Watch the “WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines” Trailer

A fascinating history of the heroine devolves into feministic polemic

Wonder Woman has traveled a tough road of late, but the Amazonian princess is getting a historical retrospective in the form of a new documentary slated to show at South by Southwest, "WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines."

Check out the official synopsis and then watch the trailer:

WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES (formerly THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE AS TOLD BY WONDER WOMAN) traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, WONDER WOMEN! looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation.

WONDER WOMEN! goes behind the scenes with Lynda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, comic writers and artists, and real life superheroines such as Gloria Steinem, Shelby Knox and others who offer an enlightening and entertaining counterpoint to the male dominated superhero genre.

Tracing the evolution of Wonder Woman's narrative as it reflects the state of American politics and culture is fascinating. But it's kinda weird hearing Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and founder of Riot Grrl cite the Lynda Carter "Wonder Woman" and "Charlie's Angels" as inspirations. Those two shows were the very essence of "Jiggle TV." 

The disconnect is heightened by the outrage that was sparked last summer by the first looks at Adrianne Palicki as NBC's new "Wonder Woman," practically spilling out of her bustier. "How is she supposed to fight crime dressed like that?!?!?!" was a common cry. We have no idea about the physics behind such mysteries, but Wonder Woman has been fighting crime dressed like that for more than 70 years. But the show went to an early grave, before even making it to air, taking the issue with it.

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