Even though many others have said that the blockbuster Wonder Woman, which was one of the highest-grossing releases by a female director, was a feminist triumph in the male-dominated world of action movies, James Cameron disagrees.
In an interview with the Guardian, Cameron said, “All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided.”
“She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!”
How could it have been better? By being done by James Cameron.
“I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie, but, to me, it’s a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit.”
The problem is puzzling the acclaimed director. He added, “there are many women in power in Hollywood.”
“They do get to guide and shape what films get made.”
“I think – no, I can’t account for it. Because how many times do I have to demonstrate the same thing over again? I feel like I’m shouting in a wind tunnel.”
To be fair, Cameron has a point. When you look at the model Gal Gadot and compare her to other non-objectified (or, at least less objectified) female roles in the past, like Sarah Connor from Terminator and Ripley from the Alien series, you can see a very clear difference.
Hot Press has recently asked the question of why female leads are not getting the sort of respect they deserve . Perhaps Cameron has touched upon one of the reasons.
Maybe, after creating 4 sequels to Avatar, James Cameron will return and create the next Sarah Connor to inspire young women and show them what you can do when you are a troubled and terrible mother whose greatest contribution to history is through the birth of her male son.