THERE was a news item a few days ago, which said Wonder Woman was the biggest Warner Bros. film in the Philippines, beating out the Superman vs Batman movie, which showed in 2016. According to the ABS-CBN news site: “As of Saturday [July 1], the Gal Gadot-starrer had a local cumulative box-office gross of P520.5 million, to become the biggest Warner Bros. movie of all time in the Philippines,” (https://bit.ly/2tfpKhC).
For those who still haven’t watched it, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins (known for the 2003 crime drama Monster, based on a true-to-life story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was played to Oscar Best Actress glory by an almost unrecognizable Charlize Theron), tells the story of Diana (Gadot), who grows up on a secret island, Themyscira, and raised by an amazing gorgeous race of warrior women called the Amazons. They include her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright).
She later joins the rest of the “civilized” world, playing “secretary” to airline pilot/spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), in a bid to stop Ares, the God of War, who she believes has caused “the war to end all wars”. (Or what we know to be World War I.)
What happens next is a whole lot of badass fighting from Diana as she uses her fists to punch her opponents, her wrists wrapped in golden bracelets deflecting bullets, her strong legs swooshing up into karate kicks, and she engages in creative swordfights and whips the golden lasso around to trip and tackle her enemies. The movie resonates with most Filipinos—yes, even quite a number of men!—because most of us were reared by, let’s face it, strong women. We have mothers who juggle two-three jobs a day as washerwoman, market vendor and Avon retailer just to ensure her family has three meals a day. Our mothers have had to go abroad, suffering isolation and loneliness in faraway lands, just to be able to buy a decent home for her family and send her kids to college. Our mothers have given up their own jobs to make sure the children are cared for at home and will get proper guidance as they grow into adults. And, most recently, we’ve seen how mothers in Marawi City have had to carry their children on their backs for miles just to get them to safety.
The movie also resonates quite powerfully among Filipinas (and most women around the world) because we are constantly threatened with physical and emotional rape. We’ve also learned of incidents of actual attacks on women committed by anyone from Uber drivers (as in India), the drug-addled tambay at the corner store or by even their own relatives. According to a report in March by our affiliate CNN Philippines, “One woman or child is raped every hour in the Philippines,” (https://bit.ly/2tfZUKB).
The piece also cites data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which showed “4,605 cases of rape, acts of lasciviousness, attempted and incestuous rape in 2016, for women only”.
We also constantly deal with online bullying, slut-shaming and whore-mongering (spreading rumors of a woman’s sexual proclivities). A woman who is raped is blamed for wearing a tight short skirt or for flirting (“Malandi kasi”). There are some who believe a woman with a sordid past and incriminating relationships with men should not be appointed to a government post (“Si Asec Pokpok”). On Twitter, trolls threaten to rape a female journalist, blow out her brains or pray for immediate death, just because she holds an opposing political point of view (“P.I. ka, ma-rape ka sana!”).
And so for many women, we have found in Wonder Woman our courage to fight back. This woman who was reared as a princess, is a goddess who can kick ass. She defends herself with dignity and, in the process, saves the world. She also falls in love.
It’s simplistic to think we can all do that. Even romantic to think we can have everything like Diana. But in Wonder Woman, we, at least, find some hope and our own voice. On social media everyday, we read of women putting their attackers to shame with their clever writing and wit. There is a way to fend off haters and attackers, and still hold our heads up high. To find love, too? Now, that’s a bonus.
Wonder Woman is still showing in most major Philippine cinemas. Parents are reminded that the film is PG-rated.