Technology/Transformation : Wonder Woman

  • 1978
  • Dara Birnbaum
  • Video, color, sound
  • 5.50 min

 In Technology / Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978-1979), Dara Birnbaum uses images from the 1970s television series Wonder Woman, created after the eponymous comic book character. The six-minute video is entirely dedicated to the transformations of the character of Diana Prince, going from secretary to superheroine. The special effects are intensified by the rapid repetition of sequences. The lyrics for the song Wonder Woman Disco (1978), by the Wonderland Disco Band, scroll across the screen before the video ends. In this song, the artist evokes an image of the heroine’s sexualized invulnerability, denouncing stereotypical attitudes of power and submission in representations of femininity. 

© Dara Birnbaun

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Dara Birnbaum

A pioneer of American video art, Dara Birnbaum has been working since the mid-1970s on video work that attacks stereotypes of femininity and explores the ideological and aesthetic repercussions of mass media. Appropriating the archetypal format of a television broadcast, she challenges our imagination through repetitive images, written messages, and soundtracks. 

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