Wonderwoman
Wonderwoman represents the American idealized image of justice, idealism, perfection and power. The character was created by William Moulton Marston in 1941, in the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, which caused America to join the Second World War. The first comic was a piece of flag-waving propaganda. The American flag is Wonderwoman’s costume. Moreover, Wonderwoman was the female equivalent of Superman, and thus a manifestation of feminism and emancipation. Marston stood up for the women’s rights. He thought that women were more honest and reliable than men. Wonderwoman’s power was founded on the truth: Marston gave her the gift to see through lies.
The female archetype is often seen as soft, subservient and peace-loving, but without strength, capacity and power. These female qualities were disdained by women, because of the weak side of these qualities: they lacked any might and independence. That is why Marston wanted to create a female character having the strength of Superman and the soft, powerful qualities of a woman. For the women who went out to work for the first time in their lives during the Second World War, because their men were fighting in that war, this work represented a new sense of might and self-reliance.
Wonder Woman is a warrior princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) She is known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscire. Paradise Island, home of the Amazons is a culture without men, with values such as honesty, beauty, peace, strength and self-reliance. Therefore, Wonderwoman perfectly fitted in with the new self-image of the1941 women.
In the Wonderwoman series, I photograph the comic heroine as an anti-heroine. I place her in human situations where you would never find a super-hero, with a slight sense of (self) irony and melancholy; all of this in recognizable or unrecognizable everyday family situations. The series is slightly mocking the American glory and perfection idea, but mainly expresses love for everything human, and utters sympathy for the ideas and values behind the comic character Wonderwoman: honesty, justice, love and strength.
