Stop doubting yourself. It’s about what you believe.
This week I went to watch Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman. And the gears in my head haven’t stopped thinking about it since then. The movie has had great success making about $228 million in the box office showing how much the world has embraced it. But I want to talk about this film in a very personal way, as this character proved to me first hand how much we need more female leaders, on and off the screen.
The movie
I won’t be dwelling much on this point because I’m sure there will be more than enough articles about how big of a deal this movie is for our times, but I have to mention it. The first female superhero movie in a non-stop era of men saving the day. It is amazing to see how much impact this movie has had. It has been an inspiration for many people and, of course, especially women. I saw a great review about Why I cried through the fight scenes in ‘Wonder Woman' and I must say, indeed, those were some of my favourite parts of the movie. The amazons’ fight was epic. The portrayal of a group of strong, bad-ass women, fighting together to defend their land against invaders. I had never seen something like it, the world hadn’t seen something like it, and it clearly stroke a cord. The big battles were inspiring and impressive. But also, one of my favorite things of the movie were the small scattered and articulate comments that spoke to what women go through, both personally and globally. I could spend hours talking about each of them; “Be careful in the world of men”, “Stand back”, “You let that little thing tell you what to do?”, “We use our principles” and my favourite “I am the man who can”. But the one I’d like to address is the following. Antiope was given the task of training Diana. We are given a montage of several scenes showing her training, but the first words said about it are:
“You keep doubting yourself, Diana. You are stronger than you believe”.
This was the amazon shaping the mind of a little girl. For me, that was one of the most important messages from the movie to little girls and to all women. Stop doubting ourselves and believe that we are strong, stronger than we think, just as strong as men.
It is about what you believe
And as it happens, just a few days before watching this movie I had a horrible argument with a man. I won’t go into details, but this conversation left me feeling angry and sad and hurt. Most of all, it left me doubting myself in very profound ways. The main subject that caused the fight was politics. Shocker, right? If there is one area where women have had to fight for a legitimate place is in the way the world is ruled and managed.
In our discussion, this guy had a certain stand and I had another. I never mind exchanging points of view with someone that thinks differently from me, but this argument became personal. I was told I didn’t know anything, that I couldn’t think clearly or simply think. Insults even got personal. We discussed many things but at the centre of our discussion was an argument about this: He said that a certain group of people weren’t, in fact, people. They were animals. People that didn’t get involved in the government, that allowed for injustices to happen, that were corrupt, and any other wrongful things people do (we actually didn’t mentioned murderers, rapers or any hardcore crime, but of course they would fit into the description). While I agreed that many things people do are truly fucked up, my argument was that no matter what, people are people, and if we don’t see them as such, how are we any better than the ones he was criticizing? how could we change their hearts?
As I mentioned, because of the way he expressed himself about my opinions, the talk was very hurtful, and it left me thinking for days, feeling awful and even doubting what I believed. I struggled with my common sense not to let this affect me as much, but you can’t not get hurt by comments like that. The thing is, I had to get a grip on any available lifelines there were around me to feel better. It might sound pretty far-fetched, but when I watched this movie it became that needed lifeline. This was about a strong, courageous woman standing up to every male character in her way who tried to diminish, question or tell her what to do. But most importantly, a primary point of the film was showing a perspective of the world that was inherently female. Diana Prince’s main concern wasn’t avenging anything, she showed compassion for human life since the beginning. Acknowledging that humans have both darkness and light within them, and were still worth fighting for.
The explicit moral of the film was: “It is not about deserve, it is about what you believe”. And this message couldn’t have been more spot-on for what I had been discussing. Not only did the whole thing aligned to my argument, but it showed me that what I believed in was what mattered and that this belief is not one for weak people. We can be strong, lead armies, and stop a war while still believing love is the way to make a change.
The company
Additionally, I went to watch this movie with 3 long-time girl friends. And even if at the end of the movie I jokingly said: “I got to see it with my Wonder Women!”, and as soon as I said it I thought it was the cheesiest thing ever to escape my mouth!! Ew!! … It still was true. These girls are some of the most beautiful, intelligent, awesome, bad-ass, bighearted women I know. And as we discussed the movie, our favourite parts, how we felt while watching it, our insights and impressions, I realized how much this women I was already talking to, and many others, bring to my life and the world all of the same things this movie portrays. There are women out there leading battles, caring for others, standing up for equality, and helping me feel strong. The thing is, this movie is also an aid to help us acknowledge all the great women that are already around us in the real world. Women that promote the same values this movie talks about; courage, strength, determination, and compassion against all odds; who are the ones that make Diana Prince come to life.
Finally, after all this praising, I want to make clear: I don’t think Wonder Woman is the best movie I have seen. As a film, there are many more that are superior works of art, WW has a few plot holes, it gets a little cliché, and it is a blockbuster within an already exploited genre. However, what is the most relevant about this movie, is that it successfully gives us the very much needed strong female role models we lacked. Not only fictional Diana Prince, but Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Robin Wright, cast and crew who put their talents together so to tell the story of the superhero we all need to be. I experienced this myself, first hand, being able to relate to this character, having it be a reassurement and support. Women need more of that. We need characters that speak to our genuine selves and provide an outlet to the issues that we face day to day. Created by strong women to shape even stronger ones.
