When I was a child, I had a vague sense of Wonder Woman. She had her golden lasso and was dressed in, in my opinion, an unusual outfit. Seeing her in cartoon form wasn’t enough to keep my interest for long.
Many years later, a friend cheered over the presence of a female superhero in a major film and implied that it was important for me, as a woman, to see it. You guessed right — the movie is “Wonder Woman.”
Seeing the movie, I understand my friend’s excitement. Wonder Woman, also known as Diana Prince, is admirable, skilled at fighting and unafraid to deal with dangerous situations. She is also beautiful, but prefers practical outfits. The character feels all kinds of emotions, from compassion to love to anger. She is open to working with all kinds of people, as long they’re not doing the work of Ares, god of war.
Diana Prince decided to leave her homeland in order to end the Great War. She also showed great affection and love for Steve Trevor, a human being who stumbled upon the land of the Amazons, a group of women of which she is a member.
The movie shows the contrast between Prince’s idyllic home, where she grew up with only women surrounding her, and the rest of the world, where many countries had to deal with war, strife, suffering and conflict. She is not used to being around men, but that doesn’t mean she runs away from them (quite the opposite).
During the moments when she is in new situations, she looks like she is trying to figure things out, but she never loses her self-confidence. She can feel emotional pain; she was grieving her lover’s self-sacrifice. And she learned something important about her mission: though it is important to have the strength to defeat Ares, fighting for a better world means acting out of concern for love — a lesson that is important both for humans and for her godly self.
I couldn’t believe that, for most of my life so far, I missed out on learning from this superhero until I saw the film. I was slightly disappointed when it turned out that Wonder Woman was a god and not mortal, but she still imparts lessons for female human beings to take in. The importance of being brave in the face of new and possibly difficult circumstances is one lesson. Having faith in other people is another. Doing what feels right regardless of what other people say is a third.
But the influence of the film on me didn’t stop there. Seeing the movie made me want to learn more about her. I picked up a comic book titled “Wonder Woman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told” and discovered that she finds ways to get out of tricky situations and believes it is her mission “to battle crime and injustice.” She also contributes through her work at the United Nations and in many corners of the world.
However, it takes a while for most people to get used to Diana Prince. In the comic book, someone called her a “hussy” because of the way she was dressed. The movie shows that the people around her try to help her be presented in a way that makes her look as normal as possible.
Wonder Woman is a woman who will always stand out, no matter what. The takeaway from her stories and adventures is that we women, especially young women, shouldn’t be afraid to stand out and contribute to the world in ways that make it a better place.
