Ormrod, J., 2013.

Wonder Woman in the Cold War: Testing the Limits of the Familial Body

Using the ideas of Stewart (1993) and Cohen (1998), who argue that monstrosity can be understood by a return to its archaic roots, the chapter examines the connection between the fragmented, the giant and the shrunken body to show how they pose a threat to the stability of the American family in the late fifties, early sixties. I show how Wonder Woman’s mythic roots are seminal in why monsters were represented through fairytale and myth. Shrinking and doubling connote an interior anxiety in the face of attack from exterior forces: giants and aliens. Monstrosity and unruly bodies in these stories reflect B movie science fiction films such as The Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman and The Incredible Shrinking Man. These representations also show similar cultural influences in comics narratives from the Superman family to Marvel’s monster comics and their atomic age superheroes such as The Fantastic Four.

Related Research:   Joan Ormrod