Wonder Woman 1984: desire, truth and freedom

We analyzed the newest Wonder Woman movie and explored how it expands the essence of the character

After 84 years of delay, or at least, that’s what it felt like, Wonder Woman 1984 brings it on with and optimistic spirit and an impactful message. The film is able to portray well- developed characters and presents the story, once again, through the growth arc of our main character. The way all of this is expressed, we’ll see next.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

1 – A new era of wonder

The choices about the time periods in which the Wonder Woman movies are set may seem random, but, actually, say a lot about the films’ theme. If on the first motion picture the change to the first World War serves to showcase the terror of a conflict of proportions never before seen, the setting in 1984, on the second one, serves to place the movie in an era of optmism as well as economical and technological growth, functioning as a contrast to what we have seen before.

Patty Jenkins, director of the movie, is an outspoken fan of Superman’s movie from 1978 and tried to engage the same optimism in Wonder Woman’s sequence, in addition to demonstrate how a movie from the heroine made in the 80’s would be, since she was the only one from DC’s “trinity” to not have one at the time.

The time period is represented by shining colors, including the heroine’s costume, more vivid than ever. Another way to showcase the optimism of the time is through Steve’s awe. If on the first movie he guides Diana through a somber London during the war, now Diana is the one guiding him in this colorful and promising decade with its technological revolutions and extravagant attire.

But there aren’t only wonders in this context, there are lies behind all the promising expectations. We begin to understand that from Maxwell Lord, a famous man whose motto is “if you want it,you can have it” when in reality he is a failure and doesn’t have the things he desires.

From this situation we can perceive that despite the economic growth promises of the time, many are left out of the economic prosperity’s blessings. The alternative, in the case of Maxwell Lord, is to promote himself through other people’s desires so he can gain financial power and prestige, not in a vrey different manner from the so called “life coaches” we see nowadays.

But when this ends up being inssuficient, Max needs to search the powers of a mystical artifact that can give him everything he wants.

2 – The dark side of desire

We all desire something, it is human nature.But what happens when we are incapable of noticing how our desires bring negative consequences and keep seeking them to the detriment of others’ well- being?

When a mystical stone appears at Diana’s workplace, she readily makes a wish. After years living by herself wothout being able to form concections because of her immortal nature, Diana still misses Steve, therefore her wish would be none other than getting her love back.

In Barbara Minerva’s case, a geologist and Diana’s work colleague, her insecurity for not being noticed makes her wish to be like Diana “beautiful, sexy, cool and special”.Maxwell Lord, much more ambicious, wishes to become the stone itself, iniciating an insatiable search for power.

In the begginning everything seems to go well, Steve comes back in a host’s body, allowing him and Diana to live romantic moments, Barbara begins to be noticed and gain powers and Max can, through other people’s wishes, reach his objectives.

There is, however, a condition revealed only halfway through the movie: the realization of each one’s dreams takes away what they have of most precious. I this manner, Wonder Woman begins to lose her powers, and Barbara her humanity and empathy.

In the meantime, Maxwell Lord seeks numerous political figures to fullfill their dreams,and in exchange take whatever each one of them has of more precious.Therefore, many events start happenning, generating terrritorial divides, armed conflicts and varied calamities.

These events serve to show the film’s thesis about desire, applied into two premises. The first, the insatiable search for power takes away the most precious things we have. The second, in a world where desire prevails, theres is an endless fight to impose your desires on other’s desires.

This is the fight we see throughout the story by the realization of many desires, but already present since the begginning of the picture with the machismo present on society. In the course of the movie we see numerous men trying to get close to Diana in an insistent manner, even though she shows zero interest on them.Furthermore in the begginning of the feature, Diana saves Barbara from sexual harassment.

These scenes show that the consequences of unrestrained desire are ever-present in society throuth the attempt from individuals of imposing their wishes in detriment of other’s well being. The attempt by everyone to force their desires upon whoever results in chaos. Not only that, the need to always have more reinforces this chaos, therefore, we can understand how the time period in which the movie is set serve as a perfect context of the problem presented.

On the world of economic prosperity and extreme consumism of the 80’s, society inflicts the desire to want more. This way, not only do we want to impose our wishes on others, but we also want to do this always more. Only a subversion of this logic can change this scenery of destruction.

3- The flight of freedom

Diana’s arc in the first movie is to save humanity for love. In this movie it is to give up that which she loves the most in favor of the truth. Only after giving Steve up she completes her growth arc in the story and becomes able to defeat Maxwell Lord.

The movie showcases the closing of her arc in a very beautiful and symbolic manner. In the airplane scene, Diana comments with admiration Steve’ ability with flight. And its after giving him up that she gains what he has of most powerful, his power to “fly”.

It is a mechanism contrary to the stone, after giving up what she desires the most she gains something precious. It is one of the most beautiful sequences of the movie and in my opinion the parallel scene to “No man’s land” in the sequel.

In the final act, Diana must defeat Barbara, now Cheetah, and Maxwell Lord. It is interesting to note that when Barbara makes her wish to Max she doesn’t want to be like Diana anymore, but a predator instead. This results not only on her physical transformation, but psychological. If she’s not like Diana, she doesn’t have the capacity to give up her wish, and, therefore, our heroine must stop her physically.

Maxwell Lord’s case is different. In the final act, he represents an idea, the embodiment of the desire for more, above anything and anyone else. Those with this mindset find themselves in a trance so closed that even the truth may have a hard time reaching them, an idea represented visually by the truth lasso’s inability to reach him in the final scenes.

In this situation, Diana must defeat not the person, but the idea, and that’s why she executes her monologue looking directly at the camera, to affect the whole population her words are going to be transmitted towards in the story, but also to break the fourth wall and talk to us, spectators of the movie.

“You can’t have everything. You can only have the truth, and the truth is enough. The truth is beautiful. So look to this world and what your desires are costing it. You must be the hero, only you can save the day. Renounce your wish if you want to save this world.”

Maxwell Lord begins to come out of the trance and realizes he was losing what mattered the most, his son. We see his past, how he suffered with violence during childhood and how his attitudes come from his desire to change his life for the better. Diana keeps saying that people aren’t the only ones afraid and wanting to transform their reality.

The movie shows, therefore, that evil springs from the lack of understanding to resolve our inner questions. We think that imposing our desires is the solution to feeling better. But this isn’t the truth. The truth makes us see the value in givin up the individual for the common good and how this attitude brings wonderful results.

Verdict

Wonder Woman 1984 is an effective film in passing its message through the narrative arc of its characters. Conflicts are well explored and resolved, and from these our heroine is able to expand her understanding of the world, making us anxious to see Diana's continued growth in another sequence