If only Wonder Woman could whip out her lasso of truth and get an answer from Hollywood.
Why, with her pop-culture icon status, her role as a female hero in comics and a powerful stint on a TV series, can’t Wonder Woman get Hollywood to give her a solo shot on the silver screen?
The excuses have flown for decades. She’s too Amazonian and feminist. She’ll be a bust at the box office. Her storyline isn’t interesting enough. Her attire is too, well, skimpy for action-packed scenes.
Meanwhile, guys like Batman and Superman — who have worn some pretty funky, tight tights — have landed dozens of flicks between them.
“Female heroes are scarcely seen on screen, even rarer if you subtract all the Disney princesses,” said filmmaker Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, whose documentary, “Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines,” aired recently on PBS and was shown last year at the Indianapolis International Film Festival. “Wonder Woman is an obvious choice for a female superhero film, yet she has been overlooked for decades.”
Time and time again, rumor has had it that Hollywood producers are scripting a Wonder Woman movie. Megan Fox was even said to be the frontrunner to play the part in one version. Then time and time again, the plan falls through and the script gets shelved.
“Not trying to sound like a jerk,” said Jason Free, Indianapolis, “but typically women in leading action roles don’t sell the way strong male figures do.”
Is that because men wouldn’t go to the box office to see a movie about a female superhero? Perhaps. And, making things worse, men are the majority of comic book readers.
A whopping 93 percent of people buying comics are male, according to The Nielsen Company’s market research done for DC Comics in 2012. The study also found that only 5 percent of people buying comics are doing it for the first time and 2 percent are younger than 18.
The results are “troubling,” comicsalliance.com said at the time, because they “raise serious questions about DC’s ability to expand their audience base, and the accessibility of their content to both female and younger readers.”
Which is exactly who would need to buy into that Wonder Woman movie.
Marcus Barlow, a devoted comic book reader, says it’s not necessarily gender at issue when it comes to making or not making a Wonder Woman movie. It’s her story line.
It’s not an easy one to relate to, whether you are man or woman, said Barlow, 34, Indianapolis.
“Wonder Woman is so tied into her lineage, it’s just difficult for everyday people to be able to relate to it,” he said. “The story isn’t deep enough for you to really want to be a part of it.”
He says the same about Aquaman, who also has never had his own movie.
Wonder Woman is a warrior princess of the Amazons, based on the Amazons of Greek mythology. She is known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira.
Wonder Woman has a breadth of superhuman powers and stellar combat and battle skills. Her arsenal of weapons include the Lasso of Truth, a projectile tiara and a pair of indestructible bracelets.
She fights for justice, love, peace and sexual equality, which has led to Wonder Woman being considered a feminist icon.
That belief was bolstered by her creator, William Moulton Marston, who drafted the female hero in 1941.
“Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness,” he said at the time. “The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”
And that Wonder Woman is. Beautiful. And she shows it off in her attire, something Christina Blanch has often wondered about.
“I never understand the outfits,” said Blanch who teaches a Gender Through Comic Books class at Ball State University. “I couldn’t eat dinner in that. The last thing I’d want to do as I fight crime is to wear high heels and tights with your breasts half hanging out.”
If a movie were to be made, Blanch votes for boots with low heels and a costume that is not overly sexual.
Blanch hopes that movie happens. Just as she has wished for years for a Lois Lane comic.
“Not just for girls,” she said. “We also need to show young boys this is what women can do.”
Craig Mince, theater manager at the IMAX at the Indiana State Museum, agrees and he says it’s coming. Wonder Woman just has to wait for the fanfare surrounding the Justice League movie, which is slated to hit theaters in 2015.
“Her character plays such a pivotal role, she’s a major piece of the Justice League,” he said. “It’s going to happen. I can almost guarantee you.”
Mince, who is also board president of the Indianapolis International Film Festival, said the superheroine documentary shown last year received amazing response and even won an audience award.
“It’s just one of those topics that makes people talk,” he said. “When are they finally going to make a Wonder Woman movie?”
according to indystar.com
