Wednesday, August 19, 2009

How the Amazon culture works!

Hi everybody!
Let me give you a quick rundown of how I see the Amazons came into the world, were separated from the larger world, and how WONDER WOMAN gained entrance back into the world.
First, the Amazons were conscripted by Ares (Russell Crowe) to be his elite fighting force. In the Ancient World, the Amazons were not a kingdom, a city or a culture: soldiers do not run governments.
The general of the Amazons was Antiope (Charlize Theron), the ambassador of the Amazons was Hippolyta (Helena Bonham Carter). When the Amazons could no longer be controlled, Ares sent Hercules (Hugh Jackman) to destroy them.
Aphrodite (Catherine Zeta-Jones) took pity on the Amazons and resettled them on Paradise Island.
Athena (Lena Olin) blessed the sacred clay sculpted by Hippolyta and brought princess Diana (Eva Green) to life as WONDER WOMAN.
Ares invades Paradise Island while WONDER WOMAN sets up her fighting unit in Manhattan. WONDER WOMAN returns to Paradise Island to free her sisters from the tyranny of Ares.
William Moulton Marston spent the lion's share of WONDER WOMAN's debut story defining the Amazons and did not depict WONDER WOMAN in her costume until the very last panel. This Amazonion culture has proven to be the fallback narrative every time DC Comics is unable to figure out what to do with WONDER WOMAN.
But there never was an Amazon culture in real history, or has there ever been a successful same sex culture in recorded history.
It is important to acknowledge the importance of the Amazons to WONDER WOMAN's legend, but we must avoid getting tangled up in the weeds of the possibilities of the Amazon culture. WONDER WOMAN is not an elegantly conceived science fiction narrative as conceived by Phillip K. Dick, it is simply the most sophisticated premise ever for a superheroine comic by William Moulton Marston.
Tomorrow, more goodies! Be good!
Brad

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