Story highlights
Lewis Beale: The new Wonder Woman movie is out featuring hot looking, kick-butt heroine. This is what feminism looks like in 2017?
He says Jessica Chastain and others are right: Hollywood virtually ignores characterizations of strong, realistic women. That has to change
Editor’s Note: Lewis Beale writes about culture and film for the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and other publications. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) —
Oh, goody. Now that “Wonder Woman” has attained a 93% positive score on rottentomatoes.com and looks like it will become a massive hit, we can look forward to an avalanche of overblown, CGI-driven comic-book movies featuring hot-looking, kick-butt heroines.
This, supposedly, is what feminism looks like in 2017?
Yep, Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, has long been touted as some sort of feminist icon, but in reality she’s just a bodacious fantasy figure created by a man named William Moulton Marston. And whether in her comic book incarnation or her ‘70s TV persona – played by the extremely curvy Lynda Carter – WW has always been able to take care of herself- but also has been a major sex object.
What’s wrong with this picture? Just this. At the recent Cannes Film Festival, Jessica Chastain, a juror, decried the sexism she saw in so many of the nominated movies. And Nicole Kidman pointed out that last year women directed a vanishing few of the year’s top-grossing films. According to a recent study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film at San Diego State University, just 7% of 2016’s top-grossing films were directed by women, down 2% from the previous year.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy dc comics
Princess Diana of Themyscira, better known as DC's Wonder Woman, made her first appearance in 1941.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
cameron stewart/dc comics
DC's Batgirl, a.k.a. Barbara Gordon, made her first appearance in 1967 and got a new look in 2014.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
jae lee/dc comics
She's been more of an antihero than a villain in recent years, and Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman) made headlines by coming out as bisexual in February.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
marvel
Marvel Comics announced it will replace all Avengers teams with a new one, composed entirely of women like She-Hulk, Medusa and Dazzler. "The A-Force" comic book hits stores in May.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Kris Anka and Javier Rodriguez/Marvel
Spider-Woman, a.k.a. Jessica Drew, was introduced in 1977. Marvel Comics announced a makeover for 2015.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Here's the original Spider-Woman costume.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy Marvel
It's a new day for the god of thunder: Thor will now be a woman, Marvel announced July 15. "This is not She-Thor," writer Jason Aaron said in a news release. "This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it's unlike any Thor we've ever seen before."
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Marvel comics/ap
Before Thor, Marvel introduced a Muslim-American teen superhero: Kamala Khan, a New Jersey teenager who transforms into Ms. Marvel.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy marvel comics
Mindy McCready, known as Marvel's Hit-Girl, made her first appearance in 2008.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy dark horse comics
Dark Horse comics' Buffy the Vampire Slayer made her first appearance in 1998.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
May Parker, Marvel's Spider-Girl, made her first appearance in 1998.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy marvel comics
Marvel's Elizabeth Braddock, also known as the X-Man Psylocke, made her first appearance in 1989.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy dc comics
DC's Helena Bertinelli, Huntress, made her first appearance in 1989.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy dc comics
Amy Winston, DC's Amethyst, made her first appearance in 1983.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Jean Grey-Summers, Phoenix. First appearance in 1981. Marvel Universe.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
The X-Men's Rogue, whose name was later revealed to be Anna Marie, made her first appearance in 1981.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Marvel's Elektra Natchios made her first appearance in 1981.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Angelica Jones, Marvel's Firestar, made her first appearance in 1981.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Jennifer Walters, Marvel's She-Hulk, made her first appearance in 1980.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy dc comics
Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, better known as DC's Starfire, made her first appearance in 1980.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy dc comics
DC's Rachel Roth, a.k.a. Raven, made her first appearance in 1980.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, made her first appearance in Marvel comics in 1979.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Ororo Munroe, the X-Men's Storm, made her first appearance in 1976.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy dc comics
Dinah Lance, the Black Canary of DC Comics, made her first appearance in 1969.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Carol Danvers, formerly Ms. Marvel but currently Captain Marvel, made her first appearance in 1967.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Marvel's Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, made her first appearance in 1964.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Marvel's Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, made her first appearance in 1964.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy marvel comics
Janet Van Dyne, Wasp, made her first appearance in Marvel comics in 1963.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy marvel comics
Sue Storm, Marvel's Invisible Woman, made her first appearance in 1961.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
courtesy dc comics
DC's Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, made her first appearance in 1959.
Photos: Most awesome female superheroes
PHOTO:
Courtesy dc comics
Shiera Sanders, Hawkgirl, made her first appearance in the DC Universe in 1940.
And even though female leads were more visible onscreen in 2015, comprising 29% of the leads in the top 100 movies, the percentage of female characters in speaking roles, both major and minor, was actually down slightly.
What Chastain and Kidman and other women (and many men, like yours truly) would like are films that showcase strong women – either real or fictional, but not comic-book creations basically geared towards a teenage-boy mentality.
Chastain, for example, recently starred in “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” the true story of a Polish woman who hid Jews from the Nazis. Nicole Kidman won an Oscar for portraying author Virginia Woolf in “The Hours.”Julia Roberts won her Oscar for playing environmental crusader Erin Brockovich. Angelina Jolie won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as a complex psychiatric patient in “Girl, Interrupted.” And so on.
It is summer, and Hollywood, no question, is particularly in thrall to comic-book adaptations, sequels, movies based on toys and games and franchise pictures, but we have a problem here that is year-round: the movie industry has practically forgotten, or willfully ignored, great female characters (and directors) who can provide realistic role models for young women.
And with young people flocking to the multiplexes, it’s beyond tragic that the worst kind of female objectification is being uploaded into the minds of another generation – boys AND girls – with few alternative film characterizations to act as an antidote.
03:14 - Source: CNN
DOD releases scathing review of former White House physician
PHOTO:
Alex Wong/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Physician to U.S. President Donald Trump Dr. Ronny Jackson listens during the daily White House press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. Dr. Jackson discussed the details of President TrumpÕs physical check-up from last week. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Now playing
DOD releases scathing review of former White House physician
'Highly misleading at best': Dale reacts to Pence's op-ed
PHOTO:
Gov. Cuomo's office
Now playing
Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses women's allegations
PHOTO:
GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Commanding General District of Columbia National Guard Major General William J. Walker testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs/Rules and Administration hearing to examine the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol on Capitol Hill on March 3, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Nash / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Now playing
DC National Guard commander: 'Unusual' Pentagon restrictions slowed response to Capitol riot
PHOTO:
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Supporters of President Donald Trump hold up their phones with messages referring to the QAnon conspiracy theory at a campaign rally at Las Vegas Convention Center on February 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now playing
Hear why QAnon supporters believe Trump will be president on March 4th
PHOTO:
MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the January 6th insurrection, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 2, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Now playing
Watch FBI director debunk conspiracy theories pushed by Trump supporters
PHOTO:
Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 10: Neera Tanden, nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testifies at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee on February 10, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Tanden helped found the Center for American Progress, a policy research and advocacy organization and has held senior advisory positions in Democratic politics since the Clinton administration. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)
Now playing
Neera Tanden releases statement on pulling her nomination
Multiple people killed in crash after SUV and semitruck collide
nigeria kidnapped schoolgirls released Busari pkg intl ldn vpx_00000423.png
Now playing
Tears of joy and relief as 279 Nigerian schoolgirls return home