“Fills a void in popular culture critiques that will inspire both girls and women, and enable lively classroom discussions about the profound influence of media in shaping notions of what women can be and do.”
— Caroline Heldman, Political Commentator & Professor of Politics, Occidental College
“Channels all of the excitement of reading a comic book into an exhilarating and captivating historical account of the evolution of the media’s first true Girl Power figure, Wonder Woman. More importantly, the film compellingly documents the importance of strong mediated role models for girls.”
— Sharon R. Mazzarella, Professor of Communication Studies, James Madison University
“[Explains] what should be evident but is SO not: Girls need super heroes because they need to know that their gender is not an obstacle. If you have a daughter, it is a moral imperative that you show her this film as soon as possible.”
— Jessica Baxter, Film Threat
“I thought I knew Wonder Woman, but Kapow! Bam! In true superhero fashion, this film delivered a knock-out blow to my simple set of assumptions. Great as a way to introduce ideas and initiate discussion about gender, feminism, girls, activism. I would use it as a way to ground conversations about gender and power, media impact on girls, media activism, and social constructions of femininity.”
— Lyn Mikel Brown, Professor of Education, Colby College, and author of Packaging Girlhood
“This film makes a great addition to the women’s and gender studies classroom. Who knew that the depiction of Wonder Woman paralleled the pursuit of women’s rights throughout the twentieth century? This provocative lens on U.S. women’s history promises to engage students, while pushing them to think critically about the current depiction of strong and empowered women in the media. Drawing together central themes within the fields of women’s and gender studies – beauty, body, sex, power, violence, and media – this film will assist teachers in demonstrating the relevance of feminist criticism to the media-saturated, celebrity-obsessed, and digitally-enhanced culture in which our students live.”
— Desiree Henderson, Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program and Associate Professor of English, University of Texas at Arlington
“This important film provides an unparalleled perspective on the enduring power of Wonder Woman in popular culture. Dynamic animations kapow this archetype beyond comic books into the living systems of post-millennial girl power. The result? A truth-telling lasso capturing decades of Wonder Woman’s superheroic impact on the collective imagination.”
— Kathleen Sweeney, Media Studies Faculty, The New School for Public Engagement, and the author of Maiden USA
“A delicious journey through decades of popular culture [that] interweaves the evolution of women superheroes, from the original Wonder Woman comic through Charlie’s Angels, Buffy, Riot Grrrls and beyond, and the history of modern feminism. It’s a vivid demonstration of the complex relationship between creators and consumers of popular culture.”
— Patricia Aufderheide, Director of the Center for Social Media and Professor of Communication, American University
“Instead of a static essay on a comic book character, director Guevara-Flanagan broadens the scope to give the superhero angle its proper historical and societal perspective. Wonder Women! fills a niche in feminist collections.”
— Ellen Druda, Library Journal
“Appropriate for all age groups, and would be especially useful in media and women’s studies classes.”
— Ann Weber, School Library Journal
PRAISE
“Girls still need those fantasy female superheroes — just as boys have Superman and Captain America — so they can see themselves as empowered and taking action and having ‘exciting adventures.”
— Diana Reese, Washington Post
“We need strong women in this world, although I would say we have many whose strength is a quiet, behind-the-scenes power — like mothers. One of the most touching moments in the film was watching a young girl say that her mom was her superhero.”
— Diana Reese, Washington Post
“5 Stars.If you have a daughter, it is a moral imperative that you show her this film as soon as possible. ”
— Jessica Baxter, Film Threat
“The first film to recognize the importance of comic book characters in providing strong, active role models for girls and women… fills a void in popular culture critiques about the profound influence of media in shaping notions of what women can be and do.”
— Caroline Heldman, Professor of Politics and Political Commentator
“Kapow! Wonder Women! hits us right where it counts, offering a nuanced critique of gender and heroism in popular culture as well as a powerful dose of Vitamin F(eminism) for the undernourished.”
— Mary Celeste Kearney, Associate Professor of Radio-Television-Film and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin
“It’s a film about empowerment, about taking a look at where we are now compared to where we were 70 years ago and realizing that yeah, there’s still a lot that needs to change—but, at the risk of sounding cheesy, with so many real-life superheroines living in the world, change is possible.”
— Rebecca Pahle, The Mary Sue
“If it was the production’s intention to finally kill-off any non-believers who still consider the fantasy genre a worthless artform peopled by slackers dodging a real life, it is a goal achieved. The deeply human role our mythical figures continue to fulfil in our society, on many levels, is honoured triumphantly.”
— Simon Foster, SCREEN-SPACE
“Turns what could’ve just been a flat history of a comic book character into a brief study of female empowerment in the last century.”
— Angela Watercutter, Wired.com
“Today there are more superheroines to serve as role models for children and women, but there is still a long ways to go before these heroines are treated equally and given leading roles…I highly recommend Wonder Women! The Untold Story of the American Superheroines for everyone to watch, not just women. It’s educational in an entertaining kind of way!”
— Katrina Hill, ActionFlickChick.com
“A zinger of a documentary from Kristy Guevara-Flanagan that catalogues the Amazonian princess’s passage from a Nazi-stomping can-do hero to a docile, post-Comics Code matron to feminist icon.”
— Callum Twigger, The Thousands City Guides
“Makes a moving case for the necessity of heroic women in pop culture, never more affectingly than when a fourth-grade girl…tells how this fantasy figure in star-spangled shorts inspires her to never give up.”
— Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle
“I was enthralled by the lengths gone to to explore the beginnings of comicdom and the sense of impact the medium has had on the American Culture.”
— Jaron Hataway, Dallas Morning News
“If you’re like me, or one of the other 400 women mouthing ‘Yes! Yes!’ during the screening, then WONDER WOMEN! will be candy for your inner feminist. ”
— Joelle Pearson, Austin Woman Magazine
“What are the two greatest things on the planet? I’ll tell you. Bad-ass babes and comics. What happens when these two things collide? A mild-mannered documentarian/comic nerd is bitten by a radioactive feminist and is magically imbued with superhuman conscience and flair, I’m assuming. The result is WONDER WOMEN!, a film which at once made me feel empowered and like a terrible ’emotional woman’ stereotype because I was crying and hyperventilating with joy the entire time…if you love your daughters, girlfriends, sisters and mothers, take them to see this fantastic gem of a movie.”
