The power of Wonder Woman

This, the first live-action Wonder Woman movie, has received a lot of attention because it surpassed box office predictions and shattered the proverbial glass ceiling by becoming the highest US domestic opening film for a woman director, at more than US$100 million. The movie was d i rected by Pat r i c i a “Patty” Jenkins, who also wrote and directed the acclaimed 2003 crime drama, Monster. Israeli actress Gal Gadot portrays the iconic superhero.

However, television producer Danielle Dieffenthaller is disappointed that, in the year 2017, people are still having conversations about and are being surprised at the skill of women directors and the success of women- led movies and TV shows.

“What does that have to do with anything? It seems we have regressed as a society. When I was young there were a lot of very strong characters. I grew up watching Wonder Woman, Bionic Woman, Isis – they were a bunch of really strong female role models for us. Then there were all these fema l e - l e d TV shows like Mary-Tyler Moore, Phyllis, Golden Girls, even though they were 100 years old, and Julia.

And over the years there were female- led, bad-ass movies. We had a lot, so this Wonder Woman is nothing new to us. To me it’s even more insulting to us that they are making a big deal that a popular movie was directed by a woman.” Dieffenthaller, who co-wrote, produced and directed the local soap opera, Westwood Park, and currently In Plain Sight, told Sunday Newsday most of the movie producers in Trinidad and Tobago are women. She added that the most ambitious local programmes are done by women, and gave the example of the movies Cutlass and Play the Devil which were written, produced and directed by women.

She said there are strong women characters in local movies but productions are so “few and far between” that they did not make an impact. And the reason they are not consistent, is mostly because of a lack of funding.

“From my experience it is always very difficult to get funding.

People are still not understanding the business side of what we do.

Trinidad films are no longer local or ‘for the diaspora’ but it’s global, for anybody who loves a story. The investment you make in an indigenous production isn’t necessarily stuck right here. It’s far-reaching.” In fact, she recently sold Westwood Park to Papua New Guinea, 20 years after the initial episode debuted on local TV. She said thanks to streaming platforms such as Netflix, and Hulu, people were open to viewing shows from around the world.

Film-maker Teneille Newallo, however, believes Wonder Woman is very important to the empowerment of women and girls as it teaches that they do not need anyone to save them, and they can save themselves.

“Boys have this example all the time in the media.” “This is why Disney went and revised a lot of their stories, so that men are not rescuing women all the time, movies like Frozen. They are moving toward putting us on equal terms with boys and men.” “Although the local and international film industry is male-dominated, there are a lot of women in it and more are becoming interested.

Of course there is still a sexist point-of-view pervading in the industry.

I have encountered it multiple times. But I am hoping that having a female director and lead in such a popular movie slowly starts to change the automatic way of thinking.” As one of the producers and writers of Cutlass, Newallo notes TT does not have any positive male or female fictional characters and says we need both. She and her partners try to give viewers just that.

“Cutlass is about empowerment.

It’s about the main character finding strength, encouraging herself to go through this terrible ordeal.

Especially with TT and what it has been going through with crime locally. We are hoping that people can find hope in that, that this young girl was able to find the mental, emotional, physical strength to battle the unsettled mind of a kidnapper. ” Patricia Mohammed, professor of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, agrees Wonder Woman is an empowering character, but adds that the stage had already been set for a strong female lead.

She notes the Wonder Woman actress from the 1970s TV series of the same name, Lynda Carter, attracted a lot of attention and respect at the time. In addition, there were several strong female characters who stood out as role models including the Charlie’s Angles, even though they were run by a man, and Lara Croft. Even the women in James Bond movies have changed from sultry eye candy into serious threats to the male star, Mohammed observes.

Therefore, she says, the Wonder Woman movie built itself on a good base for the female character to be the focus rather than the sidekick or romantic attachment.

“What is interesting about Wonder Woman coming out now is because of the current political climate. Woman are emerging as significant. Think of Angela Merkel, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Theresa May, Portia Simpson- Miller. Even though they are in the minority, they are not to be ignored. They are being perceived as people who could lead or even save nations.” Mohammed says each generation has been moving gender equality and ideas of femininity up a notch. Despite all the advances women have made, however, the idea of a woman’s role as nurturing and “feminine” still has an appeal.

“To the younger generation, Wonder Woman is a singular super heroine who has retained her femininity. This allows her to negotiate a masculine world but still join the parade of classic heroes like Superman, Batman, Iron Man, Hulk and the like.” Mohammed explains that, “society is still rooted in a concept of woman as nurturer and saviour with finer sensibilities. Wonder Woman (exemplifies) this while being independent, strong and able to defend herself. This ongoing dialogue about what constitutes femininity and its role, the idea of the possibilities available to femininity, is constantly being worked out in the media. As human beings we can’t seem to go beyond some societal concepts of femininity and masculinity.” Previous super-heroine movies included Electra, Catwoman, and Supergirl, but they were not very successful.