DO WE STILL NEED WONDER WOMAN AFTER 75 YEARS?

Yes her costume is patently absurd, and yes she has a body shape that is unachievable by the majority of real women, but...WONDER WOMAN ISN'T A REAL WOMAN..!....

Warning: Spoiler!

Let me transport you back to 1954, when a certain Dr. Fredric Wertham published a book called The Seduction of the Innocent. The book caused quite a stir, given that it purported to expose the seedy world of children's comicbooks to American parents. Superman was cast as a fascist, Batman and Robin were accused of homosexuality, and Wonder Woman, naturally, was alleged to be promoting lesbianism. True, when seen through harsh adult eyes, divorced from the context, rules, and conventions of the comic book world that these characters inhabit, it is very easy to read into these characters all manner of sins -- today we would no doubt add paedophilia to the list of Batman's crimes -- but the point is: these characters didn't inhabit a harsh cynical adult world. They occupied a fantasy world, who's rules didn't acknowledge sex of any kind, let alone gay sex.

It's a game we've all played at one time or another: I'm sure I'm not the only one who has joked with friends over a drink about what was really in those Scooby-Snacks, or the true nature of Bert and Ernie's relationship. But we know that the joke is a joke -- Bert and Ernie aren't gay, and nor are they hetro, because the concept doesn't apply to the rules of the Seasame Street world where glove puppets mingle alongside humans as if it's commonplace.

So what of the Amazing Amazon..?

Wonder Woman isn't a real woman, and that's why she doesn't look like the majority of real women. Superman isn't a real man, and he doesn't look like the majority of real men. Daffy Duck isn't a real duck, which is why he doesn't look like a real duck. Miss Piggy isn't a real pig, which is why she doesn't look like a real sow. All of these characters live within fantasy worlds that are different to our world.

The protesters at the UN event are modern day Fredric Werthams -- finding all manner of scandalised horrors in fiction by intentionally stripping away the fantasy context and treating the characters as if they are part of the real world. They see Miss Piggy and they don't see a comical glove puppet purveyor of slapstick humour -- they see instead a violent, self-centred, parody of a female, whose very name -- Miss Piggy -- shames all woman whose body shape is not of supermodel proportions..!

Now... the fact that some commentators spend their days tilting at windmills certainly doesn't mean that there aren't real issues that need discussing. Yes, there really is a very real and urgent debate we need to have about the sexualisation of young girls, and the way that pop stars and fashion seem to be driving erotic and sexual imagery to younger and younger demographics of girls. That's a valid discussion to have -- but dragging fantasy character into the debate isn't contributing anything of value. Which leads me on to...

The reason that dragging fantasy characters like Wonder Woman or Miss Piggy into the debate isn't helpful is because children recognise them as fantasy characters! No child -- no matter how young -- was surprised to find that real world rabbits don't look like Bugs Bunny. No child was ever confused by the fact that real pigs don't talk like Jim Henson characters. No child ever really thought that they could regenerate if injured, like Doctor Who. No child ever mistook Wonder Woman for a real woman!!!

Some adults are too stupid to separate fantasy from reality -- but the kids seem to do it instinctively!

Wonder Woman is now 75 years old. If she really did have a corrupting, corrosive, cancerous influence on the minds and self-image of young girls, then she's been poisoning not only this generation, but their mothers, their grandmothers, and (possibly) their great grandmothers too. Strange how nobody seemed to noticed... until now.

God save us from the Fredric Wertham's of this world -- please!! People who take serious debates, but turn them into pantomime with their lack of imagination and their total inability to separate the fictional from the real. There was nothing wrong with parents in the 1950s being concerned about of the effects of the new mediums of television and comicbooks on their kids, and there's nothing wrong with modern day parents being concerned about the effect Miley Cyrus has on kids -- but there is everything wrong in manufacturing problems where there's no evidence problems exist. *

* = In 2010 the research data Fredric Wertham used to support his claims in Seduction of the Innocent was finally release. Analysis of the data concluded that none of the claims he made in his book -- or delivered at government hearings -- were supported by evidence.

R5

Markiehoe wrote: So a white, American woman is immediately ruled out of the discussion because she is white and American.
I just wanted to get that straight.

I guess that puts my Grandmothers, Mother, Sisters, Aunts, Cousins, Wife, Nieces, and Daughter right out of the running.
No matter what they do EVER.
Just because they are White and American.
Thank goodness the staffers of the United Nations (who live a pretty good life in the U.S.) is out there looking after us.

But it also reeks of nostalgic myopia and not just a little corporate self-promotion with the movie coming up.