When my husband suggested we catch the midnight showing of Wonder Woman last Thursday night, the drowsy-I-am-ready-for-PJs feeling left in a flash. I’ve been looking forward to this film most of my life even though I didn’t know it.
The film delighted the 10 year-old inside me that still comes out to play every once in a while, but it resonated so richly with me as an adult. There are a number of reasons for this, one of which is the release of my book, Super Girls and Halos in a couple of months, where I dedicate the first chapter to my love/hate relationship with Wonder Woman.
It took me thirty years to gain a deep appreciation for this strong heroine. I always thought she fell short of her potential. I blamed the writers and the illustrators, and even blamed society for its expectations. What a blame game. I look at her now with a different lens, a vision part maturity and part faith and see a reflection of myself. I certainly fall short of my potential. It’s powerful that a fictional character can produce that kind of introspection in a person. In me.
But that’s why so many of these hero stories today resonate with people, whether it’s in the Star Trek universe or the Star Wars universe. Whether you are a hardcore Marvel fan, or stand by DC Comics.
I’m sure the last thing William Marston had on his mind when creating Wonder Wonder was an incidental catechism lesson. He wanted a character that was the embodiment of love. Wonder Woman, in her 70 years of adventures, actively pursues the corporal works of mercy! As Christians we know the embodiment of Love is the Incarnation, Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, Marston gave us a character that models how we should treat others, with love and dignity.
Wonder Woman, like so many of the epic superhero stories popular in film today, bring big themes to the big screen. There’s a reason why archetypes speak to us, and it lies in the human condition. Part of that condition is the struggle between good and evil that we see played out across the board in these hero journeys.
Wonder Woman is no different. And yet, she’s completely different. She leads with love, and it’s unique enough in this genre to get attention. I won’t give away spoilers, but throughout the film we see how her desire to lead with love, to do the right thing, saves souls, whether it’s a community in danger of annihilation or a companion’s sense of self-worth. She is both brutal in her justice and tender in her mercy.
I am delighted by the excellent writing, the spectacular cinematography, the amazing special effects, and the portrayal of a modern Wonder Woman who is everywoman. I mean, if every woman had a lasso of truth and bracelets of power. But we don’t need those because we have love empowering us. It is who we are as women. We are courageous, warm, strong, sacrificial, giving, sensitive, and badass.
The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
Our battlefield is in the lives we lead, within our families, in the workplace, out in the world as we move through the demands of our vocations, whatever they may be. How much could we accomplish? How much could we change for others as well as ourselves if we follow Love?
