Wonder Woman is Important - Here's Why!

It’s been a long time coming, and to be fair I’m surprised it’s taken this long – but we finally have a female-led comic book movie that’s universally loved in WONDER WOMAN!! The film has been widely praised by critics and fans, and has exceeded expectations opening to over $100m in the US alone. Having only just seen the film, I completely agree with the majority of opinions and it’s all been super positive.

All the praise the film is getting is amazing and for a few reasons:

1.    DCEU gets it right (finally) – personally I liked Man of Steel and found Suicide Squad entertaining, but DC’s recent offerings have all been very divisive. With Wonder Woman, DC finally have a film that is generally liked by all audiences. Warner Bros has invested a lot of money in this DCEU and if Wonder Woman ended up being trampled on by critics, it would have posed serious questions about the future of the DCEU. However with the early success of the film, Warner Bros/DC can relax for now until there next outing – Justice League – comes out later this year.

2.    A strong female protagonist – The first major comic film to have a female be the main lead…it’s about time. It’s astonishing to think that a character as iconic as Wonder Woman has only just made her big screen debut. Young girls finally have a strong, badass role model who they can truly relate too and that is nothing but amazing. Gal Gadot bought the right amount of physicality, bravery and emotion to this role. With DC, Lucasfilm and soon Marvel having strong female leads, hopefully this trend will continue until it’s a norm.

3.    Female Director – similar to the above, but something that is even more of a rarity - we finally have a blockbuster film directed by a female that is both financially and critically a hit. Wonder Woman is the 1^st film directed by a female to open to $100m in the US. Patty Jenkins directed this film magnificently – the humour fit in so well, she got the best out of Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, and the actions sequences were bold and breath taking.

With all the success highlighted above, especially in regard to female-led/directed blockbusters, the film industry as whole cannot become complacent moving forward. One film can start the conversation, but it cannot bring about the widespread change needed – Wonder Woman must be seen as the beginning, not the end.

Comic Book and Blockbuster films are at the forefront of entertainment, and play big roles in our attitudes, shaping our pop-culture along with a variety of other factors. In recent times, it’s been great seeing more and more female leads who are treated equally and with respect. Rey has proved very popular in the new Star Wars trilogy, whilst Bat Girl, Lara Croft and Captain Marvel films are all scheduled for release in the coming years. But we, as an audience, cannot be satisfied with one or two films per year. Representation and equal opportunity for women in film still needs to be pushed further if the industry is to become truly “equal”.

It’s crazy to think that in the entire history of the Academy Awards, only once (Katherine Bigelow, 2009) has a female won Best Director! How can Patty Jenkins, who is undeniably talented, only just brake out as a mainstream figure? I am all for great story telling, and that these so-called “politics” should not interfere as to what is right for the story, but equal opportunity in writing, directing and producing for talented females can’t continue to be ignored. Just think of all the potential talent, ideas, stories that have been continuously overlooked for no fault of their own. Hollywood and the wider film industry must address this problem which has lasted far too long.

Once the above changes, I firmly believe there will be more scripts and better films which lends itself to strong female lead actors. I believe the film community and wider movie-going audience wants to see this happen. Instead of trying to re-imagine films with female leads, why not create unique, new stories in which audiences can fall in love with strong, powerful heroines. It fills me with joy at the direction Lucasfilm (thanks to Kathleen Kennedy) has taken in regard to this issue. Rey, Jyn Erso (Rouge One) and characters in TV/books provide clear examples of the best way to integrate great story telling as well as creating characters girls and boys can enjoy.

The Wonder Woman’s and Rey’s are the modern day Superman’s and Luke Skywalker’s – a great start but a start nonetheless. All girls young and old deserve to have role models/figures in film they can embrace fully, feeling as though they can conquer the world, that they are as strong as Diana Prince herself.

Thank you Warner Bros for giving Patty Jenkins the opportunity to make Wonder Woman unlike anything we’ve seen. We ALL hope this is just the beginning!