James Cameron Thought Wonder Woman Was 'A Step Backwards' [Updated]

fabled director James Cameron has made some oculus raising statements about DC ’s smash hit filmWonder Woman , suggesting the film is not the progressive , feminist triumph it ’s been widely hailed as , but in reality objectifies women .

Cameron is a Hollywood colossus , having directed some of the biggest hits of all meter , likeTitanicandAvatar . He ’s also no alien to firm female leads : he help oneself to solidify the fabled status of Sigourney Weaver ’s Ellen Ripley in the skill fiction horror sequelAliens , and the shift of Linda Carter ’s Sarah Connor from a meek damosel in distress inThe Terminatorto the battle hardened , world - weary Cuban sandwich ofTerminator 2 : Judgment Dayis perhaps his greatest storytelling achievement .

Related:Why Wonder Woman Is A Lighter DCEU Movie, According to Patty Jenkins

Yet Cameron was unquestionably unimpressed by Diana of Themyscira . In an consultation withThe Guardianpromoting an upcoming 3D rerelease ofTerminator 2 : Judgment Day , Cameron was highly dismissive ofWonder Woman’sfeminist bona fides , suggesting the picture objectified her and did n’t rival the nicety of a fictitious character like Sarah Connor .

“ All of the self - congratulatory back - patting Hollywood ’s been doing overWonder Womanhas been so mistaken . She ’s an objectified image , and it ’s just manly Hollywood doing the same onetime matter ! I ’m not allege I did n’t care the flick but , to me , it ’s a step rearward . Sarah Connor was not a beauty ikon . She was strong , she was disruptive , she was a terrible mother , and she earned the deference of the hearing through arrant grit . And to me , [ the benefit of characters like Sarah ] is so obvious . I mean , half the hearing is distaff ! ”

This is a somewhat outre melodic line of reasoning from Cameron . The director seems to be suggesting distaff characters are only worthwhile when they ’re fundamentally damaged multitude , which is not exactly a positive feminist worldview . Also , the claims ofWonder Womanfeaturing a lot of female objectification seem to suggest Cameron was not paying especially close attention while watching the flick . While Wonder Woman has absolutely been an target of sexist objectification over the years , Patty Jenkins ' film go out of its way to debar such pitfalls , and was met with near universal acclaim for its nuanced , devout portrayal of DC ’s flagship heroine .