Why does it matter you ask? Well, it matters because little girls (and all the rest of us) need to see strong positive female characters that helps us see that we can be strong, independent, awesome, creative, and save the frickin' day! Otherwise all we see are characters that tell us to change ourselves completely to get a man to make us happy (Ariel), love a beast until he becomes the man we want him to be (Belle, and hello unhealthy relationship messages!), wait for a prince to come rescue us from a family we don't like and magically know our shoe size (Cinderella), waist our time taking a nap until a prince slays a dragon for us (Sleeping Beauty), etc... We need some positive role models for our daughters and ourselves. We also need boys and men to see girls and women in a positive light and not just as trophies or playthings here for their pleasure. We got stuff to do! We can change the world! We don't have time to wait around for a prince to rescue us or even want a prince (hello heterosexism). We are perfectly capable of rescuing ourselves!
Recently my son and I watched Shrek 3. There's a few scenes in there where the princesses and the queen band together to save the day. Jackson loved this part. He asked me to play it over and over again. He especially liked it that they played Heart's Barracuda in the background. However, he also asked me why they burned their bra. Thanks Disney for trivializing feminism to "bra burning". That only happened like once in real life. I just told him they didn't like wearing them and that they tore off their sleeves and the hem of their dresses because they were too tight and constricting. Yesterday Jackson told my mom that his princesses were coming to save him. That was definitely a proud momma moment.
Anyway, back to Wonder Woman. We need to be particular about who plays this inspirational character. It could go very wrong if left in the hands of the wrong people. Hollywood would probably hire someone like Megan Fox and try to sex it up. That's been done and overdone. We need more female characters that aren't sexually objectified. The movie should also pass the Bechdel Test. And we don't need it to be a commentary on "women can't do/have it all" showing Wonder Woman trying to balance work and family life. Just give us a superhero and let us figure out what we can and can't do/have.
Recently The Heat was successful as a female version of the buddy cop comedy so a female superhero movie could be done just as well. I'm thinking Joss Whedon would do it justice, but there should also be some feminist women leading the project too. After all, it is Wonder Woman.
Who do you think should play Wonder Woman?
Who do you think should write, direct and/or produce this movie?
What other female superheroes would you like to see?
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