Patty Jenkins was not impressed with James Cameron’s criticism of her blockbuster hit “Wonder Woman,” and she made that loud and clear in a lengthy Twitter post Thursday night.
“James Cameron’s inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though, he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman,” the director wrote.
“His praise of my film ‘Monster’ and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated. But if women have to always be hard, tough, and troubled to be strong, and we aren’t free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven’t come very far,” she continued.
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) August 25, 2017
Jenkins’ response came after the “Avatar” filmmaker said in an interview with The Guardian that “Wonder Woman” marked a “step backwards” for female characters.
“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over ‘Wonder Woman’ has been so misguided,” Cameron said. “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.”
The Oscar-winning director went on to praise one of his own strong female characters, Sarah Connor from “Terminator.”
“Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon,” he said. “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 benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”