Contrary to popular opinion, the movie Wonder Woman was not the the first superhero movie that was directed by a woman. One reason for the public's lack of awareness could be found in the box office ticket sales. The sales for Wonder Woman far exceeded that of the other movie. And Wonder Woman is still playing in theaters while the other superhero movie has just been released on DVD and is probably available on demand where you live. So we can see why the public might not be aware of the previous superhero movie.
But there are a couple of other reasons why the public might not be aware of the other superhero movie, and those reasons might reflect negatively on the public. One of those reasons is that other superhero movie was about a real life, female superhero rather than an imaginary one. In addition, that real life superhero did not show off her power by using violence to save the day. Instead, that real life superhero's ability was seen in her exercise of love and compassion. In addition, Wonder Woman's courage was fueled by her superpowers. The real life superhero being referred to here displayed a deep courage despite being powerless.
See, a lot of fuss was made about the director of Wonder Woman being a woman. And a lot of fuss was also made about a superhero character being a woman. And yet, Wonder Woman is only an imaginary character. Thus, she is, at best, a way of venting over the still limited roles many women have in society. Yes, some barriers have been breaking and that is good. But it is still an old boys network where the most power is. Thus, Wonder Woman herself is a way of showing frustration over a situation while doing nothing about it--that is with the exception of the movie's director is a woman.
As for the other movie, yes, it is technically not a superhero movie. And yes, it posted modest sales at the box office. And yet, it was about a real life superhero who, with her superhero husband, actually saved hundreds of lives of those who were being hunted down at the time. The other movie is The Zookeeper's Wife. The movie is a story about the Zabinskis who owned and operated the then prestigious Warsaw Zoo in Poland during the 1930s and 1940s. When the Nazis invaded, the Zabinskis used both their home and the zoo to hide and help escape hundreds of Jews. And to do that, they risked not only their own lives, but the lives of their children as well.
There is another difference between the two movies. The Wonder Woman movie was said to be a significantly better made movie than the movie The Zookeeper's Wife. The main criticism I have read about The Zookeeper's Wife is that it did not fully show all of the significant aspects of what the Zabinskis risked and had to endure to hide people from death. And yet, the real reasons for the difference in notoriety between the two movies rests with the personal priorities of the public. For whatever reasons, imaginary stories about what can sometimes appear as unlimited power is far more appealing to and gives rise for more celebration by the public than a true story about the risks one takes in order to love marginalized people while being powerless. That says much about where our society is.
We should also note one other thing about the Zabinskis. They never looked at themselves as being heroes, let alone superheroes. Instead, they simply looked at themselves as doing what they owed to the people being persecuted back then. Perhaps, that selflessness doesn't play well to a narcissistic society (click here for a quick review of the Zabinski's story).
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