This year's Wonder Woman was a critical and commercial smash hit that currently stands as the crown jewel of the DC cinematic universe. Much of the credit for the film's success is attributed to director Patty Jenkins. The director crafted a fantastic origin story featuring actress Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. All year long and especially as we enter awards season, there has been a great deal of buzz and hope that the film's successes would mark it for awards consideration. However, in a huge surprise, Wonder Woman was completely shut out and received no nominations for the Golden Globes. For some fans of the film, this is a heinous snub, and instead of resting on their laurels, those fans have decided to take action. A petition has been created to try to get the Hollywood Foreign Press to honor women and nominate Wonder Woman-helmer Patty Jenkins for best director.
As noted in the petition on Care 2 Petitions, Wonder Woman was a huge commercial and critical success. For years, fans have been frustrated that the comic book films so much of the moviegoing public loves are completely ignored come awards season. The explanation is often that commercial success is independent of objective quality. With a few exceptions, like The Dark Knight, a comic book film is lacking in commercial success or more often critical enthusiasm to bolster its case for awards consideration. It is rare, although becoming more frequent, that a female director is given the chance to make a blockbuster film. So it is not unreasonable to want to see a film directed by a female director, that succeeded in every way a film can, be recognized come awards season. But a Golden Globes snub is hardly a condemnation of Patty Jenkins or Wonder Woman.
In case you wondered who didn't vote for Patty Jenkins, here, the Golden Globes nominations are voted on by a body called the Hollywood Foreign Press. This mysterious, controversial and often baffling assemblage of 90 foreign journalists are the ones who decide who walks home with a trophy. Often, the Golden Globes honor less traditional picks and more commercial fare, so in some ways, it is indeed surprising that Wonder Woman was shut out. But for fans of Patty Jenkins, this is not the hill to die on. There are still many other industry awards, including the Oscars, where Patty Jenkins could be honored. Not to mention the fact that the Golden Globe nominations are already out, so the category would have to be expanded to include her. Or someone else's nomination would have to retroactively be taken away to make this work and that isn't fair either. These petitions are a nice idea and show enthusiasm and investment, but they rarely bear fruit.
The instinct to fight for Patty Jenkins and Wonder Woman is not bad, in my opinion. The film Patty Jenkins crafted is not just a shining star in the DC film universe, but in all comic book films and films period. That deserves to be acknowledged. The fact that a woman directed it is important. For fans who feel this way, instead of petitions, they have to vote with their dollar. Hollywood is a business and business responds to one thing and one thing only and that's money. Don't just see a film from a female director because it is a big budget blockbuster like Wonder Woman or A Wrinkle in Time. See smaller films from female directors to show studios female-directed films are commercially viable. Women will be given more chances and more swings at the plate which will inevitably lead to more great films and more awards consideration.
