What Happens when a Theology Nerd Watches Wonder Woman

Much has been said about the 2017 Warner Brothers film Wonder Woman. Naturally, the script, effects, and acting performances have been reviewed. Gal Gadot’s immense talent has been duly lauded. As this movie is one of few to revolve around a powerful, complex, female protagonist, and, some might say, the most feminist superhero movie to date, gender politics have rightfully been central to the discussion. However, as an Episcopalian and an aspiring 21^st Century theologian, I brought a slightly different perspective into the theatre.

Of course, Wonder Woman, as it is based on the DC Universe and reimagines Greek mythology, is not a movie one attends for the purpose of theological criticism. I visited the cinema with entertainment as my only goal. This changed when Hippolyta, mother of Diana, our protagonist, uttered the line, “Be careful in the world of men. They do not deserve you.” The word deserve is a loaded one in Christian theological thought, particularly when it comes to the essential struggle of grace versus legalism. In a nutshell, the idea is that divine grace operates contrarily to human logic. In our world, rules are rules—thus the legal in legalism—and fair is fair. People ought to get what they deserve. Many Christians would say that Jesus inverts this system, confounds our earthly values, and, above all, gives a love so unconditional and so unmerited that it can be difficult to accept. This, I would posit, is what Episcopal liturgy terms the Mystery of Faith: we are freely given what we do not deserve, and our task is to let go of our reservations and take part. Ideally, we will mirror this divine example by giving others gifts unearned.

In Wonder Woman, Diana, a fleshly but divine being, visits Earth uninvited to save humanity from self-destruction. Disappointingly, these humans cannot be made to behave themselves, but Diana’s belief in their essential goodness moves her to fight for them anyway. She refuses to ignore the suffering of the weak and disenfranchised. She calls out and upends corruption. She makes friends with the outcasts and misfits. She leads a group of people inspired by her selflessness. To those who have read with the Gospels, this is a familiar story. Of course, Christianity holds no patent over it; for example, Diana’s empathic horror upon encountering human pain calls the narrative of Siddhartha to mind. Regardless of religion, the concept of graceful love plays a role in all our stories. We may call it unconditional love, pure love, free love, no-matter-what love. By any name, this grace, this manna, this radical forgetfulness of what is “deserved,” is so often our salvation. The writers of Wonder Woman recognized this, and, essentially, the climactic struggle between Diana and war god Ares is the struggle between grace and legalism. The bloodthirsty villain argues that Diana should give up on the human race because they are, indeed, autonomously capable of evil—they do not deserve her. His words are the siren song of earthly gracelessness. However, a display of self-sacrificing love inspires her to stand firm, giving the unmerited gift of her compassion to humanity.

This is not to say that Wonder Woman is making a Christian theological statement. In fact, the presence of themes I would term “grace versus legalism” in a secular film shows that said themes are relatable and relevant to the intended audience of Wonder Woman: you and me. The people of the United States. The film asks us all to see, and perhaps even promote, grace in our daily lives. As our country faces political discord, we may find ourselves mistrusting the goodness of our fellow humans. But, counterintuitive though it may be, offering grace to those around us will improve our own lives. Beyond this, it is what we are predisposed to do—give and receive love, unreservedly, whether or not it is deserved.