For a few weeks now, I’ve been reading analysis of Wonder Woman’s promotion. Industry analysts have been saying – and I believe it – that Wonder Woman’s early/advance promotion has been very lacking, especially for a film that could so easily be marketed to younger girls and their moms (as we saw with Beauty and the Beast). Part of the problem, in my analysis, is that Gal Gadot is not really a good gossip figure. She’s smart, well-adjusted, non-American and not a famewhore in the least. She seems like a nice person and that means that her interviews and statements don’t always make news. Plus, she just gave birth to her second child in March and I think it’s taken her until now to feel ready to promote the film. Anyway, Gal covers the latest issue of Marie Claire and this is another uncontroversial piece. The most scandalous thing she says is that people in LA talk in riddles and she, as an Israeli, isn’t used to it.
On being a confident woman: “My mom raised my sister and me to be confident women with aspirations. And I always felt capable. I’m not saying that I’m stronger than most men…but we all have the same brains and we can achieve the same things.”
On life in Los Angeles vs. Israel: “When I first came to Los Angeles, I couldn’t read people. In Israel, people have chutzpah. People take issue with it, but I’d rather have that than play games. I prefer to know the truth, not waste time.”
On dealing with adversity: “I don’t enjoy conflict in my life. Unlike Wonder Woman, I’m not a fighter [but] I will fight for good.”
On her hope for equal rights for women: “There’s a long way to go until we can make gender a nonissue. I don’t know if it’ll ever happen. I’m hoping it will because life would be so much cooler and less complicated then. Also, for men, by the way.”
I always think of Americans as pretty open, as in we’ll tell you what we think even if it’s racist, stupid or sexist. The percentage of people who proudly proclaim their asinine opinions in America probably is a lot higher than in other countries, or at least that’s how it seems to me. But LA might be a special case, a city where everyone lies and obfuscates and talks sh-t behind your back.
Photos courtesy of Tesh/Marie Claire.
i crazy lover her and i want this movie to do well.
Anywhere in the world people are more open to talk the most ridiculous things.
“My mom raised my sister and me to be confident women with aspirations. And I always felt capable. I’m not saying that I’m stronger than most men…but we all have the same brains and we can achieve the same things.”
Try imagining a man saying these things. I swear, between Tatum and her, it’s the land of the feeble woman being told she is “capable”. Like with the dove curve-embracing bloody bottle, if you are told you are capable, it’s incapacity that is being implied. So sick of this sh*t.
Bad mood today, sorry.
i don’t get it. around the world tons are women are taught their aspirations don’t matter all that much, and that they shouldn’t be too confident because that makes men feel emasculated. i don’t think it implies incapacity, just that everyone deserved the confidence of the mediocre white man.
I know, I know. At the end of the day, it is a positive message but feels like a compromise.
Let me try to explain.
I have kids myself, boys and a girl. I just sometimes get tired of having to pull her confidence up, help her forget about body issues and patricarchy and, conversely, observing the tacit support that my boys have from society. Therefore, I don’t tell her that she is as capable like a man is. I don’t compare. Comparison feels like a week perspective. My boys never felt the need to compare themselves to women and have to remind themselves that compared to them, they have brains too. That’s what I meant.
Anyhoo, boys have problems too: perhaps because they are not as vocal my kids have a lot of male friends with anxiety and depression.
So… Life is hard and I’m in a bad mood.
I understand what you mean. Imagine the reverse, “my mom raised my brother and me to be confident men with aspirations. And I always felt capable. I’m not saying that I’m stronger than most women…but we all have the same brains and we can achieve the same things.”
Gee thanks, reading it made it even more palpable for me!
Warner Bros has actually spent more money promoting Wonder Woman than Suicide Squad at the same points in their release schedule. People feel like it’s less because its social media activity isn’t anywhere near it…which for Suicide Squad (and Deadpool which isn’t WB but Fox) is how it got marketed so well. Anyways as someone who has already seen Wonder Woman…it’s better than both Suicide Squad and BvS. It’s still a mess but I think based off of the last few films from DC, it’s going to get much better reviews because the bar is so low. Also based on the numbers, I fully expect it to open over $100 million which for a stand alone super hero movie…is awesome!
I think she means the culture of fake niceness thats so common in the USA and England. Israelis and Germans (ironically, eh?) are a lot more blunt. This is even worse in Hollywood where everyone is afraid to say “No”, where fragile egos have to be pampered etc.
Nah. Americans are usually pegged as “friendly yet direct.” I think she literally means that L.A. is a culture of backstabbing high school kids that behave like they’re in a Lindsay Lohan movie.
It’s not fake niceness in England (Britain). You just have to know the code. https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/what-british-people-say-versus-what-they-mean?utm_term=.dj0q6Z47w#.fuPdn8LEV
That link is spot on! 😉
We definitely aren’t being fake nice, most of what we say is dripping in sarcasm and unspoken meaning that we all understand.
From personal experience that’s how I took it as well. But can I ask why it’s ironic?
I feel like I’ve heard several Israeli people say things like this, not just about LA. I think there are big cultural differences in the way we conversate. Using please and thank you is an example. To them (generalizing based on friends and a Quora thread on this), it’s a waste of time and even disingenuous because they see it simply as a way to engage to someone and end a conversation. They’d say something more like “Hey, I want…” Pretty fascinating and I see the point, but always try to explain that I’m mostly being genuine using niceties in conversation. I think she just means people speak indirectly and use extra niceties to achieve their means.
yeah. it’s really interesting. I’m German, went to school in the US and did training courses in England. In both of those countries there’s so much more emphasis on small talk. That already starts with the casual “Hello, how are you doing and so on and so on”. In Germany you just go up to a person like “Hey, I just wanted to ask….”. When I did that in the US or UK people thought I didn’t like them and I was considered almost rude.
Here you’re fine (and polite) as long as you say Hello, Please, Thank You and You’re Welcome, everything else is cut short
Meh. There’s something odd about her. About how she’s presented/presenting. Bits of her personality mixed with how she’s suppose to act in interviews and in person, but there’s a disconnect in there. Loads of actors can balance. Gal? It all feels disingenuous. Like looking at a face with botox. It’s all there, but not.
Agreed
In a way, she reminds me a bit of Henry Cavill – she seems very polite, but there’s something missing. She also went from no body to the face of a franchise overnight, and that would be a head trip. Plus, aren’t there rumors that the WB isn’t as good as Marvel at shepherding their talent’s PR?
Agreed. I also get the feeling that she’s contrived. I saw her at comic con and she was throwing the words “girl power” left and right, but there wasn’t any substance behind those words. It’s like she’s repeating some talking points because she’s in a WM movie. At one point in comic con she was trying to fist pump Amy Adams while saying, again, “girl power”. Amy Adams was cringing so hard.
It’s funny to read her comment about LA (says the person who lives in LA and gets sick of actors equating a small portion of Hollywood with the entire city).
I have two friends (who both grew up in LA) who moved to Israel for a while. They both came back after a couple of years hating Israel. What Gal labeled as chutzpah they both labeled as rude (and neither of them is soft spoken), and they were both fairly liberal Jews and had trouble reconciling their faith with the treatment of Palestinians.
100%
And avoiding these truths is probably why @FLORC, above, feels there is something ‘off’ about her.
I wanted to say this, but was afraid of how it would be taken. It’s easy to feel empowered when you are in power, at the expense of other people.
I wouldn’t have said anything but for the stories of my friends. It’s an insanely controversial topic, but it always fascinated me that both of them were so very pro-Israel and came back conflicted. They still believe in the right of Israel to exist, but the one guy lost family to concentration camps and grew up being taught to love everyone and combat hatred. He couldn’t reconcile his upbringing – his parents marched for civil rights in the ’60s and taught him that Judaism promotes tolerance – with what he saw in Israel and the second-class treatment of Palestinians.
I’m disappointed I’ve since lost touch with both of them, as they always provided interesting insights into that region.
As someone who lives in israel I must agree. Some people here pride themselves with their “chutzpah”. As if being rude is a good quality.
One of the reasons I have a hard time supporting Gal is because of her past comments about Palestinians. Might skip it actually.
Unrelated to my comment above but you have to wonder if Warner Bros. is belatedly realizing all of their leads (Gal and Chris) in Wonder Woman avoid social media. Usually you have at least one or two actors promoting on social media, but I haven’t seen that here. That’s usually a great form of relatively cheap PR for a film, and Warner Bros. is instead mounting a more traditional promotional campaign.
There’s are huge differences between interpersonal behavior in Israel and the US. I was born and raised here and have spent a fair amount of time there. Israelis are blunt in a way that’s almost universally construed as rude by Americans. I don’t think it’s rude. Overall, there’s real clarity. This is sort of a generalization but … They have no problem letting you know what they think and why they think it. They also have no problem getting into an argument and standing their ground, but they won’t let it fester and it’s unlikely to come up again once done. While I often get irritated, I also find it refreshing. Also, it’s got to be the only culture where people won’t let you know when they’re not feeling well, but will read you the riot act for not coming to have a meal with them when you’re in town.
Ha. Haven’t read all the comments, but love what Ell said “the mediocre white man”! Made me laugh to myself. I’ve been trying to put my finger on it. Many white men are elevated so easily because of society, whIle women, people of color, women of color (!) have to try to climb up in societies eyes and on it’s terms. We women definitely deserve better. Been fighting the at home for equality. Feel like I’ll never win, but love my husband anyway. Le sigh.
As an Israeli I take umbrage at the assumption that we’re rude. Yes,we’re direct and say what we mean,and yes, it’s a cultural thing. Sometimes I find it very annoying when people meddle in my business too much, every one here has an opinion and are not afraid to tell you but on the other hand you always know where you stand, there’s no bs, in times of need people rally around and help,it’s like a big family, for better or worse. There’s a feeling of warmth and community. We’re a culture of big Friday night dinners and many family gatherings. It’s a tribal mentality and it’s rooted in the Jewish history. I understand Gal completely, have met her in the park where we go with our kids, we don’t treat celebrities differently here and they have no such expectations, so to read that she’s considered condescending is funny to me. I think it’s wonderful that she broke into the international market and wish her much success.