'Wonder Woman' director Patty Jenkins responds to James Cameron's criticism
[Photo credit: Warner Bros.]
Patty Jenkins and James Cameron have a lot in common: They're both high-powered directors; the former of Wonder Woman and the latter of films like Terminator, another female-led action flick.
Read more: Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the best thing to happen to female superheroes
But apparently, they don't have everything in common—Cameron was seemingly not a fan of Wonder Woman's reception in Hollywood, despite the fact that it is the highest grossing film directed by a woman of all time, and earned over $800 million.
Here's what he had to say to the Guardian, occasionally referencing the lead from Terminator:
“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. 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. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”
Interesting.
Patty Jenkins, ever the patient one, clapped back on Twitter:
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) August 25, 2017
Personally, we fail to see why Cameron thinks female leads become less powerful when they're beautiful, or why he thinks Terminator viewers didn't likely warp the lead into a sex symbol as well. All these strong female characters are multidimensional, and should be seen as such.