In trying to find a topic to blog about this week, I was
googling “real life superheroines” and stumbled upon a link to a new
documentary that has yet to be released entitled, “Wonder Women! The Untold
Story of American Superhoines.” In the article about the upcoming documentary,
it is stated that this documentary touches on topics “from the birth of the
comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbuster of today, this doc
looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s
anxieties about women’s liberation”. This film, incidentally, is directed by a
woman. This documentary features interviews with actresses who have previously
portrayed Wonder Woman, writers, and authors of the comics. The documentary is
to the premiered at the South by South West (SXSW) Film Festival later on this
year.
It’s almost uncanny how similar this one promotional video
is in relevance to our entire focus of our writing seminar. There are many
things I could say about this video, but I’ll allow it to speak for itself.
What is your reaction to watching this clip? Would you be
interested in seeing this documentary? I definitely would be interested in
seeing it.
the article can be found here: http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/wonder-woman-untold-story-of-american-superheroines-sxsw-trailer/
This is definitely a great find! Wonder Woman has represented women for several decades now, mirroring the changes as women have found new independence and freedoms. This definitely plays into our talks about feminist movements, and how we have started paying more attention to women as individuals, as well as strong protagonists in today's media. I am definitely interested in seeing this document as a whole, and being able to dig deeper into the role of Wonder Woman and the feminists movements.
ReplyDeleteInez, I would be interested in watching this documentary as well. I think the clip makes the correlation between women's history and the history of superheroine comics very clear. The transition of women from the kitchen to new roles in the work place during the time of war is most definitely reflected in the strength of Wonder Woman's character. I did not realize that there was a period of time in which Wonder Woman's character shifted to a less powerful woman focused on her romantic life rather than crime solving. This corresponds to the return of men from war and the period prior to the feminist movement making headway. I am curious to see how they will portray current women in the media in the documentary and if they will discuss the lack of a strong superheroine movie.
ReplyDeleteThis documentary really does parallel many of the topics in this course. Even in the beginning in which they highlight different strong heroines, Buffy is shown. I agree with Alexandra’s comment that it also shows a really clear correlation between historical moments and the changes in comic books. The fact that Wonder Women became popular around the time of World War II was not a coincidence. She was a representation of the new strength and freedom that women were attaining. From what is in this video, I think this documentary underlines many important connections between comic books and the real world that can help to understand their development and popularity.
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