What to look forward to in Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.
Biopics can be… problematic. Nevertheless: telling the story of the creator(s) of Wonder Woman? Yes please.
One reason Wonder Woman wields a Lasso of Truth is that her creator, psychologist William Marston, was involved in the development of the lie detector test. Another reason: he was into sub/dom fetish. With his wife. And their live-in lover.
Wonder Woman’s definitively feminist origins are the direct product of the progressive trio, and in particular Marston’s belief that women should run the world. There are a couple of excellent breakdowns here and here. And soon there’ll also be a dramatisation of the man and women behind Wonder Woman in Professor Marston and the Wonder Women:
Rebecca Hall, who plays Elizabeth Marston, describes the true subversion of writer/director Angela Robinson‘s film (via Off Camera):
Luke Evans as Marston, Bella Heathcote as Olive, and Rebecca Hall as Elizabeth discuss the love story in their film, and how it gave the world a superhero (via Mashable):
Further viewing:
A typically beautiful video essay from KaptainKristian on the cultural significance of Wonder Woman. Interestingly, his piece attempts to correct the common misconception that Wonder Woman’s stint as the Justice League’s, erm, secretary, was part of some “chauvinistic agenda”, and that it was actually part of her creator’s larger plan to safeguard her image and portrayal long-term (fair enough, given how she was treated by DC Comics in the years immediately following his death):