It all comes down to this. There are never going to be an equal number of movies featuring female super heroes or with female leads in general unless things change behind the scenes. Women must be involved in all aspects of production, from writing to directing to producing and more. Wonder Woman would be a great way to spark the trend. There are so many talented women involved in fantasy and science fiction including Nicole Perlman, Jane Espenson, Catherine Tregenna, Jennifer Lee and Sarah Dollard to name a few. With talent like that available there should be no shortage of films featuring complex female characters. Patty Jenkins is currently slated to direct the Wonder Woman film though with its troubled history theres no guarantee she will stay. I look forward to Wonder Woman with determined optimism but I cannot deny some trepidation. If this film fails it will be that much harder to finance other projects featuring female super heroes. Even if it does not succeed at the box office, however, the situation is far from hopeless. Female filmmakers who find traditional avenues closed to them are forming their own production companies and turning to crowd funding venues like Kickstarter to raise money. Wonder Woman may or may not be the film we are hoping for but it is a sign that womens voices are now much harder to ignore and that kind of change is very good indeed.
Mary Ogle is the author and illustrator of “Orangeroof Zoo” a whimsical tale of magical realism told through the pages of a coloring book for adults. Working as a professional artist in the digital medium, Mary’s commissions have included everything from fine art to fan art, book cover design, illustration and book layout. Find more of Mary’s work at www.maryogle.com. Mary currently finds inspiration in the Ojai Valley, residing in a snug little cottage with a recalcitrant cat.
