Wonder woman- taken from Wonder Woman Chronicles #1 (1940s)

1940s comic strip

• strong women are represented as villains- Wonder Woman thinks the fact the girl has been drugged and hypnotised is clever, suggesting there is admiration for the villain
• Wonder Woman’s strength is conveyed through the use of deontic modality- she ‘can’ and ‘will’ do things. This coincides with the idea that strong females are villainous- she’s portrayed as a strong woman but idolises the villain
• use of marked and unmarked terms ‘mistress’- less power in females and also has sexual connotations, suggesting a possible appeal to a more male audience
• conveying strong women as villainous coincides with cultural influences- women wanted to break out of their conventional roles after having ‘male’ jobs during WW2 but the comics are suggesting that going against ideals is wrong

 

Wonder woman- taken from Justice League of America volume 1 #143 (1977)

• Interesting idea of containing women and playing to stereotypes of ‘hysteria’
• continued use of marked and unmarked terms- suggests although things have progressed in society for women there’s still this idea of inferiority- superman’s thoughts interrupt her speech suggesting he’s more important (Zimmerman and West dominance approach)
• Implied meaning- the only explanation for Wonder Woman’s physical strength and ability to fight is that she’s being controlled implies women should not be strong
• could suggest that with the Women’s Lib movement the comic industry is trying to send the message that women are crazy and their strive for independence goes against societal values. Could also be caused by the 1954 comics code authority which is still active and bans portraying women as heroines
• doesn’t reflect the changing attitudes to women- even though legislations have given women more rights and they are protesting for equal rights to men comic books do not reflect this as they are still trying to ‘contain’ women. Reflects the attitudes of those against the Women’s Lib movement