Wonder Woman is a name the is so famous that it is almost completely disassociated with the comic world itself. She is in herself  her own entity. She instills hope, power, and courage into young girls and women alike. Even though she is the essence of women’s power incarnate she, as many women through the ages, has suffered heartache, disempowerment, and prejudice. In Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, a PBS special, we find out the story behind the woman that made her what she is today.
This documentary starts off with flashes of the general public being interviewed about who their favorite super heroes are. Answers of Batman, Superman, and Spider Man infest viewers ears. When questioned about the women heroines it is sad to see the interviewees struggle to name one. When Wonder Woman is barely uttered, my heart wrenched. The perfect setting for her story. Wonder Woman was first introduced into the comic world in 1941 in the heart of WWII. Her writer was a very out of sorts comic writer. William Moulton Marston invented the symbolic blood pressure test which paved the way for the lie detector test. This plays a very intricate part in the writing of Wonder Woman because of her golden lasso. For fans of the comic we know that individuals bound by the golden lasso are forced to tell the truth. Marston used words like amazon, princess, and goddess which made little girls eyes light up. Her origin is base on greek mythology. Her home, paradise island, taken straight out of myth. Amazonian women who need no mans help to survive and live in a domain of sisterhood and strength. One day, a man crashes in a plane on Paradise Island and is saved by Wonder Woman. The man tells her of the war where he is from and she leaves with him to aid him in the fight. A perfect tale of heroism in real life struggle of war. She was the epitome of the woman’s helping hand in what was going on in real life. Naturally, when Wonder Woman was created she had to be patriotic. She, just as many other heroes, was created to symbolize patriotism and instill hope and love for this country during this time. There were many talks about how Wonder Woman was constantly tied up and bound. That these distinctions had something to do with bondage and fetish themes. Take this as you will, however many see this imagery as a sign that she could break through any chain and instilled this motto to most if not all of her female readers. Through the 40’s she reigned supreme with her message of equality and strength. However, with the end of the war and the onslaught of the 50’s she was put back in the kitchen through and era of romance novels which would eventually lead to her being stripped of her powers. For many years she was a crying mess and reflected all of the wives of soldiers upon their return from the war. Demoralized and demoted, she no longer stood for what she was created for, hope. She wasn’t the only one. Bat Woman in this time was constantly talked down to by Batman. Stating that she was inadequate and unable to fight like a man. Cat Woman, bat mans rival was also dispatched as a lacking threat. There were even Disney comics put out about Cinderella and her life after she married the prince… wasting away in a castle cleaning. All of it a travesty. FLASH! The 60’s, and the feminist movement took place. Ms. Magazine was created with Wonder Woman on the cover as the symbol for women’s liberations. Activists pleaded with DC Comics to give our heroine her powers back. After countless harassing emails, they got their wish. Wonder Woman was given everything back, even though her story line was not as empowering. Even though her story arch faltered she still showed girls that they could be brave and daring. In the 70’s Lynda Carter took her role on television. Carter produced in your face results that this movement could not be ignored and that a strong female character can prevail. This success paved the way for other show such as Charlies Angel’s and the Bionic Woman. These women had proved the mans world wrong. Through the 70’s these women fought for television slots and success. This led straight into the 80’s where muscle and action films reigned supreme. However, the strong woman character kept fighting through to the next decade with shows like Xena: Warrior Princess and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also with movies like Alien and Terminator 2. All strong women standing up for the young and old to prove that they were worth more than the light that had been shed on them for so long. Many terrifying statistics were related throughout this film. Even in the media industry today only 3% of decisions on female characters are made by women. Which leave 97% up to the male population of the industry. In the making of Kill Bill there was research conducted on women characters in films to date. Out of 157 most of them were placed in an evil light and most of them killed. Another startling statistic is that 30% are killed in self sacrifice. Examples of Jean Grey in X3: The Last Stand and Matrix Revolutions were used. The battle for respect for the female super hero continues everyday and is becoming more prominent as the years go by. It’s not all bad though. Wonder Woman Day was created. This date happens once a year and it is a charity foundation for domestic abuse. To date the day has raised $89,000 for domestic abuse. She is a hero amongst all women. A symbol of strength. She’s fighting for you, so fight for her too.