The Christmas Spirit of WW84

What if I told you that Wonder Woman 1984 is a Christmas film? One may be thinking, 'yeah...sure.' Whereas others are thinking, 'that sounds like a stretch.' Yes, the ending has Diana in the snow with Christmas decorations up. Dare I say this is no stretch if you think about the meaning of the film and Christmas.

As children, we conjure these huge Christmas wish lists for our parents. I dare say we may even continue it into adulthood. The idea of passing up gifts is almost unnatural. Every year, we remind ourselves and others that Christmas is not about receiving but giving. From the beginning of Wonder Woman 1984, everyone is looking for number one - themselves. We see this in the film as people wish for selfish and material things. Our first wish in the movie is for a coffee. One man receives a Porsche, and another, cows. The President of The United States retorts to Maxwell Lord, "What is there to wish for but more?" In a separate conversation with someone else, Lord comments, "The answer is always more."

Sadly, Christmas has become a holiday of excess - more presents, more decorations, more lights, more sales, simply more! We forget that more does not always equate to better. The size of a Christmas tree never made or broke anyone's holiday. Even families of lesser means find a way to enjoy the holidays. People sometimes turn the season into a competition of who can get the best sales, who has the best light display, or who has the tallest tree. This time of year is about taking solace in what you have and who you have it with to share.

Both Diana and Max learn this by the end of the film. With all the power he has taken, as the world goes to hell, where is his son? Alistair Maxwell does not suffer from hubris. He tells his father that he does not need him to make him proud, for he already loves him. Diana accepts that Steve is gone and that the world is a beautiful place bustling with many wonderful people in it.

On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ! God's only begotten son, birthed from the Virgin Mary. What is interesting is that Wonder Woman's story is of similar origin. She states in the first film, "I had no father. My mother sculpted me from clay, and I was brought to life by Zeus." In this context, her mother, Hippolyta, replaces the Virgin Mary, and Zeus sits in for God. Not every origin includes Zeus, but each one has Diana hailing from an emmuculate birth. Unfortunately, the films decided to use the source of 2011, were Diana is the legitimate child of Zeus and Hippolyta. Nonetheless, many fans still go by her immaculate origin from the 1940s. In this context, it can still work.

Remember, Christ was born to redeem humanity of their sin. His birth also serves the puprose of providing a mediator between humanity and God. We can clearly see this with Diana at the end of the film. Her lasso of truth is known for compelling people to be honest. However, as she notes to Steve Trevor, it can also reveal the truth to people. With her lasso of truth, she shows the truth to all the people falling for Maxwell Lord's deception. As millions of people around the world renounce their selfish wish, she is able to redeem humanity. By showing the beauty in the truth to Maxwell Lord, she even redeems him! Diana sacrifices her own happiness in the revival of Steve Trevor, for the sin of the world!

Through the powers of Maxwell Lord and the self-destruction man has played into with his deception, we see the world on the brink of nuclear war. Yet, Christmas, the time for peace on earth and goodwill towards man, Diana steers us from this apocalypse. We see this as the end of the film, with people enjoying life and the beauty of the world. No one is indulging in opening up expensive gifts around lavish Christmas trees. We see people outside enjoying the snow, children frolicking, and Diana engaging with a man, paying him a nice compliment. It was Kate McCallister in Home Alone who declared Christmas as the 'season of perpetual hope,' and Wonder Woman delivers this in spades!