Wonder Woman Superhero As A Symbol Of The Growing Female Empowerment
In the 19th century, women were confined within the gender stereotype of the caring housewife whose only role was to take care of the children, prepare meals for the family and clean the house. This reinforced domestic lifestyle had isolated women from the breadwinners who are their husbands. Women were put into a “domestic bubble” and only relatively recently, with women’s suffrage and feminist movements, has this “domestic bubble” been shattered. An example of this can be found on the big screen. In Patty Jenkins’s groundbreaking superhero film, Wonder Woman, Jenkin’s explores the intricacies of a woman growing into power and the empowerment that comes with said power. Gal Gadot portrays a young and naive Wonder Woman who must quickly learn and integrate herself into an unknown world that is predominated by males. Thrust into a chaotic war, she must not only discover the way to victory but also discover her role as a superhuman woman within a male-dominated society. Her advances and eventual victory pushes forward a sense of empowerment and strength among females. Her rise and ability to lead and captain a battle-hardened team through not only war but also against extraordinary enemies reveals that a woman is not only capable of assuming what is stereotypically considered a male’s role, but is capable of succeeding and exceeding that position. Wonder Woman serves as a symbol of the growing female empowerment and as an example that proves that women are equal to men and in some cases, are far superior.
Feminism is the philosophy of valuing women and their commitments. It depends on the social, political and conservative equity for women. According Bonnie Zimmerman, “There are no women’s studies without feminism. Feminism is the theoretical and political foundation of women’s studies”. The limits and boundaries that inhibit feminism set upon women are called separation and predispositions against sex, sexual discrimination, and their economic status. Everybody sees the world with his or her very own beliefs of sexual orientation and correspondence. Women's activists see the world as being rationally unequal. According to Clarie Moses, “In the most traditional histories, women's public activities have been largely ignored, and the only political power that has been recognized is women's power in the background, usually in the family, to influence men.” Women wish to see that the sexual orientation and the ideology that men are better than women should be razed into the ground. Feminism is a moving and rousing force that should not only inspire women but also inspire men. After all, aren’t we all the same, we all have the cavity for greatness. We all have the ability to emphasize with one another, to share each other’s pain, to celebrate each other success. That is the true meaning of feminism. That is the true uncensored message of feminism.
According to Kathryn Hunter “As a feminist historian of crimes involving women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Judith Allen argued that the discipline of history could not serve the needs of feminism, and yet feminism needed history.” History has influenced American pop culture due to the abundance of the booming media, which in turn pushed forward an interest in comic books, that sprung up after the Great Depression. Note that a greater part of these comic superheroes was, tragically, just male, maybe resounding the way of life that was rehearsed at that point, with respect to the equivalent acknowledgment of women. Also, Heather Wilhem stated, “Much of the hullaballoo, however, comes from the assertion that Wonder Woman will empower women and encourage the positive “representation” of women that is supposedly so rare in Hollywood”. Be that as it may, and as expressed by Community Cinema (2014), this was changed in 1941 when Harvard’s clinician and legal advisor, William M. Marston, a man who lived in a polyamorous association with two women's activists and was propelled by the suffrage development wrote the Wonder Women. Although Marston's thoughts regarding women's liberation do not relate to the ideologies of women's activist today, he attempted to demonstrate the possibility that women are similarly as incredible as men. In simpler terms, she was created to portray the promising potential of feminism that could be used to shape the future for the better. A few decades later, in today’s modern society, the superhero movie industry has been dominated by male lead roles. Wonder Woman, as the first superhero movie with a lead female role, breaks the stereotypical casting of women into the roles of secretaries, assistants, sidekicks in superhero movies.
Wonder Woman is not only a women's activist symbol, but she's also THE women's activist symbol. She exemplifies a female feeling of harmony, equity and passionate knowledge joined with great superhuman mystique. However, rather than breaking the ideology of the domestic bubble that women are supposed to be in.
Born out of women’s activist standards and ideologies, Wonder Woman represents and epitomizes women’s rights and the true strengths and qualities of a woman. Additionally, Wonder Woman is the main turning point in the 19th and 20th century during the extreme women’s activist movements and was to intend to resound women during that time period to get out of the kitchen and join the workforce. This hero will remain a women's activist symbol for a significant number of years after her creation since she symbolizes the possibility that parity is the way to balance. Having the option to grasp both the manly and the ladylike inside us is an indication of strength. In the film, Wonder Woman had her first interaction with a man, Steve Trevor who is an American soldier, during World War One. Her interactions with Steve are comically awkward as she had never seen a male before due to her isolated upbringing along only female warriors. These women warriors, leave their isolation, accepting this one man’s plea for help and aid in stopping World War I. This displays their strength and their willingness to leave behind their isolation, in favor of helping and improving the world. This is contrasted with men unwilling to accept women into their workspace. The involvement of their female warriors serves to emphasize this and show that women were ready, capable and eager to join men in their fight and in American society.
The fight for feminism is often overlooked, brushed aside and swept under the rug. However, along with and similar to slavery, it is one of America’s most egregious crimes against a group of people. At one point in the film, Steve’s secretary meets Wonder Woman, who appears confused by the foreign concept of a secretary. “Where I come from, that’s called slavery,” she says. This quote demonstrates that women, like slaves, were and are an oppressed group. The role of a “secretary” which we have seen as “normal” and “fitting” for women is, through the view of a naive, yet honest, Wonder Woman sees this as slavery. History and man have tried to disguise the oppression of women and has done so successfully; however, Wonder Woman exposes this oppression through her naivety and blunt honesty. This reveals that through an honest lens and an honest perspective, the dark truth of the female “domestic bubble” is revealed: it is an offshoot and a creation of the very same mindset born by slavery and racist attitudes. However, like slavery, this suppression of women falls and will crumble away. The efforts of past women suffragist movements have been successful and have influenced and empowered women today. Currently, we see women and even men coming together to fight for gender equality in all aspects of life. Wonder Woman is an example of the culmination of these efforts. In the movie industry, which is notorious for its discrimination against women, Wonder Woman, a superhero movie with a lead female role, has not only come into existence (which is amazing its own right) but has succeeded domestically and internationally. Wonder Woman’s success further emphasizes that women have only just begun to break free from their chains and are able to attain victory and make large impacts within the world’s industries and society.
It is said that when women come together as a whole, it is empowering and reinforcing one another, stunning things will undoubtedly occur. At the point when Diana leaves the Amazonian island and goes into the world as we knew it, we know (during the duration of World War I), men constantly pushed her to the side. All things considered, to the men, she is just a weak lady at first. She is advised to 'remain back' or 'remain here.' The men in the film, not understanding her value and capacity, attempt to reject her. In any case, she is unfazed and trusts she is very fit for satisfying her main goal. She knows that she has the power and capability to fight. A more profound examination of this part of the Wonder Woman fantasy permits a look into the idea that ladies are an unstoppable force which cannot be kept down by man's restrictive confinements and standards. Stephen Cawley stated that “As such, early Wonder Woman comics present her as strong, powerful, and independent from men. In the post-war period, however, Wonder Woman’s storylines, focus more on domestic virtues and romance, as women were being urged to leave the workplace in order to allow men to reclaim their jobs”.
During the film, Wonder Woman had the courage and conviction to traverse the No Man’s Land when no other soldier could even fathom the possibility. This represents the dauntless spirit and unwavering courage within women in the face of towering adversity. Within the same scene, she is the only person to stop and ask the villager what’s wrong. While the men are an only concern with bloodshed and senseless violence, Diana emphasizes with and comforts the people they are fighting for. This represents the female capability for love and compassion, born from the inherent motherly instincts that she possess.
Women should not be kept down by social confinements and guidelines. We should support competency and sympathy in one another to make another method for being. We are fit for acting with extraordinary specialist and conviction. It is our decision to pick love and guarantee our own voices. Wonder Woman is evidence of the power of a woman. It cannot be denied that woman has a place in this so-called “man’s world.” Wonder Woman is proof of that. However, like Diana, we are naive and thrust into a world we know not much about. For so long, we have been separated from society, from the workplace, not allowed by our male counterparts to step across this gender barrier. But within us, as in within Diana, lies an unimaginable power that we have only just begun to realize. We must take up this power, as Diana took up her sword, her shield, and her lasso. We must become our own Wonder Women and break free of the constrictive chains created by a male-dominated society. We have the will and the potential to do so. We are stronger than we believe. We have greater power than we know. And with this wondrous and unstoppable power, we stay, we fight and we give for the world we know can be.
