Thanks to a certain shield-wielding femme, the modern-day archetype has been challenged. But just why should we care about Wonder Woman? Here’s why it’s not just another action film…
Who’da thunk a lady clad in leather could be the saviour of 2017? This could be a flippant statement to make so early in the piece, but in a time when we’re searching for a woman to lead us to greatness (because Julia isn’t running Australia anymore and Hillary, well, it’s still too raw to talk about), Wonder Woman’s Diana Prince, played by Gal Gadot, has become a kickass antidote to the rather humdrum pop culture conversation normally surrounding superhero movies. Aside from the awesomeness of the film itself – attested to by all of your friends who have seen it, whether you asked them or not – the commercial success has now provided the flint to spark game changing conversation.
A lot of our affection is down to our pre-existing love of superhero movies, but it’s important to talk about the positive f low-on effect that occurs when a superhero f lick helmed by a female is just as popular as one starring a male. ‘While there are the other kinds of lessons – like normalising female heroes – the true win is disproving the assumption that for a film to make money, a bigname male star needs to headline,’ says University of Melbourne Social and Political Sciences lecturer Lauren Rosewarne.
This story is from the September 2017 edition of Cosmopolitan Australia.
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This story is from the September 2017 edition of Cosmopolitan Australia.
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