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Zaidan, Sarah. "The Adventures of Ms. Meta: The female superhero and her cultural importance." Journal of Fandom Studies 3. (2015): 303–24. 
Added by: joachim (4/24/21, 4:12 PM)   Last edited by: joachim (4/24/21, 4:18 PM)
Resource type: Journal Article
Language: en: English
Peer reviewed
DOI: 10.1386/jfs.3.3.303_1
BibTeX citation key: Zaidan2015
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Categories: General
Keywords: Digitalization, Fandom, Game, Gender, Randformen des Comics, Superhero, USA
Creators: Zaidan
Collection: Journal of Fandom Studies
Views: 12/2217
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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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