Wonder Woman
and other images I've dragged through puberty into old age.
Men, what is it about us? We're cruising along in life almost as tall as the shortest girl in our Junior High class,. Then we start growing hair in our armpits, and suddenly we want to play with the girls again. Of course, the games we want to play are not the games we competed in when we were five.
My generation impregnated our dreams with images of women like Wonder Women (WW). She was tough. She was sexy. She was the kind of women, a young man could always dream, who would fall for him if they ever got the chance to meet. Why she would even notice a twelve-year-old kid much less fall for him was never on the table for consideration.
Recognizing that Wonder Women is a fantasy that came to you when you started shaving, she is now a standard against which all other women will be judges. Yeah, we know there is no bullet repealing shield or bracelets, but sometimes you wish that there was the magic lasso. But you're older, you realize, she is not real. Real women can be cool in a lot of ways, but not essentially the way WW is. Growing up, facing reality can be disappointing.
Actresses, activists, and academics have campaigned for heroic female role models in theater and film. In my opinion, there have been plenty of heroic women portrayed in entertainment. But they have been heroic for some reasons that don't add up to action hero status. Sally Field as the union organizer, Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich, and any number of roles where a woman was a hero, but aside from Joan Of Arch none of them was good with weapons until Lisbeth Slander came along. I think "The Girl with Dragon Tatoo" is the inspiration for every contemporary tough gal we are exposed to on the screen these days.
In 2009, a reasonable film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's, novel was made, starring Noomi Rapace as 'The Girl.' Rapace plays her as a woman who has been conditioned by life experience not to trust men. She is a bi-sexual, computer hacker genius with a goal of revenge against all of the men who have wronged her and there are many.
This cabal of corrupt men that wronged her is also a faction of government that is evil and corrosive. Enter Michael Nyqvist, magazine columnist and crusader for justice. The two of them expose this faction to the point their plot and plans are revealed and curtailed.
In the midst of this Lisbeth and Michael become lovers. He is already having an affair with his friend and editor, Erika Berger. Lisbeth takes offense when she learns that his affair with Erika is not over. Fortunately for Michael, she only severs her relationship with him. Based on her past history, he's lucky that is all she severed. Michael realizes, much too late, that his feelings for Lisbeth are strong and real. She is not going to forgive him, but she isn't done with him either. Sieg Larsson wrote two more novels in which the two of them dance around the edges of their love (him) hate (Her) relationship.
If you saw the American film version of this book, you saw a great performance by Rooney Mara as 'The Girl.' The biggest flaw in this film is the depiction of Lisbeth and Michael's relationship. Its fatal flaw is that like the typical American film with its required 'love conquers all' ending, the film leaves us with the feeling that Lisbeth is too much in love with Michael not to eventually forgive him. No wonder they never made either one of the other books into a film. They would have had a tough time walking that expectation back.
So now we come to the latest version of a tough gal worthy of Wonder Women's cape, bracelets, and shield, Claire Underwood from House of Cards. Played by Robin Wright, Claire is as cold, calculating and ambitious. Like Lisbeth getting her hands dirty with a little 'wet work' is not a problem. In most cases, she prefers the Machvalian approach. With the notable exception of her husband, we certainly get the impression that men are for pleasure and whatever other useful purposes they can serve. Certainly not for keeping. She's not warm and cuddly.
With Frank, her husband, she's both combative and supportive. All of her relations with him have to do with obtaining power. She knows what buttons to push and which favors to withhold so she can get from him what she wants. She is so ruthless, seductive and calculating, but I know she'd change if she met me.
The best of all possible worlds has come about. They have revived Wonder Women. A new film has been produced and will be released soon. Not only do I get Wonder Woman, but a guess as to who is going to play her mentor, General Antiope? Robin Wright. Life is good.
and other images I've dragged through puberty into old age.
Men, what is it about us? We're cruising along in life almost as tall as the shortest girl in our Junior High class,. Then we start growing hair in our armpits, and suddenly we want to play with the girls again. Of course, the games we want to play are not the games we competed in when we were five.
My generation impregnated our dreams with images of women like Wonder Women (WW). She was tough. She was sexy. She was the kind of women, a young man could always dream, who would fall for him if they ever got the chance to meet. Why she would even notice a twelve-year-old kid much less fall for him was never on the table for consideration.
Recognizing that Wonder Women is a fantasy that came to you when you started shaving, she is now a standard against which all other women will be judges. Yeah, we know there is no bullet repealing shield or bracelets, but sometimes you wish that there was the magic lasso. But you're older, you realize, she is not real. Real women can be cool in a lot of ways, but not essentially the way WW is. Growing up, facing reality can be disappointing.
Actresses, activists, and academics have campaigned for heroic female role models in theater and film. In my opinion, there have been plenty of heroic women portrayed in entertainment. But they have been heroic for some reasons that don't add up to action hero status. Sally Field as the union organizer, Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich, and any number of roles where a woman was a hero, but aside from Joan Of Arch none of them was good with weapons until Lisbeth Slander came along. I think "The Girl with Dragon Tatoo" is the inspiration for every contemporary tough gal we are exposed to on the screen these days.
In 2009, a reasonable film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's, novel was made, starring Noomi Rapace as 'The Girl.' Rapace plays her as a woman who has been conditioned by life experience not to trust men. She is a bi-sexual, computer hacker genius with a goal of revenge against all of the men who have wronged her and there are many.
This cabal of corrupt men that wronged her is also a faction of government that is evil and corrosive. Enter Michael Nyqvist, magazine columnist and crusader for justice. The two of them expose this faction to the point their plot and plans are revealed and curtailed.
In the midst of this Lisbeth and Michael become lovers. He is already having an affair with his friend and editor, Erika Berger. Lisbeth takes offense when she learns that his affair with Erika is not over. Fortunately for Michael, she only severs her relationship with him. Based on her past history, he's lucky that is all she severed. Michael realizes, much too late, that his feelings for Lisbeth are strong and real. She is not going to forgive him, but she isn't done with him either. Sieg Larsson wrote two more novels in which the two of them dance around the edges of their love (him) hate (Her) relationship.
If you saw the American film version of this book, you saw a great performance by Rooney Mara as 'The Girl.' The biggest flaw in this film is the depiction of Lisbeth and Michael's relationship. Its fatal flaw is that like the typical American film with its required 'love conquers all' ending, the film leaves us with the feeling that Lisbeth is too much in love with Michael not to eventually forgive him. No wonder they never made either one of the other books into a film. They would have had a tough time walking that expectation back.
So now we come to the latest version of a tough gal worthy of Wonder Women's cape, bracelets, and shield, Claire Underwood from House of Cards. Played by Robin Wright, Claire is as cold, calculating and ambitious. Like Lisbeth getting her hands dirty with a little 'wet work' is not a problem. In most cases, she prefers the Machvalian approach. With the notable exception of her husband, we certainly get the impression that men are for pleasure and whatever other useful purposes they can serve. Certainly not for keeping. She's not warm and cuddly.
With Frank, her husband, she's both combative and supportive. All of her relations with him have to do with obtaining power. She knows what buttons to push and which favors to withhold so she can get from him what she wants. She is so ruthless, seductive and calculating, but I know she'd change if she met me.
The best of all possible worlds has come about. They have revived Wonder Women. A new film has been produced and will be released soon. Not only do I get Wonder Woman, but a guess as to who is going to play her mentor, General Antiope? Robin Wright. Life is good.
Comments
Post a Comment