Reel Talk: James Cameron Doesn't Get It

On one of this fall's Reel Talk's I addressed some comments made by James Cameron regarding Wonder Woman. As a refresher, Cameron made some waves when he said Hollywood should stop congratulating itelf for Wonder Woman, claimed the film and the character was a regressive female stereotype, and said that his character, Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, was a  real feminist hero. His comments earned a respectful rebuke from Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins saying

If women have to always be hard, tough, and troubled to be strong and we aren't free to celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we.

If Cameron had left it there, it would've been a one off dumb comment made by a beloved creator.

And then he decide to step in it again.

When asked about his earlier comments Cameron defended them with the follow statement:

"I'll stand by that," he said. "I mean, she was Miss Israel, and she was wearing a kind of bustier costume that was very form-fitting. She's absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. To me, that's not breaking ground. They had Raquel Welch doing stuff like that in the '60s."

So there's a lot of angry thoughts in my head to unpack here, like how the hell is the guy about to have a studio spend a billion on Avatar sequels going to talk about not breaking ground, and Lynda Carter already jumped on Cameron pretty effectively, but let's attempt to do it as respectfully as possible.

Wonder Woman Isn't Perfect, But Appearence Isn't The Problem

There are plenty of women, young and old that came out of Wonder Woman feeling empowered. And they're not wrong to feel that way. Having a female superhero film of this caliber is a big deal and at the end of the day, if a movie can make a young generation of women feel like taking on the world, the more power to it.

That said, the film isn't perfect, either as a superhero movie or a piece of feminist empowerment. For example, it feels a little strange that Diana's connection to humanity and powers are both derived from male figures (i.e. Steve and Zeus) vs. female characters, especially when her long-standing comics origin was that she was formed from clay by her mother.

But you'll notice that none of these possible problems are derived from her outfit or how she's shot within the film. Yes her outfit shows skin but the film is far more interested in dedicated shots to her weaponry than her figure (something we talked about earlier this week). Cameron's focus clearly how he views female characters.

To Cameron, Appearence=Character

It's noteworthy that the bulk of Cameron's comments and critiques have been about Wonder Woman's appearence. Not how she behaves in the film, not how she talks, not what she does. It's how she looks. She looks pretty, therefore this is nothing new. By Cameron's standards, Gal Gadot being objectively beautiful means her portrayal of Wonder Woman cannot be powerful, new, or serious. Give any female character sex appeal or a form fitting costume and they may as well be Barberella. 

We'll get into why that's messed up from a societal standpoint in a hot second, but I think you'd be hard pressed to say that the only appeal to Gal Gadot's performance or the character is a form fitting outfit. Nor does Patty Jenkins exploit her beauty. Hell the film's lone scene of romance occurs with giant winter coats on. If Cameron can't take her character seriously or view the film through a positive feminist lens because of Gadot and the character's beauty then we've hit a gigantic ongoing problem.

The Perspective Attached to Beauty is By The Book Sexism

Based on what he's said, Cameron appears to be saying that women demonstrating any kind of sex appeal can't be taken seriously and cannot be progressive. And that's messed up. Cameron telling women what is feminist while praising his own work is the height of ego, but insisting that the visual presentation of Wonder Woman means she can't be taken seriously is sexism through and through.

This is an ongoing problem in our society. Attractive women are treated like objects and as soon as they express opinions that someone disagrees with, they are dismissed with comments about how they present themselves. Not every woman agrees on how they want to express their body, sexuality, or their beauty, nor will they agree on how this plays into the ongoing feminist movement. But whatever direction they decide to choose, they are still complex individuals that should be taken seriously. Let their actions, words, and thoughts define them.

And if you, a powerful filmmaker, can't take a female character seriously because she's wearing an outfit that barely shows as much skin, if not less, than a one piece swimsuit, the problem isn't with her costume. It's with you.