A Depiction of how Wonder Woman (2017) Breaks Gender Stereotypes

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Gender stereotypes define the role a woman should assume in society. Traditionally, the role of women is to bear children, stay at home and take care of the children, cook food for their husbands, and be treated like a fragile sex under male protection. Even though equality has made men and women share partnership roles, there are characters that women can possess that can transcend men’s power. Director Patty Jenkin shows such powerful women can possess above men in “Wonder Woman (2017)” film. Diana is an all-female Amazonian race who only knows the men’s world as a mythology book. She is raised in a superior female civilization that is completely isolated from the world of men. Diana has no idea how a man looks like and why he is different from her. She knows a man was created by Zeus and a woman placed beside her for pleasure and procreation. Still, she wonders why she feels powerful before women when they seem weak. Jenkins not only shows women are the dominant sex in several scenes, but in the entire film. After a close examination of Jenkins’ film, the view shows that she offers an alternative traditional value because she shows men are weak both physically and mentally and need a woman to solve their problems.

Jenkins is depicted in the film that the Amazonian civilization represents women as superior creatures created by Zeus and ordained as the rightful ruler of their world. For instance, after Amazonians capture Steve and take him before their queen, he is forced to tell the truth about why he has come to the island. Diana ties him with the lesson of reality, a magical rope that compels men to disclose nothing but the truth (Jenkins, 2017). Steve cannot resist telling the truth before Amazonians that he is a spy and has lied many times in his life. The lesson of truth is symbolic because it is a magical creation, but it helps to show that women can be superior to men. It shows man’s conscience can be twisted easily to tell the truth of a woman’s power. This is a paradox because men often squeeze the truth out of women in modern society. However, Jenkins shows that women possess an incredible ability to control a man’s conscience, even though they do not show it. The scene makes the audience think that women can be better interrogators than men, suggesting that women intrinsically have superior minds.

The scene where Diana narrates about creation depicts those men were created as subordinates of women because they were fated to be corrupted by the God of war while Zeus protects women. This scene contradicted the already laid down theory of creation about God creating Adam from soil and producing a woman from the man’s ribs. The scene suggests that women are purer than men because men were condemned to be corrupted by the God of war (Jenkins, 2017). According to the scene, a woman was brought to the world of men not to serve them. Instead, she was created to alleviate them from the violence inflicted upon their lives by the God of war. This suggests women are sacred and that men enjoy women’s company out of sympathy. Furthermore, in the boat scene where Diana dialogues with Steve about marriage and relationships, gender roles are reversed. Steve admits he should be courteous to a woman to win her heart because that is how a man finds his wife material (Jenkins, 2017). This is ironic because Steve reflects a poor quality about men, as though they need to be gentle to win a woman’s love. It suggests the woman’s love is too precious to be won easily by a man. Moreover, Jenkins shows in the scene Steve are shy, and Diana is bold; that is why Steve feels uncomfortable sleeping next to her. In the traditional society, being shy is the woman’s mastery skill she displays to get intimate with a man.

If there is a better way, Jenkins demonstrates man’s inferiority is by their continued lapses of judgment. The world of men is at war based on the First World War because they have poor leadership qualities. Since the time men have made contributions to civilizations, they have resorted to the war business instead of searching for a solution. Jenkins introduces Diana to solve the provocative question regarding the cause of the war, which a man cannot figure out. She proves she is better equipped to rule men in many ways. Even her fighting skills are macho bearing to all men present in the alley, including Steve (Jenkins, 2017). In the real world, a man can take a bullet meant for a woman. In the film, this machismo quality is bestowed to Diana, as seen in the alley scene where she catches flying bullets intended for Steve. This scene shows women are physically stronger than men are, but they can also protect men from physical danger without being harmed.

It is ironic that a woman leads men to defeat Nazis in the no-man’s-land scene, and men are the followers. From history, women were not allowed on the battlefield, but stayed at home looking after children and praying for their soldier husbands to return safely from the war. Men went to war to protect women from their enemies. In contrast, the scene shows that Diana goes to war to protect men from the enemy. Her lead towards the enemies’ gunships hailing bullets at her allies shows she is brave, a risk-taker, self-centered, and capable of taking the initiative (Jenkins, 2017). Before she inspires men to charge forward, some say they have stayed in the bunks for months because no man stepping his foot on the no-man’s land has ever survived. Therefore, when she takes the initiative, she proves no man can possess the leadership qualities. Further, she provokes masculinity in the film by showing that she is a woman who can trespass a no-man’s land. This is somewhat a satire that suggests that if a man cannot go to a no-man’s land, he should delegate the task to a woman. This indicates men cannot solve their manly problems; instead, they need a woman to overcome their inabilities.

In the “Wonder Woman (2017)” film, men have no voice against women, even sometimes amongst themselves. They need a woman to speak for them, fight for them, and protect them from the enemy. They cannot solve problems originating from their ego because they are blind to realize the potentials of a woman. Jenkins shows that a woman is more farsighted than a man is and handles things better than men. The film depicts a provocative conceptualization of the male conscience by showing that men cannot survive without women. They need women to solve their past and present problems, including their inability to comprehend Zeus commands a woman to give company to a man.

References

Jenkins, P. (2017). Wonder Woman. United States: Warner Bros Pictures.