the wonderwoman chronicles
& tsr pgs 203-210
Today's post will be on Wonderwoman Chronicles and The Super Hero Reader pages 203-210.
Compared to the other texts we have read in this class (Superman and Batman), Wonderwoman was a breath of fresh air. I was surprised to see that even in the first issues, a woman was rescuing a... man in distress? This was something I have yet to see in our texts that primarily focus on men being the center of everything strong and heroic.
This observation is discussed in the essay by Gloria Steinem. She states "the female child is left to believe that, even when her body is as grown up as her spirit, she will still be in the childlike role of helping with minor tasks, appreciating men's accomplishments, and being so incompetent and passive that she can only hope some man can come to her rescue." (Steinem 203) With Wonderwoman, the young girl can finally have something to relate to that depicts something other than a woman falling into the damsel in distress stereotype. Wonderwoman, like Superman in the earlier comics, is fighting for something that may seem small in the eyes of others, but is actually a passionate issue to others. Superman, for example, knocked down the buildings (recklessly, may I add) so that more can be built for the poor, and he even bullied a man to stop abusing his wife. Wonderwoman handles these problems in a similar manner, for her motive is not only to protect America and fight for justice, but also to stand up for women's rights. And the message is explicit! It is not buried deep in the text, it is right there in black ink on the page.
More comparisons I've made between Wonderwoman and our former studies will be her identity as Diana Prince acting as her alter ego. She also has an awesome, other-landish background that gives an almost scientific (although much more mythological) explanation for Wonderwoman's existence. Superman came from Krypton and was scientifically a more advanced, futuresque race. Wonderwoman came from an island of Amazonian women, of which Steinem states in her essay might actually be a scientific possibility, furthermore bringing up a possible claim that a woman like Wonderwoman existed at one point prehistorically and can therefore give women a factual representation of something to strive for that, for a change, doesn't denounce their capabilities.
Till next time!
Compared to the other texts we have read in this class (Superman and Batman), Wonderwoman was a breath of fresh air. I was surprised to see that even in the first issues, a woman was rescuing a... man in distress? This was something I have yet to see in our texts that primarily focus on men being the center of everything strong and heroic.
This observation is discussed in the essay by Gloria Steinem. She states "the female child is left to believe that, even when her body is as grown up as her spirit, she will still be in the childlike role of helping with minor tasks, appreciating men's accomplishments, and being so incompetent and passive that she can only hope some man can come to her rescue." (Steinem 203) With Wonderwoman, the young girl can finally have something to relate to that depicts something other than a woman falling into the damsel in distress stereotype. Wonderwoman, like Superman in the earlier comics, is fighting for something that may seem small in the eyes of others, but is actually a passionate issue to others. Superman, for example, knocked down the buildings (recklessly, may I add) so that more can be built for the poor, and he even bullied a man to stop abusing his wife. Wonderwoman handles these problems in a similar manner, for her motive is not only to protect America and fight for justice, but also to stand up for women's rights. And the message is explicit! It is not buried deep in the text, it is right there in black ink on the page.
More comparisons I've made between Wonderwoman and our former studies will be her identity as Diana Prince acting as her alter ego. She also has an awesome, other-landish background that gives an almost scientific (although much more mythological) explanation for Wonderwoman's existence. Superman came from Krypton and was scientifically a more advanced, futuresque race. Wonderwoman came from an island of Amazonian women, of which Steinem states in her essay might actually be a scientific possibility, furthermore bringing up a possible claim that a woman like Wonderwoman existed at one point prehistorically and can therefore give women a factual representation of something to strive for that, for a change, doesn't denounce their capabilities.
Till next time!