So for those of you who have been hiding under a rock for the past few weeks, "Wonder Woman" has been smashing box office records left and right (pun intended) since it premiered on June 2 of this year. And it's not just because the movie is the first superhero flick with an actual solid plot in literal years, even though that's definitely a major factor. I mean come on, when was the last time you saw a superhero movie from any franchise set in a real place during an event that actually happened? Mostly, at least in my opinion, "Wonder Woman"'s incredible success goes out to the fact that it's chiming in to the conversation about female empowerment and gender equality. It sought to give Wonder Woman a platform in a context that fits 2017, and not only did it do that, but it accomplished so much more.
I think the most important thing about "Wonder Woman" is how it finally made a power-move to desexualize the concept of the female superhero. If you look through the evolution of the Wonder Woman getup, it's not hard to pick up on how she's consistently been portrayed as the poster child for "flawless female" with her ripped bod, unrealistic blue eyes, and pushup-corset every Victoria's Secret Angel would be jealous of. Then, to top it off, "Wonder Woman" gave this costume so much meaning my heart melted. Diana is dressing in a culturally-appropriate manner. The Amazons are a war people and live on a mythological island in the middle of the Mediterranean, meaning not only is it always warm and sunny, but she kind of always has to be dressed for battle in case Ares pays a visit. And even though you could infer all that from the comics, the movie makes it crystal clear that there's literally no other reason. And not to mention at no point in the movie is she a damsel in distress. In fact, she's the one sent to save man, which is so feminist it almost hurts!
However, if you're one of those people who left the movie theater feeling put off by how she fell in love with Trevor when everything was said and done, there are a lot of other people who agree with you. I am not one of them. Actually, I think the love interest actually added to "Wonder Woman." Bearing in mind that Diana is half-human and half-god, she's subject to feel emotions like love and anger. Sure, it kind of sucks that she fell in love with a man and didn't reach her fullest strength until said man blew himself up, but that's showbiz. Also, this time a man was the damsel in distress for a change, and the Amazons definitely would've killed Trevor if he wasn't essential to completing the very act Diana was born to commit. So yeah, it didn't bother me, and neither did Chris Pine's face.
In case you haven't already heard this a thousand times, "Wonder Woman" is an important movie for our time. There's a vicious war happening overseas and women are battling every day to be equal in the eyes of a global patriarchy. When the lights went up in the movie theater, I couldn't help but think that our world could use a Wonder Woman to come and bring peace to mankind, but maybe that's just me. And it's also a super important movie for this next generation of girls to see, too. Diana is right up there with the Moanas and Elsas of pop culture in terms of being a strong role-model who kicks butt and doesn't need a man next to her in order to do it. This is an A+ movie and if there was a "Wonder Woman 2" in the future, I wouldn't be opposed for once!
