and a shell-shocked sniper; of the Native Americans by the United States; the way in which her compatriots are indifferent to the violence they perform; the destruction of a village only days before she liberated; she concludes that Ares has corrupted not only the Germans, but both sides of the war. When she finally confronts Ares, he reveals that he does not inspire humans to war; he only gives them the weapons, and naturally corrupt human nature leads them to use it. Ultimately, despite the fact that humans are intrinsically flawed, Diana decides to protect them anyway, defeating Ares and allowing World War One to end. This message is powerful, especially given the context surrounding the movie. Throughout the world, people do and say horrible, violent things to each other, quite often motivated by the greed and selfishness that is a part of the human condition. You can write humanity off as unforgivable, a screwed-up wreck that should tear itself apart--or you can believe that humanity's flaws and failings can be overcome, not be weighed down by the problems in the world, and try to make a difference. People might not deserve love, but you should believe in it anyway.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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