Patty Jenkins Makes Short List For Time’s 2017 Person Of The Year

Time magazine has selected their Person Of The Year for 2017, and no, it’s not Donald Trump. The honor goes to Ashley Judd, Susan Fowler, Adama Iwu, Taylor Swift, Isabel Pascual, and other women who have been silence breakers this year, shining a much needed light on how entrenched sexual harassment and assault has been in a variety of industries and contexts. It’s a bold choice, even if the short list includes, at the number two slot, Donald Trump, who has openly bragged about inappropriate behavior and sexual assault.

Nevertheless, we can put Trump out of our mind by focusing on “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins, who rounds out the short list. There’s no doubt the filmmaker has had an incredible year, helming the worldwide smash “Wonder Woman” ($821 million globally) which still remains a blazing bright spot in the otherwise dire DCEU. Jenkins revitalized a character that’s not the easiest to bring to the big screen, helped make Gal Gadot a bonafide star, and in a blockbuster realm filled with dudes, gave women a superhero they could cheer for.

Even her approach to “Wonder Woman” and the character stands apart from the rest of the genre.  In the film, Diana Prince fully comes into her persona while walking through No Man’s Land during World War I.

“So often superhero victories are obvious. There’s a bad guy. He’s going to kill people. O.K., fine,” Jenkins explained. “It was much more symbolic of ‘I say no to what you all are doing, how you all are living your life. I still love you. I’m still engaged with you. I still understand it’s complicated. But I say no to this. To shooting people from afar who you cannot see, I say no.’ ”

In a year that has been pretty rough to live through in many ways, Jenkins made things just a little bit easier.