Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines

Premiered April 15, 2013

Directed by

Kristy Guevara-Flanagan

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About the Documentary

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines traces the fascinating birth, evolution, and legacy of Wonder Woman, and introduces audiences to a dynamic group of fictional and real-life superheroines fighting for positive role models for girls, both on screen and off.

Female superheroes, warrior princesses, and other icons of women’s empowerment in pop culture owe their existence to Wonder Woman — the unlikely brainchild of a Harvard-trained pop psychologist. From Wonder Woman’s original, radical World War II presence, to her uninspiring 1960s incarnation as a fashion boutique owner, to her dramatic resurrection by feminist Gloria Steinem and the women of Ms. Magazine, Wonder Woman’s legacy continues today.

Wonder Women! explores the nation’s long-term love affair with comic book superheroes and raises questions about the possibilities and contradictions of heroines within the genre. The film goes behind the scenes with Lynda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, Gloria Steinem, Kathleen Hanna, comic writers and artists, and others who offer an enlightening and entertaining counterpoint to the male-dominated superhero genre.

Exploring how our highly visual culture places more emphasis on the appearance of girls and women rather than on their deeds, Wonder Women! urges women to claim the action genre — and media in general — as their own, if they want to change how they are represented.

Wonder Women! harnesses the voices of literary critics, women writers, classicists, philosophers, impersonators, collectors, feminists and fanatics to explore the notions of “heroism” and “power.”

The Filmmakers

Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s first feature-length film was an acclaimed documentary covering four years in the lives of four adolescent girls. Going on 13 was an official selection of Tribeca, Silverdocs, and many other international film festivals. Guevara-Flanagan has also produced and directed several short films, including El Corrido de Cecilia Rios, a chronicle of the violent death of 15-year-old Cecilia Rios. It was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Now an assistant professor at Diablo Valley College, Guevara-Flanagan has a MFA in Film Production from San Francisco State University.

Kelcey Edwards
Kelcey Edwards is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose films have screened at many of the top-ranking festivals around the country, including True/False, Silverdocs, and SXSW. After receiving her MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University, she moved to New York City, where she works as a filmmaker, producer, and arts educator. In 2008, she teamed up with director Kristy Guevara-Flanagan to produce Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines. She is also the co-producer of Words of Witness, a documentary feature by director Mai Iskander (Garbage Dreams) and an official selection of Berlinale 2012.

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