How Wonderwoman Was Once Again Dominated by a Man

(Photograph by Kristina Paukshtite)

“It’s about what you believe. And I believe in love. Only love will truly save the world” (Diana in Wonderwoman)

Last week, I saw Wonder Woman in the theater. And I was not amazed by it. While I do think that it is important and impressive that this movie was made (and by a female director) and there are a lot of great aspects about it, I have one major issue with it.

One of the most important scenes in the movie bothered me ever so much that I left the theater feeling a little confused and unsatisfied. In this scene, Diana is about to be struck down by Ares, god of war. They have been fighting for a while but he is clearly stronger than her, and the battle seems to be coming to an end. Then, Diana remembers a moment just minutes ago, when Steve selflessly left her to drive that nasty plane into the sky to let it explode out of harm’s way. In her memory, we see Steve tell Diana that he loves her, which makes her realize that her greatest power in the world is love and this in turn enables her to finally defeat Ares. Love saving the day is not a new trope in the superhero universe and thus might strike some as unoriginal and predictable. I, however believe that it is a theme worth being reiterated again and again, especially in times like ours. I therefore do not disagree with what enables Diana to finally destroy Ares. What I do have an issue with, is what incites this realization of "love as the most powerful weapon" in Diana: It is the man she has fallen in love with (?) over the course of the past few days or weeks. His confession of love gives her the ultimate power.

Wait. What?

Was this movie not hyped as a feminist masterpiece? It is the biggest female-lead superhero movie of all times; a movie that could be empowering for women in so many ways. Yet, in its most crucial scene, it relies on the power of a man, albeit an absent one. This annoyed me especially since Diana grew up on an island populated only by women; was raised only by women. Thus, she must have experienced so much love from and towards these women to last a lifetime. When we talk about feminism we often say how important it is for women to stand up for each other and empower each other; A theme this movie seems to forget after the first hour.

It didn’t necessarily make the movie a bad movie. But, for me, it could have been so much more powerful with just the smallest of changes! Just give Diana a flashback to her time on the island, surrounded by strong women, instead of to Steve confessing his love for her. Let her be empowered by the love of the women who were her entire life until she left the island; let her be an example of what can happen when women truly empower each other.

I can already hear some say “But why can’t a feminist heroine fall in love with a man too? That doesn’t make her weaker!” – That is not my point at all. I am not saying “take away the love story!” Love stories are a trope of the genre and Steve is actually crucial to Diana’s understanding of human beings, their flaws, their complexities. He is, however, not necessary to make Diana strong or at least he shouldn’t be! She was strong before him because she was raised by inspiring women who love her and empower her.

And what is more, as my friend pointed out: Why did he have to die a hero? Why couldn’t he have somehow escaped the exploding plane, come back to Diana, shown her that human beings can be selfless and good but then made her realize that she is destined for greater things and have her walk away from him? That might have been an even more heartbreaking ending but at least it would have saved us from that sappy scene where Diana strokes Steve’s photograph on a memorial wall: Celebrating the male hero, once again. Yes, it is an accurate depiction of what would have happened at the time in which the movie is set: Men would die in heroic acts on the battlefield and women would celebrate and mourn them at home. This cannot and should not be denied. But we have had enough movies about those stories; We have celebrated the selfless – and often deserving – male hero over and over again.

Luckily, however, we have moved on from then and women not only can be heroes too but, finally, they can actually be recognized for it. This movie was supposed to show just that. But – in my opinion – it did not go all the way.