Wow. I haven’t blogged about anything new since January! This semester has been intense. I took a composition class so any extra writing (i.e. blogging) became a CHORE!
In that composition class we had to write about 40 journal entries. It was a casual journal so we had a little leeway with our topics so of course I took it upon myself to write about the Wonder Woman costume controversy.
Below is what I turned in: ———————————————————>
Title: My thoughts on the Wonder Woman costume controversy
Date: April 8, 2011
In the 70’s, Wonder Woman was a hero for many little girls across the country. Today, those little girls are women and are now faced with a new version of Wonder Woman. Sure, there are fanatics out there who don’t want to see a modern producer ruin a classic. I’m not that person. I love re-makes and re-imaginings with the caveat that the new version has to far exceed the “awesomeness” of the original version.
Lynda Carter’s version of Wonder Woman was smart and sexy. Sure she wore a skimpy outfit but she could also kick plenty of a** in it.
There was a bit of an internet frenzy when it was decided that the comic book Wonder Woman, the same comic book in which the television character was based, needed a change in costume. She went from scantily clad to dowdy and boring. Her new costume was indeed modern but looked like a soccer mom in boxy trousers on Halloween trying to be Wonder Woman. The new belt and colors make no sense. She’s more restricted with the jacket, pants and dangling accessories. It looks fussy and over-worked. The hot pants and corset is fun and sexy while this new look is ridiculous. Wonder Woman in mom jeans, a 90’s cropped jacket and a hooker belt takes some of her power away in my eyes.
Comic book aside, imagine everyone’s excitement and curiosity when it was announced that there would be a new Wonder Woman TV show. I was happy with the news but concerned with the execution. In the past few years, TV has tried to remake quite a few classics and they failed miserably. I watched and blogged EVERY miserable second of the new Bionic Woman. It got worse with each episode and was a disgrace to the original show. The actress that they hired to be Bionic Woman just didn’t have the energy necessary to pull off this role. Her supporting cast was seasoned actors and even they couldn’t make her interesting.
When it was announced that Adrianne Palicki had been cast as our new heroine, I got really concerned. I’d only seen her in a really horrible movie called Legion and wept to myself ‘this is going to be Bionic Woman all over again’.
I took a deep breath and decided to wait for the actual show to premiere before I gave up all hope. That restraint was tested when I saw the first images of Adrianne Palicki in the costume and some still action shots. I was heartbroken. It was all so terribly WRONG. She looked like she was in a tacky Halloween costume. It was shiny in all the wrong places. Adrianne is a blonde and she actually looks like a blonde wearing a black wig. Her coloring is off. The pants are HORRIBLE.
Dear creator of all-things-holy please give this woman some hot pants and stockings! I know no one wears stockings anymore but take away that shiny fetish wear!
The shot of her running with the near the cars has to be the worst for me. It looks like someone’s meth-head cousin escaped the institutional Halloween party and is running after a huge plushy crack pipe that only she can see. This assault on the memory of the glorious Lynda Carter is inexcusable!
After much fan outrage, the costume was changed. The pants became matte and the boots were changed to red. The corset is still problematic and I hope the change it.
I have an open mind and I’m still hoping for the best with the new Wonder Woman series. Some industrious fans secretly recorded some behind-the-scenes footage and surprisingly it calmed my anxieties about the show. [Vid 1– Wonder Woman putting on make-up] [Vid 2– Wonder Woman running down a sidewalk] [Vid 3– Wonder Woman running through the streets and hopping over cars.]
Adrianne actually looks better in movement and in action than in the pictures. Though the videos calmed my worries about the quality of the show, I still remain cautiously optimistic.
Above is a class project: ———————————————————>
This blog post is now moot because NBC rejected the Wonder Woman pilot. If you suffered through the recent attempts at superhero shows, Heroes (season 2 and beyond), Bionic Woman, The Cape, etc., you know that the show has to be solid and close to theater quality in order to keep the audience. I’m glad they didn’t throw out a subpar product, cancel the show then blame it on the fans for not liking it. It was a good move by NBC. Perhaps someone will get a big budget and do right by Wonder Woman on the silver screen.
Ah well….
——–> UPDATED <———
It looks as if Adrianne was a trooper and actually tried the shorts!!!!
Now I’m confused. She looks gorgeous. I still think the costume needs work but if she was willing to wear the 70’s short-shorts, well, I’m not sure what’s going on. This could have worked…
[Updated June 24, 2011]
Now you see why I’m so passionate about Wonder Woman. I loved the character so much that I dressed up as her for Halloween. I had to be 9 or so. I’m not sure, the picture wasn’t dated.
Well I have watched Wonder Woman when I was a kid and that image of Lynda Carter as the Wonder Woman had stuck. Nothing would be ale to replace her as Wonder Woman. She was just born to be Wonder Woman. Same as Superman is Christopher Reeves.
Perhaps it is the angle of the photo, but the modern version of the shorts looks like it gives less coverage to her backside. There was some sort of padding or something in the Lynda Carter version that kept her from looking like she was on the verge of getting a wedgie.
Agreed. The modern short-shorts look problematic to wear. Now that you’ve pointed out the old shorts look a little diaper-y. Still awesome if you don’t look to hard.