The History of the Universe as Told by Wonder Woman is a feature length independent documentary that revitalizes the feminist meanings of warrior princesses, superheroines and other icons of women’s empowerment in pop culture. Examining the history of fictions longest running superheroine, this high concept, kinetic film explores the richly paradoxical notion of the female superhero in American popular culture.
This film spans decades of American historyas told through the “living history” of its diverse cast of characters and rich archival materialspresenting a dynamic discussion of the evolution of the female hero.
Created in 1942 by Harvard trained psychologist and polygamist William Marston, Wonder Woman was an embodiment of Marstons non-normative ideas about the sexes. Unlike her more violent, male, comic strip contemporaries, Wonder Woman fought with love and truth, rather than fists and firepower, used diplomacy before resorting to violence, and carried out Marstons plan to present young girls with a female role model who demonstrated his prediction that women would one day rule the world. Despite Marstons ambitions, over the course of the next two decades, Wonder Woman became increasingly bound by the paradox that she was designed by men and packaged to appeal to young boys. This historical introduction makes use of archival materials, early comics brought to life through 3D animation (as seen in The Kid Stays In the Picture and In The Realms of The Unreal) and interviews with Marstons descendents as they discuss the radical and contradictory ideas of their forebear.
By the 1960s, Wonder Woman was dramatically rescued by Gloria Steinem and her colleagues at Ms magazine who regarded the disempowerment of their feminist inspiration as a travesty. Through a series of formal interviews, illustrated with archival footage from the era, Lynda Carter and the feminist founders of Ms. Magazine speak about the battle of the sexes that took place as the entertainment industry and early feminists wrestled over the icon.
Bringing Wonder Womans story into the present, the film takes us into the daily lives of Wonder Womans first female author Gail Simone, comic herstorian Trina Robbins, impersonator Valerie Perez and gay activist/Wonder Woman fan Andy Mangels, as they struggle to maintain a positive identity for their beloved icon in a market where girl power is sold cheap. Following the storylines of these richly fascinating characters, the film takes a more in depth look at who the women behind Wonder Woman are, and how much sex and gender play a part in her story today.
From the crowded, entertaining floors of Comic Con, to the halls of academia, the film explores the legacy of fictions most powerful female. Charting the cultural history of gender representation and resistance to cultural norms through comic strip and televisual interpretations, this film explores Wonder Womans 60 plus years allure while exploring the shifting and to this day unsettled notions of female power, freedom and sexuality she embodies. Looking squarely at the role of feminism and its cultural relevance today, from young Powerpuff Girls fans to middle-aged men and women, this film serves as an entertaining and informative survey of a topic that has been taboo in mainstream culture since the 80’s. A History of the Universe As Told By Wonder Woman stretches the bounds of feminist discourse for our own times through the complex frames of our quintessentially American dreams, mythologies and projections.
