In honor of Women’s History Month, St. John’s Italian Society and the Otaku Brigade, the anime club of St. Johns, collaborated to host a discussion and movie viewing of “Wonder Woman” last week. They presented the ideas of feminism associated with Wonder Woman, and the story and character origin, as well as her role in comics and Hollywood over the many decades of her existence.
The discussion was led by Otaku Brigade President Amanda Carlson, senior, and junior Annamaria Basile. Taking place in the Sodano Coffee House, I saw curiosity on every person’s face as they gradually made their way in.
As the attendees enjoyed the free pizza, Carlson and Basile began the discussion aided by a colorful and informative slideshow.
While discussing Wonder Woman — a.k.a Diana Prince — and her feminist origins, it was important to mention her feminist creator.
William Marston, I learned at the discussion, was a feminist in the 1920’s/30’s in a polyamorous relationship. An interesting fact shared by Carlson and Basile was that Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth was the brainchild of Marston’s kink for being tied up. Eventually, when Marston passed away, those who took over Wonder Woman basically got rid of her feminist appeal and made her into a secretary type. At one point she was, as Carolson put it, “Steve Trevor’s flirtatious secretary.”
Freshman Ricardo Arias said, “I wasn’t expecting to learn such shocking things about the creator of Wonder Woman. Like I would never have guessed that in those times he would be a guy in a multi-person relationship and into BDSM. But he made a really great character so it works.
William Marston had said, “Rule not through force, but through love.” He applied this when creating Wonder Woman since was her view as well, clearly shown in the 2017 film that was shown. It was clear she led with her emotions.
When the presentation came to the topic of Hollywood, it was unfortunately not surprising that with a powerful and beautiful female character being portrayed, the actresses that played Wonder Woman had to deal with sexual harassment issues. Lynda Carter, for example, had a hole drilled in her dressing room. In a manner that is similar to that of the character she plays, Gal Gadot took a stand and would not move forward with Justice League until Brett Ratner was fired by Warner Brothers due to cases of sexual harassment.
Once the film was put on, everyone was hooked for its entire duration. Director Patty Jenkins put together a female-empowering movie that became a symbol for women, children and adults alike. Casting Gal Gadot for the role could not have been any more perfect.
After checking for a post-credits scene (spoiler alert: there wasn’t one), we were left feeling better informed about a pop culture symbol, and freshly inspired by the movie
