Wonder Woman
Dear friends,
I’m extremely honoured to have been given this opportunity to write on His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche’s blog. His Eminence has been a fan of Wonder Woman from a young age. He respects female heroines especially because decades ago, women did not have the freedom to do what they would like and they were constantly looked down upon. The emergence of Wonder Woman turned the entire concept around and opened society up to the possibility that women can be something.
The character of Wonder Woman is strong, wise, fair, loyal and kind. What I like about her is that even though she is beautiful, she doesn’t rely on her looks and body to accomplish her goals. So she is a female icon that a lot of people can look up to even up until today. I hope you enjoy reading about Wonder Woman as she is one of a kind. I would like to thank Pastor Niral Patel and Pastor Jean Ai for editing the article.
Regards,
Beatrix
Wonder Woman (a.k.a. Princess Diana of Themyseira or Diana Prince) is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a demigoddess and a warrior princess of the Amazons (who are based on Greek mythology).
She was sculpted from clay by her mother Hippolyta and brought to life by the Olympian deities, from whom she also received magnificent powers. Wonder Woman has an arsenal of weapons at her disposal, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets that are bullet-proof and a tiara which serves as a projectile weapon. She never misuses any of her weapons to hurt other people but only uses them to defend herself and to get the truth from the supervillians so she can prevent and solve crimes.
The Wonder Woman character was created during World War II and was initially depicted fighting Axis military forces, alongside an assortment of supervillains.
When appearing as Diana Prince, Wonder Woman was dressed in ordinary clothes when she would perform her famous Wonder Woman spin when transforming into the superheroine. Below is a video of that famous Wonder Woman spin.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/WonderWomanSpinTransformation.mp4
Wonder Woman taking on the identity of Diana Prince
Fictional Character Biography
Diana was a member of the Amazons, a tribe of women native to Paradise Island – an isolated island set in the middle of a vast ocean. Captain Steve Trevor’s plane crashed on the island and he was found alive but unconscious by Diana and a fellow Amazon. Diana had him nursed back to health and then fell in love with him. A competition was held on Paradise Island to determine the most worthy woman among the Amazons. The winner was to be responsible for delivering Captain Steve Trevor back to the man’s world and to fight for justice. Wearing a mask and wig, Diana snuck into the competition although her mother forbade her to take part. She won the competition and was conferred the Golden Belt and the Golden Lasso, sometimes known as the Lasso of Truth. She was also rewarded with a costume which was made by her mother, the Queen and was given the name Wonder Woman.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/WonderWomanBulletsBracelets.mp4
Travelling to the United States for the first time, she came across an army nurse who was desperate to leave for South America but could not do so due to a shortage of money. In order to have a valid identity to look after Captain Steve, Diana made a deal with the nurse. As both of them looked similar, Wonder Woman gave the nurse the money she had for her to travel to South America and in exchange, she took the nurse’s identification to work as a nurse in the army. This woman’s name was Diana Prince.
Wonder Woman with her bullet-proof bracelets.
Abilities and Resources
Diana is depicted as a strong acrobat and fighter who is skilled in armed and unarmed combat. She has portrayed great skill in using her bracelets to stop bullets and she is also extremely good at wielding her golden lasso. Therefore these two have become her signature weapons. She is also enormously strong and while lifting a car may seem unachievable for most people, for Wonder Woman it is a piece of cake.
Golden Belt
The belt was conferred upon her when she won the competition on Paradise Island. It is a symbol of Amazon supremacy and as long as Diana wears it, she retains her cunning and strength outside of Paradise Island.
Wonder Woman in her aqua suite.
Bullet-proof bracelets
Wonder Woman’s bracelets are made of an indestructible material. Some sources indicate that it is formed from the remnants of the goddess Athena’s legendary shield, the Aegis.
Golden Lasso
The lasso compels people bound by it to tell the absolute truth and it is virtually indestructible. She wields the lasso with great precision and accuracy and can use it as a whip or noose.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/WonderWomanLiftsCarAndSavesMan.mp4
The Wonder Woman – Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter (Lynda Jean Cordova Carter), was born on July 24, 1951 in Phoenix, Arizona. Her father is of English and Scottish-Irish ancestry, and her mother is of Mexican, Spanish and French descent. Carter made her public television debut on Lew King’s Talent Show at the age of 5.
During high school, Carter performed in a band called Just Us. Then when she was 16, she joined two of her cousins in another band called The Relatives. The group opened at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas for three months. Because Carter was under 21 at the time, she had to enter through the kitchen! Carter also attended Arizona State University, where she was voted “Most Talented”.
Career
Carter won a local Arizona beauty contest in 1972 and gained national attention in the United States by winning Miss World USA, representing Arizona. Her acting career took off when she landed a role in Wonder Woman as the title character and her secret identity, Diana Prince.
Carter participated in the Arizona beauty contest in 1972 and won the title Miss World USA, representing Arizona.
The series lasted for three seasons. As it was winding down, while referring to the feedback she had received for her posters, Carter told US Magazine:
“I never meant to be a sexual object for anyone but my husband. I never thought a picture of my body would be tacked up in men’s bathrooms. I hate men looking at me and thinking what they think. And I know what they think. They write and tell me.”
She also was upset with some of the marketing of her image. Warner Bros. worked out a deal with the toy company, Mego, to create a Wonder Woman doll while the series was still on the air. In 1987 on The Late Show with Joan Rivers, Carter commented:
“I think that you’re probably familiar with a problem in Hollywood, and that is that they market you, and they use you. They did a mask of my face and put it on the doll, and they put my name on for the first run of it. And then they took my name off and said they didn’t have to pay me anymore. So it’s the kind of thing that you can be used so much in this industry. I make nothing. I don’t even make anything from the reruns. Don’t ever settle for net profits. It’s called creative accounting.”
In 1978, she was voted “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World”. During the late 1970s, Carter recorded an album titled ‘Portrait’. Carter is credited as a co-writer on several of the songs. She also sang two of her songs in a Wonder Woman episode in 1979, entitled ‘Amazon Hot Wax’.
Personal life
Carter has been married twice. Her first husband was her former talent agent, Ron Samuels. The marriage lasted from 1977 to 1982.
In January 1984, Carter married Washington, DC, attorney Robert A. Altman and they have two children, James and Jessica. The family now live in Potomac, Maryland.
Carter has revealed that her mother had suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for over 30 years, resulting in Carter touring the country as an advocate and spokeswoman. Lynda is also a staunch advocate and supporter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Pro-Choice rights for women, and legal equality for LGBT people. She was the Grand Marshal for the 2011 Phoenix Pride and 2011 New York Pride Parades, as well as the 2013 Capital Pride Parade in Washington, DC.
In June 2008, Carter admitted in an interview to People that she had entered a rehabilitation clinic for treatment of alcoholism and had been sober for 10 years. In a statement when asked what the recovery process had taught her, Carter explained that the best measure of a human being is “how we treat the people who love us, and the people that we love”.
Filmography
Below are just some of the shows she has acted in:
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | Nakia | Helen Chase | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Matt Helm | Bobbi Dee | 1 episode |
| 1976 | A Matter of Wife… And Death | Zelda | TV movie |
| Starsky and Hutch | Vicky | 1 episode | |
| 1975 – 79 | Wonder Woman | Wonder Woman/ Princess Diana/ Diana Prince | TV movie + 59 episodes |
| 1980 | The Last song | Brooke Newman | TV movie |
| The Muppet Show | Herself | 1 episode. Warner Home Video has released all three seasons of Wonder Woman on DVD in various regions, both separately and in a collected edition. |
Warner Home Video has released all three seasons of Wonder Woman on DVD in various regions, both separately and in a collected edition. There are 59 episodes and one TV movie in total.
| DVD Name | Episode | Release Date | Details |
| The Complete 1st Season | 14 | June 29, 2004 | All 14 episodes (including the pilot) with commentary by Carter and executive producer Douglas S.Cramer, New documentary retrospective. |
| The Complete 2nd Season | 22 | March 1, 2005 | 21 episodes plus a feature-length season premiere; Bonus documentary: “Revolutionising a Classic: From Comic Book to Television.” |
| The Complete 3rd Season | 24 | June 7, 2005 | Audio commentary by Lynda Carter on “My Teenage Idol is Missing”; Featurette: “Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Feminist Icon.” The Initial Region 1 release included a bonus DVD containing the first episode of the Captain Marvel television series Shazam!, “The Joy Riders.” |
More pictures of Lynda Carter:
Lynda Carter (now), still as beautiful and charismatic as ever
Lynda Carter (left) with Blaine Trump
Sources:
- http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/origin-story-wonder-woman-180952710/?no-ist
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynda_Carter
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman
For more interesting information:
- Neerja Bhanot – A Selfless Heroine
- Mr. Sugihara- Conspiracy of Kindness- MUST WATCH!!!
- Mission Stardust
- Tina Turner the powerful Buddhist
- Bionic Woman on The Consciousness Revolution Show
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In many society, Woman always symbolize as weak, emotional, do things with emotion and can’t do much in many things. Thus, many culture view woman as inferior and only for production wise. The Woman body was always sex symbol even to today’s world in many movies and advertisements.
Wonder Woman have shown something that opposite to what the world view in woman, which woman can be strong, intelligent, wisdom and very compassionate. This show have send many positive ideas to woman to stand up and be independence, to have compassion, to forgive and to be patient.
I have watched the movie version of Wonder Woman recently. The strong message in Wonder woman is the greatest enemy is not outsider, but, ourself. Although mankind can be kind or cruel but she believe mankind able to win the war within themselves through love or compassion.
The actor -Lynda Carter, by reading her short biography. I can view that she have been successful and also a failure before, but, she could overcome her weakness and stood up until today remain beautiful because of her strength.
Thank you Beatrix for sharing this wonderful article.
She was an icon for the TV generation and I loved the series and her character. I didn’t know then but I guess Wonder Woman did help shape by perception of women and I thank the producers for all the positives the series has brought. I wish there were more of these positive icons for children growing up today.
Thanks for introducing Wonder Woman to us all. TV shows of the past would some story or value they would like to convey to the audience and public. So cool to learn about this American icon.
Thank you Jie Jie Beatrix for this post of Wonder Woman. She is beautiful and strong and kind. I love to put Superman and Wonder Woman together because they are good friends and team mates. I have scene Wonder Woman In some of the DC comics movies and she is in the Justice League team. ?
As a comical fictional character, “wonder woman” stands tall for being one of the more popular super heroes created on a Video Movie show. Wonder woman was created during world war II and was initially depicted fighting axis military forces alongside an assortment of supervillians. She was supposed to be a warrior Princess of the Amazons, based on Greek mythology and received magnificient powers as a demigoddess. To many of us as practitioners of Buddhism, our version of a true wonder-woman in all reality, would be one like Dharma Master Cheng Yen. Leaving home at 23 years old, she became a Buddhist nun and was instructed by her mentor, venerable master Yin Shun, to “work for Buddha’s Teachings for sentient Beings.” Later on, master Cheng Yen founded a Buddhist Charitable Foundation with the purpose of “devotedly helping the poor and educating the rich” to give material aid to the needy, sick and desperate ones, thus inspiring love and a spirit of Humanitarian to all sentient beings! With such a spirit of great love, respect and compassion to relieve the sufferings of sentient beings, Master Cheng Yen, our real “Wonder Woman” contributions have been increasingly recognized by a World-wide global community. In 2011, she received the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award, and was named as one of the World’s 100 most Influential people by Time Magazine. In 2014, she was presented with the Rotary International award of Honor in recognition of her Humanitarian efforts and contributions to World Peace! That is what a wonder-woman should really be like! Nevertheless, thank you very much Beatrix for the sharing of this interesting series of wonder-woman which make veiwing wonderfully entertaining and inspiring too!
Thank you Beatrix for this Wonder Woman write up! Wonder Woman is part of many’s childhood memories, including me. I watch a little of Wonder Woman along with her Superfriends. Seeing the pictures of Wonder Woman here, I found out she looks like female Buddha Vajrayogini.. 🙂 Wonder Woman is fighting for justice, peace and love, thus she is a symbol of courage, responsible and truth. 🙂
Thank you Beatrix for that write up on wonder woman . i have always admired strong or strong warrior like women because they can show besides being gentle and demure , if you mess with me , I will kick your aXX hehe (censored). Like Tara, Wonder woman shows one need not be in a man’s body to display strength and might. Come to think of it in the recent movie where Superman goes against Batman, we can see reveral of roles of the male being the main protector, fortunately Wonder Woman appeared just in time and protected them both from the common enemy or else Batman would be reduced to ashes already 🙂
I love this post on Wonder Woman. As long as I can remember, Rinpoche had been a faithful fan of Wonder woman and have the whole series that he watch over and over again. As for myself, I have watched wonder woman a little when I was younger alongside the bionic woman and man series. I must say, the series is rather nostalgic and a little kitsch as well. The comic-like opening sequence sets the mood for some good ole fashion fun and the retro sound effects that comes with every twirl, jump and use of superhuman strength does add good flavor to this series. I love it…
Thank you Beatrix for the post and the beautiful pictures!
I have always love superheroes (especially women.. hehe) as I love the justice they uphold. No matter how bad they are treated, their motivation is always to help. Keep everyone safe and trouble free.
The creator of this character is really imaginative! How nice if the lasso really does exist! It will help so much. No more lies. hehe…
Lynda Carter is a great actress but I still prefer Gal Gadot as she looks tougher and more sophisticated.
Did Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman ever team up?
Well, the Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman were seen walking down the streets of Palm Springs, California. Ok, not exactly, hehe.
In the pictures you can see Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman) and Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) in a ceremony to honour Lindsay Wagner in California. Lindsay Wagner, 62, was being honoured on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
She was joined by friend and fellow super-heroine Carter, 60, who is best known for her role as Wonder Woman in the Seventies TV show.
Aren’t they amazing, looking like that at 60+.
Two of my fav superheroines! They still look amazing!
As a fictional character, Wonder Woman stands tall for being one of the more popular one among the superheroes list that is overcrowded by male. To me, besides her good look, her background as the princess of Amazon add to the allure for being the all-time favorite female heroine. Using nylon string tied to a stick or something, I used to (as a child) imitate how she used her lasso on villains, regrettably, on my poor siblings and playmates. Growing up with a female heroine like Wonder Woman certainly empowered the feminism in me, a little.
But for me, the impart is far more powerful after learning about the hardship an actress has to go through to reach and sustain in a top role. Even at the top, a female actress earns far less than a male and definitely receives less recognition or respect. Luckily the disparity is narrowing in recent years. For this, I applaud Lynda Carter for her success in playing the role of Wonder Woman for 3 seasons at a time where female were given supporting roles at best. Glad that she is married with a loving family now, steered clear from alcoholism and is championing causes that she believes in.
Thank you Rinpoche and Beatrix for this interesting article.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
Thank you Beatrix for this article on Wonder Woman. When I was growing up, they had this show on TV and I watched some of the episodes.
What I remember most was how she really nailed the bad guys with her strength (not violence) and grace. Her lasso of truth forces anyone it captures to obey and tell the truth. This is a much better “weapon” to extract confessions and compel obedience instead of subduing by force.
It was an inspiration to have such a powerful female figure on TV, especially during the 80s where most women on screen are stereo-typically weak and dependant on men.
Those days they had teenie tiny waists. These days you need to remove several ribs to achive the same. Humankind must have evolved, lol. It was a fun read, thanks Beatrix.
At a time, when I hadn’t even heard of feminist movement, I loved watching ‘Wonder Woman”. It was all about her being able to do what she likes which was exactly what I loved. I loved fishing and climbing trees and stealing fruits from the neighborhood fruit trees, planting vegetable on the riverbanks.
Curious thing was, I was never censured by my parents for all that. In fact, my contribution to the dinner table was appreciated. So, to hear of people talking about being a feminist etc was a surprise. Guess, growing up poor in the rural area is very different from growing up in the city.
Now, does that apply to religion as well? Is this a way of saying that all that Yeshe Tsogyal and Machig Labdron and Pema Chodron and Tenzin Palmo achieved are extraordinary and not something that we should assume that we, as women can do? Is it so extraordinary to be female and be able to achieve something great?
It is interesting to read about the Wonder Woman and also the actress, Lynda Carter who successfully brought the character to life. Prior to reading this, I just had very superficial knowledge of the character per se and my exposure to her was limited to a class on the topic of feminism. The visiting professor then touched on how Wonder Woman served as depiction of positive role model for girls in the time when women were typically portrayed as helpless and in need of rescuing, or as sexy, buxom pin-ups models. A couple of interesting points which comes to mind from that discussion;
• the creator of Wonder Woman was actually a psychologist and feminist who wanted to relay the message that women are not inferior and it is possible for women to be strong and break free from the stereotype of being the weaker gender with high economic and psychological dependency on men. Pretty heavy message for comic material.
• Wonder Woman’s approach to crime fighting was revolutionary at that time where it did not focus on violence and brute force but a more “feminine” touch i.e. she typically only uses force as last resort. She would always first try to reason with them and often would be able to convince the bad guys to reform. This also ties in with one of her iconic instrument of choice i.e. her magic lasso, which forced anyone bound by it to tell the truth.
Thank you, Beatrix for this article. It brings back memories of my younger days as a kid, i am was fascinated with ” Wonder Woman” and especially Lynda Carter, as i admire her beauty, poise and confidence playing the character of “Wonder Woman”, she did a very good job. At that time, this type of television program is quite difficult for us to watch in Malaysia, as sometimes it only runs for a while in the local TV station eg. only have RTM1 & 2, and it is quite back date, not so same time premier like the current programs in cable TV (Astro).
Seeing and reading this blog, it hits me that times have passed by like a speed of light.
Thank you, Beatrix for the write up.
Reading this brought me back to my childhood as I grew up watching Wonder Woman and used to pretend to be her. The other heroin I used to role play was Bionic Woman aka Jamie Sommers. Hahaha! I just love the whole superheroine-save-the-world-from-baddies as I was never really a princessy-damsel-in-distress-Rapunzel-kind-of-girly-girl.
Back in those days, women were the fairer sex that was usually seen as weak and many were not even working outside their homes. Back then, women’s main purpose in life was to get married, procreate and become a domestic goddess. When someone like Wonder Woman came into my young life, though a TV character, it made me want to break out of the norm and become someone who is strong, independant and yet kind, capable of saving myself instead of waiting for another superhero.
Thank you for this wonderfully written and informative piece, Bea. And, yes, I still want those Wonder Woman bulletproof bracelets. 🙂
Wonder Woman was my favorite female hero for me then.
Why were we attracted to Wonder Woman then? It was because she portrayed values, qualities and heroism of who I want to be when I grow up. She was such an icon for growing female child or student then. There weren’t too many super heroes in television in the 1970s and she was THE one whom we want to be.
Qualities like courage, independence, freedom, helping others overcome their situation. Another wonderful sharing of old memories. Thank you.
Thought I have heard about Wonder Woman, I didn’t grow up watching her, so I don’t really know much about her. On a side note, I did watch Get Smart (Agent 99).
Thank you Beatrix for sharing something which Rinpoche likes. It is always a nice feeling when I read something Rinpoche likes, I feel I am more connected to my Guru.
After reading this article, I now know the reason why this character Wonder Woman is famous at that time. It is a time of the raising of gender equality, and this character has a strong message of woman can also handle all the tasks given. I didn’t know about this previously. It was (and still is) a very strong message.
Once again, thank you Beatrix for taking the time to do the research. It is very well written, concise and informative.
Thank you Beatrix for sharing this article. Generally I love super hero character since young. They give you the spirit to fight for good, for justice, to help the unfortunate one and the attitude of never give up no matter how hard or difficult you have to go through, you will succeed in the end.
Wonder Women is a great lady super hero that shows that woman can be strong and noble in their action too. Lynda Carter not only stunning in her character as wonder women but also in real person with what she has done and gone through.
I’m a Wonder Woman fan myself – thanks so much for posting
Me too Brad! I wasn’t a fan until Tsem Rinpoche introduced me to her (before my time and they weren’t showing reruns in Malaysia). I watched it in the background while doing work, but wasn’t taken in by her story until one particular episode. She’s on a ranch somewhere and there’s a group of kids misbehaving. How she addressed them and dealt with them with a lot of warmth but very firmly, is something I have not seen in modern day TV. It was then I realised there’s something special about this superhero. She’s not about using violence and she doesn’t have to rely on her body to get her way. She’s got a message which is that truth will always triumph, and you don’t have to be loud, mean and aggressive to get your point across. Such a breath of fresh air for TV!
Thank you Beatrix for your sharing on Wonder Woman. It is very interesting to know this character on tv and also about the actress, Lynda Carter.
Many people have perception that woman is less competent than man which is definitely not true, maybe physical strength to some extend. However, I think it is how a person carries him or herself, what contribution have we done for others that is important.