Saturday, February 10, 2018

Wonder Woman (Jenkins, 2017): A Film Interview with Emily Anthony

Here is an interview with Emily Anthony, a former student of mine and a recent graduate from the University of Leeds in Leeds, UK, where she obtained her MA in Writing for Performance and Publication. She is a creative writer and an avid pop culture fan who enjoys exploring and analyzing the Marvel universe, Star Wars, and many other popular franchises. Be sure to check out her blog athttps://emwrites627.blogspot.co.uk/

Embed from Getty Images

JW: I know you are a huge fan of the Marvel Universe. So what brought you to the movie theater to see Wonder Woman? What kind of expectations did you have?

EA: I’ve seen quite a few of the DC films, and with the exception of The Dark Knight, I can’t say I’ve ever been impressed. I knew I had to see Wonder Woman on principle--anything I can do to support female-directed films with female-leads is of utmost importance to me--but I waited a while after it came out, a little so I could see the reviews and a little because I just didn’t have a lot of faith. I didn’t get excited until I started seeing great review after great review touting the incredible visual aspects of the film as well as the solid representation of a female superhero.

JW: What scene/s in the movie will retain their place within the best portrayals of a superhero on screen, and which scene/s do you think fall short of what Marvel has accomplished (assuming you're still in the Marvel camp even after this film)?

EA: I’m definitely still in the Marvel camp! One amazing film isn’t enough to make me forget about Batman vs. Superman...or Suicide Squad...or Man of Steel...Anyway, there are a few scenes in this film that I believe absolutely will retain their place within the best portrayals, most notably the scene in which Diana crosses No-Man’s Land all on her own. That scene is regularly mentioned as exactly what a superhero SHOULD be: a hero, using their powers to help others and inspire the values of freedom, valor, and integrity to make the right choice.

I watch superhero movies because I like fun, exhilarating, hyperbolic adventures exploring the vast capacity of human nature, not because I want to watch someone with super strength kill a bunch of aliens to find the magical McGuffin of the week. A less-often remembered scene that I also feel holds its place is the invasion of Themyscira, Diana’s home, by the German forces. Diana not only saves the life of the downed pilot Steve Trevor (a job very stereotypically seen with the gender roles reversed) but she also watches her mother, aunt, and fellow Amazonians bravely battle the invaders, learning a valuable lesson about the reality of war and the evilness of it, before stepping in to fight as well to save those she loves.


And the most amazing thing to me about this scene is that it’s bright and colorful! That’s what I associate with Marvel films, the ability to be visually bright and appealing, rather than constantly dark and gritty. I think Wonder Woman could have kept that thread throughout the film, rather than immediately delving into the foggy depths of twentieth-century London, but I don’t believe Marvel would have done the final battle any better. It would have been much brighter and more entertaining, but Marvel’s weakness is often the climactic battle scene as well.

JW: Do you think that Wonder Woman is a game-changer in terms of the ways women are represented on the screen within the superhero genre? 

EA: Absolutely. And if it isn’t, then there is unmistakable and irrefutable evidence supporting the rampant sexism in Hollywood (as if there wasn’t enough already). I’ve been shaking my head for years at Marvel every time they announce a new phase without any news of a female-led superhero film. They do have a Captain Marvel film slated for a 2019 release, but I don’t think they’ve made enough of an effort to make representations of women a priority, especially as Captain Marvel’s original release date of 2018 was pushed back to make way for yet another Spiderman film (don’t get me wrong, I like Spiderman, but the world didn’t really need a third iteration of the swinging super-bug, at least not before ANY female-led superhero films were released).

Basically, for Marvel, DC, or any other studio making a superhero film in which women are represented in any capacity, Wonder Woman is now the bar they must meet or exceed. It wasn’t perfect. There was plenty of room for improvement. However, it is by far the greatest representation women have had in this genre so far, and anything less than what Wonder Woman gave us is now unacceptable.

JW: How have you participated within, or analyzed, fan communities and their responses to the film?

EA: I always avoid reviews from critics, as more often than not I find myself disagreeing (case in point: Birdman won an Oscar and I couldn’t figure out what was happening at any point of that film). So I turned to Tumblr, audience reviews, fan blogs, Twitter, and YouTube to find out what other female superhero fans felt about this film. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the sheer amount of other women saying exactly what I felt was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Mostly what I’ve discovered is that female superhero fans are blown away by this film, in awe of the trope reversals and general feminist message of the film, and are now looking at other franchises with renewed hope and expectation. The majority of the non-female fans I’ve witnessed also enjoyed the film but are more critical of it, and that’s entirely fair. I think the difference lies in the basic facts of representation. Male viewers have a lot of representation in superhero films, and can pick and choose which heroes and films resonate most with them. Female viewers have Wonder Woman. I look forward to that changing, now that we’ve proven to the studios that a GOOD female-led superhero movie can make the profits they’re looking for. I only hope they’ll continue to hire female directors and writers as well!

No comments:

Post a Comment