By Alina Ostrovsky
Typically, throughout history, the principles of human values and rights of the common people have emerged stronger owing to groups of human activists, pursuing to break rigid structures implemented by society’s superiors. The movement starts from innovative thinking. For example, monarchical ruling (ancient Egyptian civilisation) advanced to the idea of a government set upon the contingency of democracy, inspired by ancient Athens. As such, the release of the epic movie Wonder Woman has challenged modern structural rigidness in regards to the subject of women empowerment.
Gal Gadot: Wonder Woman in the flesh?
For many decades, women have been seen as defenseless beings. The leading actress of the movie, Gal Gadot, has defied those primitive conceptualizations both in her unusual background and in her portrayal of the character. She is the protectress and the emblem of fierceness. With her sauciness and wit, she shatters the male perception of a woman into smithereens. It is one thing to create a fictional character, it is another when her expertise in battle originated from her experience of serving in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) as a combat trainer, which makes her irksomely more realistic than one is willing to accept. As it is stated in the Jewish Journal:
In the Jewish State, its a national requirement for women to kick ass. And it is specifically within the micro-society of the Israeli military that men and women are expected to contribute equally, both serving in combat. This norm suggests that strength, skill and weaponry are the domain of both sexes, [which] reinforces equality of the sexes among secular Israelis.
Equality in thought and action
Equality of the sexes in the domain of strength, skill and weaponry is a foreign and revolutionary idea to be accepted as a norm throughout the world. The ideas presented in the movie can make a few nations uncomfortable in the sense that women possess equal or more strength or can even overpower men with their power. The irony is that there is no other army, besides the Israeli army that assigns just as hefty and strenuous responsibilities to women as those that are assigned to men- women are perceived as possessing equal strength. Since this is the first time it has been brought to light on an international platform, many have been taken off-guard with its enlightening breakthroughs.
The not-so-wonderful origins of Wonder Woman
In fact, when the comic story of Wonder Woman first came about in the 1960s, Wonder Woman was overly accessorised and shaped in accordance to a man’s fancy, that, in essence, weakened her character due to the objectification of her character that followed. It sent the message that her power originated from her pleasing aesthetics rather than her actual physical strength. Quite unexpectedly to the male audience, the modern version of Wonder Woman contradicted the comic image, because her built did not appear as sexualized as the male psyche had expected it to be.
As the Jewish Journal notes, her figure is considered too thin and too lanky to be strong [and] her breasts too small to exude sexuality, which strips men of their power to question her strength by objectifying the character. What is most irksome to the average male is that the very lankiness of her figure does not prevent her from performing combative stunts. This way, Gal Gadot has broken most stereotypes of women imposed by patriarchal societies by personifying the expression, looks can be deceiving.
The Israeli identity
But aside from that discomforting reality, it appears to be especially bothersome to Israels naysayers. First of all, Gadots Israeli heritage, most undeniably, demonstrates, through the plot of the movie, Israels invincibility against all odds of dangers. Second of all, because Gadot is the ultimate protagonist that fights for the greater good of humanity, as the Jewish Journal put it, that role counter[s] the all-too-pervasive negative and ugly imagery of Israel and Israelis in the international media as being the ultimate victimizers of the weak. This debunks the propagandist portrayal of Israel, protecting the very essence of Jewish pride.
Many are enraged by her Zionist stance, claiming that there are no reasons to justify such an attitude. Quite interestingly, a demonstration of American pride is acceptable. Fourth of July is seen as a symbol of strength and inclusiveness, despite the fact that Native Americans, if alive, may have begged to differ. However, an expression of Israeli pride is still frowned upon. Why is it wrong to be proud of your own identity particularly when you are proud of being Israeli? The success and popularity of Wonder Woman challenge the question of national identity, weakening the convictions of anti-Israeli advocates.
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