James Cameron in Hot Water After Slamming ‘Wonder Woman’ as ‘Step Backward’
A big-time Hollywood director is failing to find Wonder Woman's wonderment, and now faces backlash for calling the box office-busting film a step back for women.
James Cameron, famous for hits like Titanic and Avatar, said in an interview with The Guardian that praise surrounding the 2017 film was totally undeserved, and that the production claimed to herald its titular character for her strength, but ultimately just exploited her for her sexuality.
“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided,” Cameron said. “She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards.”
Cameron pointed to his own Terminator character Sarah Connor as an emblem of a powerful woman who didn't concede to a reflex to be sexy. But his remarks were met with backlash from readers who argued that Wonder Woman wasn't hyper-sexualized and, even if she had been, sexiness is not antonymous with strength.
"I'll take "James Cameron tries to mansplain feminism AND fails to understand womanhood" for $200, Alex," one user wrote, while another noted "Actually a very sexist statement IMO, male action stars can be physically attractive, so it seems patronizing & stupid to say females can't."
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