Is Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman a Feminist Dream?
Image by Warner Bros
By Lior Zaltzman July 14, 2015
I would love to talk to you all about Vanity Fair’s interview with Gal Gadot, but first, a brief Hebrew lesson.
Gal, when pronounced in the authentic Hebrew way, does not rhyme with ‘all’ at all, I’d say it rhymes more with pal. /but you don’t have to take my word for it,.
And while Gadot is riverbanks, not riverbank. I guess I can let that slide.
And now that I’m done being a stickler for Hebrew, let’s move on to the glory that is Gal Gadot, Israeli model and actress, and her promising future. The 30-year-old Israeli was featured in the August issue of Vanity Fair as part of the promotion campaign for “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” film, in which she’ll be starring as Wonder Woman.
Gadot, who previously appeared in the “Fast and Furious” series, is about to star in some pretty exciting movies, including “Keeping Up with the Joneses” with Jon Hamm and Isla Fisher, and two thrillers: as Ryan Reynolds’ wife in “Criminal” , and alongside Aaron Paul and Kate Winslet in “Triple 9” . But Wonder Woman is definitely her biggest role yet.
As for why she’s the perfect candidate for the amazonian woman is gold, red, white and blue, Gadot shared the following anecdote with Vanity Fair:
I don’t remember this, but my mom told me that when I was three they threw a party on the rooftop of the house. They put me to bed, and I heard people coming into the house and no one came to me. I went to the rooftop and took a hose and I started to spray water on everyone, just to get attention.
I, for one, am pretty excited for this movie, gripes about Ben Affleck as Batman aside (I’ll give him a chance).
But more than anything, I’m really happy for the return of Wonder Woman to live action. Like, well, not many of my generation, I have watched the campy 1970s “Wonder Woman”, with Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. And I loved it. Just check out this cheesy, yet enjoyable montage:
Also, like Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 70s, Gadot is a former beauty queen. She was Miss Israel in 2004 and represented Israel at that year’s Miss Universe pageant.
Wonder Woman isn’t perfect, but she’s a cool, smart, strong and confident woman. She’s someone for girls to look up to. Yes, she’s sexy and somewhat scantily clad, but in 2015, we can have superheroes that don’t only target horny, young white males, right?
Right? The new trailer for Batman v. Superman is exciting, but also somewhat disappointing on that end. It shows lots of women talking, they’re mostly talking to and about a man (particularly Superman). Not that we were expecting this movie to pass the Bechdel Test… But the only few seconds with Wonder Woman are silent. Sure, she looks badass and gorgeous. But she doesn’t speak.
According to Vanity Fair, Gadot “has taken some heat for not being as buxom as the DC Comics character” to which “she points out that Amazons did not prize large breasts.”
Seriously? Can we please not? What do Wonder Woman’s breasts have to do with her ability kick butt?
So yes, thanks to Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman is finally getting the silver screen time she deserves, but let’s hope the movie shows her as a more active participant.
On the bright side, Gadot is slated to have her own feature film in 2017. (Chris Pine is rumored to play Steve, the US army pilot whose plane crashes in the Amazonian and is saved by Wonder Woman) So we could still get a superhero movie that passes the Bechdel test soon.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
