Our Choice Of Superheroes Says A Lot About Us

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).

Does The 'Wonder Woman' Movie Contain A Relevant Religious Message

The wife and I just saw the movie Wonder Woman with the son and his wife. The son loves the super hero movies while the rest of us went to be with the son.

The movie version of the story saw the Amazons as a society of superwomen who were created by the gods to protect the world. However, they ended up living on an island paradise that was protected from any human contact until an American spy flying a WW I German plane crashed off their shore. Wonder Woman, who was special among the Amazons, witnessed the crash and dove into the water to save the pilot. The pilot was followed by a German task force that attacked the island as they were pursuing the American spy. There was a brief battle in which the Amazons defeated the Germans but the Amazon woman who trained Wonder Woman was killed in the battle. 

Because of her mentor's death, along with hearing about WW I from the American pilot, Wonder Woman feels compelled to enter the fray. She helps the pilot leave the island paradise so that he could lead her into the battle where she thought she knew who was responsible for the war. At first, she blamed the war entirely on Ares and sought to kill him to end the war. She later learned that Ares was using the war to allow men to destroy each other. So while Wonder Woman fights against the Germans in a couple of battles and then defeats Ares, man's cruelty to man does not end and she decides to live in a mixed world of good and evil to do what she can to provide justice.

Now here comes the spoiler alert: there is no documentation that indicates that any of this, outside of WW I itself, actually happened. Thus, the movie Wonder Woman is neither theologically nor historically correct. But despite that, the story itself might have something relevant to say to certain groups of Islamic and Christian Fundamentalists. For certain sectors of both see war as a way of allowing men to destroy each other and usher in the rule of their particular religion over the whole world. This choice between allowing war to destroy almost everything or to live and work for justice in a mixed world of good and evil was the choice Wonder Woman faced after defeating Ares. And is the choice faced by all of us now.

Those who seek to escape that choice have already picked the first option. But not only have they opted for letting mankind destroy itself, they seek to live in their own spiritual island paradise where they are shielded from many of the distresses of the world. It's not that they won't love their immediate neighbor; it is that they will not lift a finger to fight against the social injustices and wars being forced on the world. They prefer their island paradise.

For my fellow Christians who prefer not to intervene to work for social justice and oppose war as part of our faith, how can we honor the Gospel when a fictional character shows more compassion for those suffering in the world than we do? Doesn't our lack of compassion driven courage indicate to some that our faith is not only as fictional as the Wonder Woman story, but is not as inspirational either?

In addition, I know that there are Muslims who are telling those who claim to be Muslim but are driving the world to Armageddon that they do not represent Islam. Rather, Muslims who are working for an all out war between civilizations, just like their Christian counterparts, are really following the god of war.

It isn't just Wonder Woman who has decided to fight to promote justice in a mixed world of good and evil, there are people of all faiths and of no faith who are doing the same. So those Muslims and Christians who want Armageddon or who withdraw from working for social justice and against war in a mixed world of good and evil are not bringing honor to their respective faiths. Instead, they seem to be following Ares, not the God whom they claim to follow.