Never afraid to share a controversial opinion, Avatar director James Cameron is astonishingly dismissing feminist blockbuster Wonder Woman as "a step backwards".
The Gal Gadot-starring and Patty Jenkins-directed movie was recently crowned the most successful superhero origin story of all time (ranking above Deadpool and Spider-Man), and has earned praise from everyone from Agent Carter herself Hayley Atwell to Jane Fonda to the female hero's male counterparts.
But James Cameron calls the celebration of Wonder Woman's success "misguided". Speaking to The Guardian, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker outlined his problem with reaction to the movie.
"All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided," he argued. "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."
Specifically, Cameron suggested that Wonder Woman doesn't stand up as a feminist icon against Terminator's Sarah Connor — played by Linda Hamilton in his own Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
"Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon," he recalled. "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 value of Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!"
He went on to complain about Hollywood's track record with female characters: "There are many women in power in Hollywood and they do get to guide and shape what films get made. I think – no, I can't account for it. Because how many times do I have to demonstrate the same thing over again? I feel like I'm shouting in a wind tunnel!"
(Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2)
