The Adventures of Ms. Meta: The female superhero and her cultural importance | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 3, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 2046-6692
  • E-ISSN: 2046-6706

Abstract

Abstract

William Moulton Marston, inspired by his wife and beliefs, created a female superhero in 1941, seeking to address how the feminine archetype in western society ‘lacks force, strength and power’, and that ‘women’s strong qualities have become despised’. Wonder Woman was the result, and the character has achieved iconic status in popular culture seven decades later. While there is a wealth of research examining the representation of the female superhero and how this speaks to perceptions of femininity across the past 70 years, its focus is the prevalence of stereotypical over authentic depictions, and the harmful effects of this on society. However, the existing cultural impact and importance of female superheroes to readers of all genders cannot be ignored; to do so is to the detriment of both fans and scholars of comics. My research combines the platform of digital media with the artistic styles and narrative themes of comics, culminating in a narrative video game that brings together original comic pages, texts and animated sequences. The game tells the story of Meta Woman, a self-created superhero, from her first appearance in the ‘we can do it!’ 1940s, her reinventions as Miss Meta in the aftermath of the Comics Code of the 1950s, Ms Meta in the liberated 1970s and beyond, concluding in the present day. By cross-references comic representations of women with fan experience and stories of women from each era, the game showcases the power of female superheroes, and makes them relevant to each user’s life and experiences.

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/content/journals/10.1386/jfs.3.3.303_1
2015-09-01
2024-03-19
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http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jfs.3.3.303_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): fan studies; gender; magazines; participatory culture; superheroes; video games
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