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Justice League slammed for its portrayal of Wonder Woman

The treatment of Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazons in Justice League has been slammed for being overtly sexualised.

The treatment of Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazons in Justice League has been slammed for being overtly sexualised. Photo: Warner Brothers

Watch the video above for our review of Justice League

Justice League, the latest superhero blockbuster from DC Comics, has been pulled apart by critics and audience members alike who’ve taken issue with its overtly sexualised portrayal of Wonder Woman.

Gal Gadot, the sole female lead in the film, spends most of the movie in a skintight costume with tiny mini-skirt, which is highlighted by the repeated use of camera shots panning up from the ground.

Justice League is basically two hours of Wonder Woman upskirts,” women’s website Whimn declared.

Her Amazon comrades suffer the same fate, with one lengthy battle scene criticised for its creepy camera work.

“Wonder Woman fans may show up for the kick-ass flashback to a world-scale Amazon battle … but there are also a disconcerting number of Wonder Woman upskirt shots for the disrespectful horndogs in the audience,” pop culture review site The Verge said.

Indeed, when viewed on a full-scale cinema screen, the camera’s lingering focus on Gadot’s lower body, combined with some awkward camera angles during fight scenes, feels somewhat distasteful.

Coming after the monumental success of Wonder Woman, which was celebrated for the portrayal of its protagonist as a strong hero and not a sex object, Justice League‘s positioning of the female superhero is particularly noticeable.

The costumes of Wonder Woman’s Amazon comrades have also been scrutinised, with some pointing out they appear skimpier than the ones featured in director Patti Jenkins’ vision for Wonder Woman.

The movie hit cinemas the same week Gal Gadot confirmed producer Brett Ratner had been removed from the Wonder Woman sequel after sexual misconduct allegations were levelled against him by several actresses.

Ratner’s production company RatPac-Dune Entertainment also produced Justice League.

Justice League was plagued by post-production troubles, including director Zack Snyder stepping down due to personal tragedy, to be replaced by The Avengers director Joss Whedon.

The movie underwent extensive reshoots, which saw its whopping running time of two hours and 50 minutes reduced to just 121 minutes.

Snyder, whose young daughter committed suicide, admitted the movie fell down his list of priorities.

“I want the movie to be amazing and I’m a fan, but that all pales pretty quickly in comparison,” he said.

“I know the fans are going to be worried about the movie, but there are seven other kids that need me. In the end, it’s just a movie. It’s a great movie. But it’s just a movie.”

Other criticisms of the film have included that the villain, an ancient, horned god named Steppenwolf, is terrible due to bad CGI and poor character development,

 

https://twitter.com/jowrotethis/status/930958575291084800

Interestingly, Whedon caused a flutter online this week when he liked a tweet by Vanity Fair writer Joanna Robinson slamming Steppenwolf, seemingly endorsing her view.

The move angered fans who believe Whedon’s interference was to blame for the sexualised portrayal of Wonder Woman, as well as the negative reviews.

Justice League hit cinemas on November 16, 2017.

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