The first superhero film I ever saw directed by a woman was Patty Jenkins’s “Wonder Woman.” It meant a lot to me that the most famous female superhero was getting a stand-alone movie. It meant even more that it was being directed by a woman. Not once was Diana objectified, there was no gratuitous shot of her breasts or butt and no gags revolving around either (looking at you Joss Whedon and the crap you pulled in “Avengers” and “Justice League”).
It was so refreshing to see a story about a woman as told by a woman, especially in a genre that panders to men. You cannot deny that the comic industry caters to fanboys: women are constantly drawn wearing skimpy and impractical costumes, posed at angles that accentuate their bodies and are ridiculously anatomically incorrect. Their storylines consistently paint them as weaker than their male counterparts. Not to mention number-wise there are significantly fewer female characters. If you need proof, just look at the main team people think of when they think of the Justice League: Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Wonder Woman.
Recently there has been some strides made to get rid of some of this sexism in the industry. Fan movements such as the Hawkeye Initiative, where artists and even cosplayers put male characters in costumes and poses typically used for female characters, have helped to bring these issues to people’s attention. The increase in creative teams spearheaded by women and Babs Tarr’s most recent Batgirl redesign eliminating a form-fitting spandex costume in favor of practicality are a definite step in a better direction.
While there is still work to be done in the comics industry, the movie adaptations leave even more to be desired. “Wonder Woman”, “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Black Panther” have been some of the best superhero movies in recent memory. This is likely thanks to the unique creative voices of their directors — people who have typically been marginalized — Patty Jenkins, Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler. It is still not often that you see a woman, maori or black director helming such major films. Yet their work is proof that these are the people who should be creating these movies.
DC has recently announced Ava DuVernay, who recently directed Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time”, to direct an upcoming film about Jack Kirby’s New Gods and Cathy Yan has been tapped to direct the Margot Robbie produced “Birds of Prey” movie, in which Robbie will reprise her role of Harley Quinn. “Birds of Prey” will center around DC’s female characters and is being written by Christina Hodson. I happen to be a huge fan of the “Birds of Prey” comics and characters and the concept of a nearly all female creative team makes me extremely excited. Although, Joss Whedon leaving the upcoming Batgirl movie is just as exciting.
A nearly all female creative team working on the “Birds of Prey” adaptation seems poetic to me. The team itself is an all female hero who work on covert missions featuring a vast number of DC’s female characters. Robbie had gotten to know the characters through research she did into her character for “Suicide Squad.” Reading the Gotham City Sirens comics that feature Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman, Robbie fell in love with the women of DC Comics and pushed the studio to greenlight the upcoming project.
Hopefully Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. will realize that their fan base is not a stereotype and will stop creating movies targeted towards them. Instead hiring directors who will best tell the character’s stories. When it comes to female characters then that means letting women tell their stories.
😃 great