[If Wonder Woman 1984s heroine is supposed to represent the good
and hope for all humanity, one has to wonder who specifically this
humanity is reserved for.] [[link removed]]

PORTSIDE CULTURE

‘WONDER WOMAN 1984’ FEELS LIKE A WHITE FEMINIST EXERCISE  
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Yolanda Machado
December 23, 2020
Observer
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_ If Wonder Woman 1984's heroine is supposed to represent the good
and hope for all humanity, one has to wonder who specifically this
humanity is reserved for. _

[link removed],
Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman 1984.

 

In a year with very few big blockbuster releases, _Wonder Woman
1984_ hopes to connect to audiences using a superpower only someone
like Diana Prince can wield in a year like 2020: humanity. But despite
some fun ’80s kitsch, Gal Gadot’s lasting endearment as our
heroine and some amazing, albeit campy work from co-stars Pedro
Pascal, and Kristen Wiig, it’s a film completely devoid of any form
of diversity, which really conflicts with the overall message of unity
and community that the film wants to represent.

When we last left Diana in 2017’s _Wonder Woman_, World War I was
just ending, she had lost Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), the love of her
life in a plane crash, and she managed to save the world from
destruction at the hands of a fellow god, Ares. Seventy years later,
she is working as a curator at the Smithsonian Institute in
Washington, DC. Lonely and still pining for her lost love (despite it
being many decades since they last saw each other), she befriends her
new co-worker, anthropologist Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), just as
a mysterious artifact arrives at the museum. Barbara initially
dismisses the rock as some useless novelty, but not before the rock
reads Diana’s unspoken, deepest wish: to be reunited with Steve.
Within a few short hours, her wish is granted, and Steve
returns—kinda. Not wanting to question the why or how of his
resurrection, Diana turns a blind eye to what she suspects may be the
reason: the mysterious rock.

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Barbara also starts to see what the rock can do, and after the
momentary terror of being followed by a creepy man on the street, and
a lifetime of being put down and ignored, Barb asks that the rock
grant her strength, just like Diana. Drunk with newfound abilities and
growing confidence, Barbara introduces Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) to
the stone, unknowingly unleashing a power-hungry villain with a huge
chip on his shoulder. Barbara’s meekness starts to turn into a
bitter strength, quickly transforming her from Diana’s new friend
into Wonder Woman’s bitter, angry nemesis, Cheetah.

WONDER WOMAN 1984 ★★1/2
_(2.5/4 STARS_)
DIRECTED BY: Patty Jenkins
WRITTEN BY: Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, David Callaham
STARRING: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin
Wright, Connie Nielsen
RUNNING TIME: 151 mins.

 

Director Patty Jenkins knows the heart of Wonder Woman, and that’s
apparent throughout both the first film and the sequel. But where her
mark is most apparent is when Cheetah and Wonder Woman face off,
knowing that if two women are to go head to head, it has to be about
something worthy, like saving humanity. The battle between the two
comes down to how you might view white feminism, which Wiig
brilliantly explores with Cheetah. To me, Cheetah is the very
embodiment of a white feminist, where the reason she feels she can do
whatever she wants the second she gets a little bit of power is
because she has been oppressed and terrified for her whole life. But
much like reality, this is not the case, and if this is supposed to be
the message, I have one big question: Where are the women of color?
Where are the queer characters? Or better yet: Where is
there _any _marginalized representation in this film?

Sure, there were background actors of all races and ethnicities
peppered throughout the film (this is what my BIPOC critic friends and
I like to call “bacon bits on an all-white salad”), but for modern
audiences, that just isn’t good enough. In the entire 151 minutes of
the sequel, there’s a noticeable lack of any featured performers of
color. Yes, Pascal is Latinx, and that is and should be notable.
However, I take umbrage when the reason his character turns evil is
due to the mistreatment he faced growing up Latino—particularly when
the original comic book character has been historically portrayed as
white. In a scene that calls back to Maxwell’s past, we see how his
being a poor, marginalized Latino male led to being overlooked,
insulted and that never being given a chance to thrive caused him to
want more money, more power, more of everything for his own son.
Latinx representation is already rife with stereotypes, and creating a
backstory that amounts to “Because this country mistreated me, I
will make everyone pay,” just creates more ill-conceived notions
about Latinos who all too often are only cast as traumatized
immigrants, gang members, maids and criminals.

One might argue that Maxwell’s turn is a typical comic-book villain
arc, but that just makes it more apparent on why it’s equally
important to have writers, producers, and other creatives from diverse
backgrounds on projects like _Wonder Woman 1984 _to translate how
this might be perceived beyond the gaze of the white lens that has
been applied all too often. A better way to have translated his wicked
turn is to highlight his intelligence, his love of the world of
possibilities and his undying love for his child and hope for
more—everything that felt missing behind his anger and rage.

Is _Wonder Woman 1984_ entertaining? Sure, it’s fun, hits all the
right superhero marks, and visually, the 1980-something world is a
technicolor throwback to behold. But if our heroine is supposed to
represent the good and hope for all humanity, one has to wonder who
specifically this humanity is reserved for.

Wonder Woman 1984
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be available to stream on HBO Max on December 25._

_Observer Reviews [[link removed]] are regular
assessments of new and noteworthy cinema._

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