Disappointment and Anger: The Case of Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman Script

First off, I want to say that the Wonder Woman script going around online from Joss Whedon’s treatment of the character is awful. There are plenty of cringeworthy moments that do make you wonder how a man who has done written such strong and nuanced female characters could suddenly get it all wrong. I can admit that my feminist rage began to swell reading the passages, but then I stopped to take stock a moment. I wondered if it was fair to discount Whedon’s past feminist history over one bad script. Was this reaction a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

There is no one who is above criticism. Calling out sexism when we see it is absolutely necessary. The script that was leaked definitely has sexist overtones and objectifies and belittles Wonder Woman in comparison to her male counterparts. From what we see on the page, it is a poor treatment of such an iconic character, particularly from someone who reveres her as much as Whedon purports. That being said, there is so much we don’t know about this leaked script.

The first thing to consider is what draft the script is. If this is a first draft, then we can definitely lay more blame on Whedon for the sexism encased in the script. This would be his vision from the start for the character. Even if it were the first draft, one might be able to argue that Whedon was writing for a specific target audience to try and get the film made. It could have been strategic use of objectification and misogynistic overtones to pull in the male Hollywood executives who tend to see women in this way or at least that’s what we can surmise given the roles of women in film. On the flip side, if this was a later draft, it is more likely that the issues with the script were based on feedback from those very same Hollywood execs who tend to want to show women in stereotypical ways.

Next, we need to look at the cinematic landscape of the time. This draft was supposed to have been written around 2006. When we look at the depiction of female heroines at the time, we are looking at films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Sin City (2005), Elektra (2005), Blood Rayne (2006), Underworld: Evolution (2006), X-Men: Last Stand (2006), just to name a few. These are all films with over-sexualized female leads. This wasn’t exactly the environment to get a forward-thinking feminist Wonder Woman made without some possible deception and use of the sexist tropes in order to undercut them. This was 11 years ago. There has been some movement forward in the representation of women on screen. 

Which brings me to my next point, all we have are words on a page. Yes, there are some descriptions of Wonder Woman that make me quite uncomfortable because it highlights the attractiveness of the character rather than her strength. But this is a script, which means ultimately, it is meant to be seen rather than read. How things are written in the script might not actually be how they would play out when filmed. There’s a long process that takes the page and turns it into something visual. 

Is it disappointing that the Whedon script we saw for his Wonder Woman isn’t the forward-thinking feminist film we expected it to be? Absolutely. Because of his feminist leanings and previous work, we had high expectations. Is it fair to criticize the work of being sub-par? Yep. Should we condemn Whedon as being anti-feminist based on this leaked script and suddenly believe that the Batgirl film he is developing will somehow be a pile of chauvinistic bullshit? Probably not. Yes, Whedon has had missteps in the past, but he seems to learn from them. People grow and adapt. The Joss Whedon who wrote the terribly sexist Wonder Woman script 11 years ago is not the same one working on the Batgirl script. He’s not even the same one who wrote that poorly thought-out Black Widow storyline involving her sterilization in Avengers: Age of UItron. He’s shown that he can write strong, empowered female characters. Basically, we should criticize the script, but maybe it’s too early to criticize the man.

Not Just for the Boys Anymore: A Wonder Woman Review

Spoiler Warning: This post will discuss the new Wonder Woman film. I've tried to speak in broad generalities so as not to reveal major plot points, but beware if you haven't read it yet.

I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about the new Wonder Woman movie that does it justice. I loved the film. As I sat in that theater on a Monday afternoon watching the film, tears just welled up in my eyes. It’s not the film is sad, but I was so overcome with joy that I cried. This doesn’t necessarily that it is a perfect film. No film is ever perfect, and you could pick apart specific details of the plot and stylistic choices. However, as a woman, some of those things seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Wonder Woman is a game-changer in the superhero film landscape. 

In an earlier post, I wrote about the “suggestive content” label that the film received. When watching the film, other than the awkward flirting by Steve Trevor, I’m still not 100% sure why it was given this label other than one potential interaction between Steve and Diana early on in the film. While sailing to London from Themyscira, Steve asks Diana if she is familiar with “pleasures of the flesh” after she insists that he sleep next to her. She so matter-of-factly responds that she had read the twelve volumes on the subject by Clio (unfortunately not a real treatise on the subject) and is well-versed in the concept. He wonders aloud if he should read this to gain any insight. She replies that he wouldn’t like it because Clio ultimately came to the conclusion that, besides their necessity for procreation, men are not necessary for bodily pleasure. Given the MPAA’s proclivity for its Puritanical attitude towards female sexuality, this is likely the suggestive content alluded to in the rating descriptor.

Yet, there is more going on in this moment than just the liberation of female sexuality from the grip of the patriarchy. It further affirms the idea that woman do not require the assistance of men to accomplish anything but a basic reproductive process. It’s a message of female empowerment that continues throughout the film. Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, each time Diana is confronted with men telling her that the task is impossible or seeking to “protect” her from the horrors of the world of men, she just pushed past them and asserts her own authority, acting without second thought and ultimate success. It’s an important message that women of all ages should hear.

This brings me to the next thing that brought tears to my eyes. Directly in front of me at the movie theater, there was a father and his two young daughters (one was probably 8 or 9 and the other about 10 or 11). The girls were so excited to see a woman save the world. As they were walking to the seats, the girls were excitedly chattering about seeing Wonder Woman save the world. At the climax of the film, when Diana must make the choice to the save the world from Ares, I could hear them anxiously whispering to their dad whether or not Wonder Woman would come through, would she save the world or would it be the men who had accompanied her? This father reassured in the most wonderful way possible and of course I’m paraphrasing a bit. He simply told them that of course Wonder Woman will save the world because girls can save the world too. Girls don’t need to be rescued; they can do the rescuing. Even now, thinking about this moment days later, it brings a tear to my eye.

Like all superhero franchises, there is a love story. Some friends felt that it was unnecessary to the plot. It may have been, but it is also a convention of the genre, so I am less concerned by its inclusion. I don’t believe that it diminished the character in any way as it was tied to the Diana’s love for humanity in general. 

Honestly, if I had any complaint, it’s one that I have with the DC film style which very much emulates Zack Snyder’s general aesthetic: overuse of slow motion in battle scenes. Since first coming on the comic book scene in a big way with 300, nearly all of Snyder’s film uses this technique. In some ways, it does emphasize the badassery of the fighters, but it just feels overdone at this point. So even though this film was not directed by Snyder, director Patty Jenkins did stay true to the overall Snyder/DC aesthetic.

Criticisms aside, this is an important film. While not the first female-led superhero film, it definitely did better than others have done in years past. (I’m looking at you Electra and Catwoman). The film has been successful in terms of box office. Wonder Woman punched her way through the glass ceiling of the comic book franchise films. Its success makes me even more excited for the MCU’s Captain Marvel in March of 2019. 

So to women and girls everywhere, yes, women can save the world too. Wonder Woman just save the DC film universe.

Confessions of a Geek Girl Pt 8: What Wonder Woman Means to Me

As I eagerly anticipate seeing the new Wonder Woman film myself, I am feeling encouraged by the praise the film is already getting. Of course, I’m still cautiously optimistic. The pessimist in me definitely wonders if the movie is really as good as people are saying or if it’s a case that DC lowered the bar so much in recent years that a decent Wonder Woman film seems like a masterpiece. I know that sounds terrible of me to say, but these are the thoughts in my head. The thing is that I want the first option to be the truth. I really want Wonder Woman to be an amazing film and not just to prove that female-led superhero films can be just as good and make money.

Ultimately, I want Wonder Woman to be good because she means so much to me. When I was a little girl, I remember watching the Wonder Woman series with Lynda Carter on reruns. I wanted so much to be Wonder Woman. I grew up in a neighborhood where my sister and I were pretty much the only girls. When playing pretend with the boys, I was usually relegated to the female characters. I wasn’t allowed to be Dr. Egon Spengler when we played Ghostbusters but instead had to be Janine. (Not that I mind being Annie Potts, but playing the receptionist was boring.) However, when we played superheroes, I could be Wonder Woman. This wasn’t boring, and I was no longer just a support role. I could fight crime and battle the villains with my Lasso of Truth and Sword of Athena alongside Superman and Batman. I didn’t have to stay behind to manage the fort. There were numerous Halloweens where I wanted to be Wonder Woman, even when we could no longer find the costume in a store and the one that my grandmother had made no longer fit me. 

When in kindergarten, after first declaring that I wanted to be a rocket when I grew up (I was a weird kid), I would eventually acquiesce to not being able to become an inanimate object so I switched focus to becoming Wonder Woman. I wanted to kick ass and make the world a safer place. Before I knew what a feminist was, I was espousing feminist ideals. It wasn’t just her male counterparts of the Justice League that could stop the villains of the world. Wonder Woman had her part to play as well. She was equal to Superman in every way as far as I was concerned. And any boy who tried to argue about the value of Wonder Woman was likely to get a taste of my own Wonder Woman-like fury. 

As I was figuring out what it meant to be female in this world, I had a role model who was strong, smart, and beautiful. She didn’t need a man to rescue her. This was a stark contrast to the view of women I was being fed from my video games. Diana Prince could be a warrior and a successful woman. She didn’t have to give up her femininity to be powerful. It was her femininity that defined her power. It was the first time that being feminine and strong weren’t mutually exclusive traits in my mind. She could also be smart and beautiful: two things women aren’t often allowed to be. 

I love Wonder Woman, and I am glad that legions of young girls can experience the joy of seeing a woman lead her own superhero film, especially a hero as iconic as she is. I’m encouraged that the film was directed by a woman. I’m excited for the growing representation of women in superhero film franchises. I want Wonder Woman to be successful, not just because she’s a woman, but because she has been a source of strength for me alongside Captain America (yeah, I know I’m mixing Marvel and DC, but a good character is a good character). While Cap showed me what it meant to be a good citizen in the world, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman showed me how to be a good woman who fights for what she believes in, including gender equality. Wonder Woman taught me how to be a feminist.