Fluent Essays

Class participation (i.e. discussion board posts) is an irreplaceable part of the learning process in this course. You will be evaluated on the QUALITY of your contributions and insights. A quality comment possesses one or more of the following properties:Offers a different and unique, but relevant, perspectiveContributes to moving the discussion and analysis forwardBuilds on other commentsIncludes evidence, argumentation, or reflective thinking while moving beyond opinion or value judgment.Note: While points allocated will not be based on length or number of words, it will be exceedingly difficult to achieve the above benchmarks in one or two sentences.Film Writing: Best PracticesAs this course is mainly engaged with film, you will be required to use time markers for each in-text citation: (Title of the Film Hour:Min:Sec) eg. (Batman 01:23:15). Because you will need to reference a fair amount of evidence in your analysis and writing (direct quotes, scenes from the films, articles, etc.), I highly suggest that you watch the film with subtitles on so you are able to write down the exact quote. You are expected to read and watch the entirety of whatever is assigned. If you take notes as you read, you will be much more prepared for the written assignments. Also, remember to save all of your work often and in multiple locations. cocca___its_about_power_and_it_s_about_women.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Chapter Sixteen “It’s about Power and It’s about Women” Gender and the Political Economy of Superheroes in Wonder Woman and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Carolyn Cocca Earth girls can stop men’s power for evil when they refuse to be dominated by evil men. —Diana (Wonder Woman), in Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #5, by creator William Moulton Marston, 1943 It’s about power and it’s about women, and you just hate those two words in the same sentence, don’t you? —Buffy (the Vampire Slayer), in Buffy Season 8 #4, by creator Joss Whedon, 2007 POWER AND WOMEN Wonder Woman debuted seventy years ago, and Buffy, twenty years ago. 1 Their male creators intended the two characters to build male acceptance of female power. 2 As strong community-minded “woman warriors” who consult, protect, and rely on friends, both of these superheroes present an alternative to a hierarchical, individualistic, patriarchal society. But at the same time, both conform to some gender stereotypes, as they are white, heterosexual, and middle (to upper) class, battling their enemies while managing to keep their long hair, beautiful faces, and attractive bodies unharmed. That the characters embody these seeming contradictions broadens their potential audiences as well as widening the possibilities for different receptions by those audiences. 215 EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 12/13/2019 9:36 PM via SUNY BINGHAMTON AN: 754949 ; Batchelor, Bob, Bajac-Carter, Maja, Jones, Norma.; Heroines of Film and Television : Portrayals in Popular Culture Account: s8999661.main.ehost Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. 216 Carolyn Cocca In this chapter, I analyze the transgressive possibilities of and the constraints on the portrayals of gender and power in Wonder Woman comics (1941–2012) and the Buffy television show and comics (1997–2012). To do so, I approach comics as interactive public spheres in which editorial boards, writers and artists, parent companies, and competing constituent audiences empower and constrain each other as to how articulations of gender are produced and how they are received. 3 I find that moments of more fluid representations of gender in most of Wonder Woman’s history were followed by periods of backlash and containment, that the similarities between the two characters illuminate how female heroes are produced for maximum resonance (and maximum profit) across different audiences, and that the differences between the two characters are related to their bodies and their sexuality. I conclude with reflections on how the Third Wave feminist sensibilities and aesthetics of Buffy, and of Wonder Woman in the 2000s, may serve to moderate those cyclical swings and those differences by simultaneously embodying, parodying, and subverting traditional articulations of gender. WONDER WOMAN FROM THE 1940S TO THE 1990S: TRANSGRESSION AND CONTAINMENT William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman in 1941. His Princess Diana of the Amazons was “a woman with the eternal beauty of Aphrodite and the wisdom of Athena, yet whose lovely form hides the agility of Mercury and the steely sinews of Hercules.” Her mission was to subdue Axis spies, common criminals, and mythical characters, as well as to teach “Man’s World” the peaceful and equal ways of the Amazons. 4 She and her female friends often had to rescue her boyfriend Steve Trevor as well. Diana loved Steve, but refused his proposals: “If I married you, Steve, I’d have to pretend that I’m weaker than you are to make you happy—and that, no woman should do.” 5 Space for such subversion of gendered binaries was created through the wartime flux of gender roles. 6 After the war, all of this changed. Comics were among the many sites that materially articulated multiple Cold War ideologies that worked to construct an American national consensus, reconfiguring order in the face of numerous challenges. 7 Femininity and marriage became central in Wonder Woman. A backup feature called “Wonder Women of History” that profiled prominent (mostly white) women was replaced in 1950 by “Marriage a la Mode,” which documented marriage customs around the world; similar romance supplements continued for twenty years. 8 Diana’s costume covered less, her boots were replaced with laced sandals, and her hair grew longer and her eyes larger. Steve’s (and others’) marriage proposals became constant. Instead of EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 12/13/2019 9:36 PM via SUNY BINGHAMTON AN: 754949 ; Batchelor, Bob, Bajac-Carter, Maja, Jones, Norma.; Heroines of Film and Television : Portrayals in Popular Culture Account: s8999661.main.ehost Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. “It’s about Power and It’s about Women” 217 fighting fascism and crime with other women, she fought fantastic monsters alone, sometimes infantilized as herself at younger ages, “Wonder Girl” and “Wonder Tot.” These changes cast her more as object than subject; it became more difficult to read the character as presenting challenges to traditional hierarchies. “I’ll lose him forever if I don’t do something to keep him interested in me!” lamented Diana in 1968, as she gave up her powers to be with Steve. 9 While the creative team saw this big change as feminist in that she would have to rely on her wits and not her superpowers, 10 some fans and some feminists didn’t see it that way. 11 After lobbying by these groups, her powers were restored in 1973. But under the next editor, who said he “never cared for Wonder Woman,” many of the 1970s and early 1980s stories showed Diana in a smaller costume and more suggestive poses as she fought similarly curvy women. 12 Gender-neutral public service announcements and romance supplements were replaced by ads for BB guns and bodybuilding, and letter authors were more often male and adult. 13 From 1974 to 1983, only a handful of letters referred to her as a feminist icon. 14 The portrayals were often campy, sometimes with “battle of the sexes” stories that negatively stereotyped feminism as antimale rather than proequality, 15 indicative of misunderstandings of and backlash against the civil rights movements of the previous decades. But this would change in the late 1980s when DC Comics relaunched its superhero titles in order to increase profits. The question was whether the crosscutting pressures of the times would push those titles toward the increasingly homogenous fan market and the conservatism that could be inferred by its demographics (male, white, and older) 16 or toward a more inclusive readership and authorship represented by the underground comix movement, identity politics activism, and the growing diversity of writers and artists in mainstream comics. Wonder Woman’s reboot was shepherded by writer and artist George Pérez, who represented the latter trend. His Amazons were created by Greek goddesses from the souls of women who’d been murdered by their male partners. As in the 1940s, Diana forged a new circle of female friends who worked with her to bring “lessons of peace and equality” to Man’s World. 17 Pérez drew the Amazons as a more diverse group and implied they might be in relationships with one another. He drew Diana as looking more “ethnic,” saying, “I picture her with a deep tan and a foreign accent.” 18 She had a strong, fit body with a costume that covered her, wore flat instead of heeled boots, and battled Greek mythological foes. This portrayal was out of step with most superhero comics at the time, as others had begun to feature hypersexualized, violent “Bad Girls.” Why Wonder Woman was not pushed in this direction (yet) seems to be because Pérez’s vision was supported by three female DC editors, including the title’s EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 12/13/2019 9:36 PM via SUNY BINGHAMTON AN: 754949 ; Batchelor, Bob, Bajac-Carter, Maja, Jones, Norma.; Heroines of Film and Television : Portrayals in Popular Culture Account: s8999661.main.ehost Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. 218 Carolyn Cocca first female editor, Karen Berger. 19 She wrote, “The overwhelming majority of comics [are] geared to and read by males. . . . [This] new Wonder Woman comic . . . serves as a great role model to young women, but also contains many elements that appeal to males as well. Wonder Woman crosses the gender line.” 20 Fan letters were very positive. “You can’t keep a good feminist down! WW is back and looking better than ever!” 21 “I fully agree with your perception of Wonder Woman as a positive and strong model for girls/ women. It also, hopefully, will take some of the chauvinism out of the male readers brought up on macho men and weak women.” 22 Pérez’s run sold quite well and remains a touchstone for fans and creators alike. But by the mid-1990s, the superhero comics market crashed, reduced to the base noted above: about 90 percent male, predominantly white, heterosexual, and young adult. 23 In contrast to Pérez’s run, Diana’s look was changed drastically as DC Comics played to the presumed wishes of the base fans, “emphasizing her sexuality and downplaying her feminism.” 24 This recalls the way in which the 1950s and 1960s hyperfeminized Diana followed the more hybridized gender portrayals of the 1940s. Written by William Messner-Loebs and drawn by Mike Deodato Jr., Diana was often portrayed fighting in a hyperviolent manner, and was often posed in sexually objectified ways. 25 Deodato noted that he asked to draw Wonder Woman, even though, as he said, “I hate drawing women. I prefer drawing monsters and stuff like that.” But he also noted the sales success of the run: “In three months, the sales doubled and tripled or something like that. . . . Every time the bikini was smaller, the sales got higher.” 26 Letters from several issues praise Deodato’s art: “Mike Deodato, Jr. is brilliant!” 27 “Mr. Deodato drew at once a beautiful princess and a fierce warrior.” 28 Others were not thrilled with the objectification: “That thongback thing is not flattering. . . . Through the entire comic, every woman’s cheeks are out flapping in the breeze. Give them some rear coverage and some dignity.” Another wrote, “Personally, it’s a little heavy on the T&A for me, but then, I’m female and that’s to be expected. . . . [P]lease get Diana out of that slutty new outfit.” 29 There was criticism of the content, too: “The stereotype that men are stronger than women is affirmed.” 30 Editor Paul Kupperberg responded that male superheroes were also drawn as “idealized versions of men” and said, bristling with annoyance, “I am, both by temperament and by politics, a feminist.” 31 As with the portrayals of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Diana lost her powers, the writer and editor in the mid-1990s felt they were presenting a feminist character and comic. But in both time periods, the way in which the character was often drawn as object rather than subject skewed toward the presumed base audience of young adult white males in a way that undercut a feminist reading of the material for others. EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 12/13/2019 9:36 PM via SUNY BINGHAMTON AN: 754949 ; Batchelor, Bob, Bajac-Carter, Maja, Jones, Norma.; Heroines of Film and Television : Portrayals in Popular Culture Account: s8999661.main.ehost Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. “It’s about Power and It’s about Women” 219 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ENTERS THE DARK ALLEY IN THE DARK AGE OF COMICS: THE LATE 1990S AND EARLY 2000S As this time period in comics was described by writer Grant Morrison, “the gender confusions and reorganizations of masculine-feminine boundaries that marked the eighties had outgrown their welcome, so men became lads and women were babes.” 32 Wonder Woman fell squarely into this area. Further, wrote Morrison, “no story could pass without at least one sequence during which an unlikely innocent would find herself alone and vulnerable in some completely inappropriate inner-city back alley setting . . . a skimpily attired naïf penetrating the seedy underbelly of the urban nightmare.” Threatened, she would always be rescued at the last minute by a superhero. 33 Joss Whedon thought the hero should be the skimpily attired naïf: “There’s the girl in the alley . . . and then the monster attacks her and she kills it.” 34 Whedon both subverted the genre and made a political point: the petite Valley girl cheerleader, societally dismissed as frivolous, has superstrength and is critical to the world’s safety. 35 Enter Buffy. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer film ran in theaters in 1992; the television series, darker in tone and much closer to its creator’s vision, premiered in 1997. This was at a time during which the Third Wave of feminism became more prominent, grounded as it was by young women organizing in reaction to the conservative politics of the 1980s and 1990s. It retains the Second Wave’s emphasis on equality but extends it by building on critiques by feminists of color who saw the Second Wave as having a predominantly white, heterosexual standpoint. The Third Wave sensibility is antiessentialist and nonjudgmental, embracing not only a variety of identities among people but also within people. This includes not only openness to a continuum of race and sexuality but also the reclamation of signs of femininity as empowering. While the slogan “girl power” was used by some Third Wavers early on, it rather quickly became depoliticized and commodified, a slogan on Tshirts to be purchased rather than a description of a collective movement by young women. However, capitalizing on the marketization of the term probably enabled shows such as Buffy to get on the air. 36 Pop culture and mass media are important in the Third Wave, not just for deconstruction but also for production, which foregrounds personal narrative and tonally is often playful, campy, and ironic—using humor rather than preachiness to move people toward feminist ideals. Such a frame easily encompasses a female superhero who is comfortably strong in her body and sexuality and is also vulnerable in love, who uses humor and fights injustice, who is inclusive and compassionate and decisive and deadly. Although they appear quite different at first glance, Diana and Buffy share a number of commonalities. Both superheroes have an origin and mission that stresses their uniqueness; both are referred to as “the chosen.” 37 EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 12/13/2019 9:36 PM via SUNY BINGHAMTON AN: 754949 ; Batchelor, Bob, Bajac-Carter, Maja, Jones, Norma.; Heroines of Film and Television : Portrayals in Popular Culture Account: s8999661.main.ehost Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. 220 Carolyn Cocca Both repeatedly show transgressors compassion and allow them a path of redemption. Both have a relationship with a military man that shows a traditional view of opposite-sex relationships and how our heroes do not fit so neatly into such gendered binaries. But at the same time, both characters have a number of “others” that serve to construct them, in their white, heterosexual, middle-class-ness, as “normal” females. Both, before and after the deaths of their (single) mothers, surround themselves with, love, and rely on others. The ways in which they encourage these chosen families to work with them makes them unlike most other superheroes, male or female. 38 For both characters, these families include their foils: for Diana, this is Artemis; for Buffy, it is Faith. 39 The characterizations of Artemis and Faith can be read as shoring up the main characters as “proper” female warriors, but can also be read as challenging what it means to be a “good” superheroine. Readers and viewers were clear that they wanted both the hero and the dark doppelganger. Writers listened and had both Faith and Artemis eventually embraced by other characters, fighting alongside them. 40 Both Diana and Buffy were constructed to unsettle gender boundaries and especially to push males to embrace strong females. Just as Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston sought to engender “male acceptance of female love power,” Buffy creator Joss Whedon said, “The one thing I had hoped to take part in was a shift in popular culture in the sense of people accepting the idea of the female hero.” 41 As “others” among us, they live in a liminal space in which they embody gender norms while also questioning and subverting them. In this way the characters can open up more of a “range of gender possibilities” that “baffles the binary” and “create a new gender system in which [they] can enact ‘woman’ in nontraditional ways.” 42 CONVERGENCE IN THE 2000S: FEMINISM WITH IRONY AND HUMOR The way in which both characters house great strength in female bodies destabilizes traditional gender norms. But the bodies themselves are quite different. In contrast to Diana’s six-foot, solidly muscled, curvy, womanly frame, Buffy is nearer to five feet, slim, and blond. One is a commanding, stunningly beautiful presence; the other is seemingly unthreatening and girlishly cute. 43 Buffy embodies the attractive female warrior while parodying it through her body and speech, criticizing the superhero and horror genres and gendered inequalities with humor. This complicates the show’s politics. Was this show feminist in its strong female characters, or was it reinscribing patriarchy through a cast of pretty, white, stylish girls? 44 Can we reconcile the strong female agency, the friendship and community building, with the com- EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 12/13/2019 9:36 PM via SUNY BINGHAMTON AN: 754949 ; Batchelor, Bob, Bajac-Carter, Maja, Jones, Norma.; Heroines of Film and Television : Portrayals in Popular Culture Account: s8999661.main.ehost Copyright 2014. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. “It’s about Power and It’s about Women” 221 mercialized violence and the emphasis on individual consumer power through merchandizing? Do viewers and readers see the big picture about gender and power if the story focuses on the individual hero and delivers its message through irony? 45 Joss Whedon basically answers yes to all of these questions: “If I can make teenage boys comfortable with a girl who takes charge of a situation without their knowing that’s what’s happening, it’s better than sitting down and selling them on feminism.” He also said, “[If I made] a series of l ... Purchase answer to see full attachment