**WARNING: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD**
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Review: This is one of the more perfect blockbusters of recent years; a shiny, loud, colorful, exciting, entertaining confection of a film. It's light and fluffy like cinematic cotton candy; it sure is fun to eat, but doesn't have a lot of calories. That's okay though; not all movies have to be heavy dramatic works. All the actors are clearly enjoying themselves (and aren't bad to look at either!); writer/director Joss Whedon keeps things moving along at a tremendous clip; and my inner geek had lots of fun watching so many different superheroes battle bad guys (AND each other) while cracking wise. I can't wait to see it again!
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? NO. There are three female characters with fairly susbstantial roles. There's Tony Stark's right-hand-gal Pepper Potts; S.H.I.E.L.D's Agent Hill (who ultimately doesn't do much but stand around and look concerned); and last but not least, Black Widow/Natasha Romanov (aka "the girl Avenger"). Romanov actually gets a fairly meaty storyline for a movie this crowded with characters; she's a fine addition to the long line of strong Whedon-written female characters. Unfortunately, Black Widow doesn't share much (any!) screen time with the other female characters. In other words, no female characters talk to each other throughout the whole film! Too much other "action" going on. In all honesty, I was too busy ogling Thor & Captain America to be disappointed in the lack of female conversation. But I digress!
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Review: I already wrote a lengthy review of The Hunger Games a few months ago. So, to sum up: it's not a great movie, but it is a really good, enjoyable one, with a great cast.
But, Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES! A movie with a female main character often has an easier time passing the Test...and The Hunger Games has female characters aplenty. Besides main character Katniss, there's Katniss' sister Primrose, their mother (who admittedly isn't named in the film), District One Games official Effie Trinket, Hunger Games co-contestant Rue, and several other named female Games contestants. And guess what? They talk to each other! This film manages to pass the Bechdel Test in the very first scene, where Katniss, Primrose, and her mother are having a conversation. It's a discussion about obtaining food...in this story, survival is a bit more important than boyfriends! Katniss has many other conversations throughout the film with female characters, and only with Rue does the subject of a boy come up (they briefly discuss fellow contestant Peeta).
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Review: A very odd-duck kind of movie, one that is definitely not for every taste. Visually, it's one of the most clever and groundbreaking films I've ever seen. Scott Pilgrim is a slightly bent boy-meets-girl story, filtered through a Red Bull-infused, video game addict's perception. Video game imagery is used as a visual metaphor to illustrate how young people interrelate, the challenges they must overcome, and the difficulties of growing up and confronting their mistake-filled pasts. Unfortunately, all these insanely neat ideas are in service of a bunch of unlikable characters. Scott, the members of his band, his roommates, his various girlfriends, and the "evil exes" he battles are almost uniformly self-absorbed, rude, arrogant, and vacuous. It's ultimately too much for the film to ask me to root for these people, most of whom I would avoid at all costs in real life! Too bad, because it greatly lessens the chance I'll ever watch it again. As a visual experiment, though, it was brilliant.
But, Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES (barely)! There are a whole heap of named female characters in Scott Pilgrim: Knives Chau, Ramona Flowers, Kim Pine, Stacey Pilgrim, Envy Adams, and more. And since they all run in the same social circles, they talk to each other quite a bit. However, most of these girls either: A. Are related to Scott; B. Used to date Scott; or C. Are currently dating Scott. As a result, (and because this is Scott's movie after all...his name's in the title for cryin' out loud!), the girls talk of little else but Scott and his merits/failings. Still, a few snippets of conversation manage to turn to other things. Sometimes they'll talk about each other's bands; at one point, Knives tells Envy she reads Envy's blog. So, despite being a very relationship-centric film, Scott Pilgrim does manage to pass the Bechdel Test (though maybe not with flying colors).
Review: This is a somewhat older film (from 1989), and I remember watching it a lot as a kid and really enjoying it. So, thanks to the magic of Netflix, I was able to watch it again as an adult. It's a little corny and emotionally manipulative, but overall still very watchable, with a lovable cast of characters. It's the story of one extended family (the Buckmans), and their struggles to cope with kids, school, jobs, marriage, divorce, teenage rebellion, pregnancy, and more. Each character's plot intertwines with everyone else's; it's a slightly messy, complicated (but still funny) portrait of a family, and how family members can both drive each other crazy and support each other through good times and bad. It was interesting watching this movie again after so many years; since becoming a wife and mother myself, my perspective has changed quite a bit, and certain aspects of the film resonated with me much more than before. If you like family dramedies, this one is worth a watch! (By the way: there's a TV show currently on NBC--also named Parenthood--that is modeled heavily on this movie, and it's been well received by critics)
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES! The women of the extended Buckman clan (Karen, Susan, Marilyn, Helen and her teenage daughter Julie) have plenty of opportunity to talk to each other at various family gatherings throughout the film. Men are a frequent topic of conversation (much is said about all the women's husbands, ex-husbands or boyfriends). However, children are also popular topic; a few major conversations deal specifically with Helen's son Gary (he's a young teenager; does that count as a conversation about a man? I honestly don't know). The surest "pass" indicator for Parenthood, though, is a brief conversation between Karen and Helen, in which Karen reveals she's not that interested in going back to work because she's enjoying being a stay-at-home mom so much. Kind of ironic that a movie passes the feminist-inspired Bechdel Test on such a "non-feminist" note, but there you have it! However, in a movie that is so heavy on the domestic drama, this shouldn't really be a surprise.
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The Dark Knight Rises
Review: I am a long-time Batfan, and I really enjoyed Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. So it's safe to say I was excited about seeing this, the newest (and last) Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie. However, I guessed Nolan wouldn't be able to top The Dark Knight for sheer drama and intensity, so I went in with lowered expectations. This turned out to be a wise move (unlike poor Nathan, who was so excited to see it that he was a bit let down afterwards). The Dark Knight Rises is still a good movie, but it's the most problematic of the three recent Bat-films. It's a little too long, the villains and their plot are very over-the-top (almost cartoonish), and many of the plot beats don't make a lot of sense. Plus, Batman himself doesn't appear for large stretches of the film, so if you're watching the movie just to see Batman kicking butt, you may be disappointed. However, there is still much to recommend it: Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) ends up being a scene-stealer, the action scenes are genuinely thrilling, and Bruce Wayne's personal journey is really compelling. It's fair to call this the Return of the Jedi of Nolan's Batman trilogy: it's probably the "least good" of the three films, but it doesn't seriously embarrass itself either. Plus, it ties up the entire trilogy very neatly and leaves the audience satisfied with the outcome.
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? QUESTIONABLE. As is often the case in Christopher Nolan's films, there are few female characters. The two most important are Selina Kyle and business magnate Miranda Tate; these two never speak to each other throughout the film.There is one other significant female character: Selina's blond roommate/friend, who helps her out with a few of her schemes early in the film. They have two (very short) conversations, which deal mostly with the cons they're pulling. Later in the film, they (very briefly) discuss the fall of Gotham's wealthy in an abandoned mansion. Technically, these conversations aren't about men (or at least a specific man). However, Selina's roommate is never named in the course of the film (I've seen it twice now, and didn't hear a name either time), so I'm going to "fail" the movie on that technicality.
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Review: My girls, unsurprisingly, were very excited to see this movie--and so was I! I have loved just about every movie Pixar's made (Cars movies notwithstanding). I had heard some mixed reviews coming in, with many dismissing Brave as a "Disney Princess movie." Many other online reactions were along the lines of, "It was an okay movie...but it wasn't for me." My inner feminist bristled at these remarks. Well, duh! I wanted to say to these (probably male) people. Every other movie Pixar's produced has had a mostly male cast and has male main characters. So now Pixar's finally made a story about women (with a women director, no less), and you whine because it isn't like every other movie they've made? Grr...who says a movie can't be good and be told from a female perspective???!?! However, I swallowed these complaints and decided to try out an impartial viewing.
I have to confess...this isn't Pixar's best work. While the animation quality is top-notch (as always), Brave is missing that extra "something" that would make it a truly great film. The dialogue is fairly run-of-the-mill (and often borders on cliche mother/daughter stereotype); there are several dangling plot threads at the end of the movie; and the supporting cast, while colorful, is criminally underused. Plus, the main plot (Merida's accidentally "cursing" her mother, and her struggle to put things right) takes a little too long to kick into gear. In spite of all that, though, I still enjoyed Brave quite a bit (let's face it, even a "bad" Pixar movie is better than most other movies!). Merida is a sweet, tough, courageous young girl (so of course, my girls love her!). Plus, her evolving relationship with her mother is the emotional core of the movie, and it works very well. Despite not being a "typically perfect" Pixar movie, I still enjoyed Brave. I also liked that Pixar was trying out something different. While the studio has created its share of strong female characters in the past (Jesse from the Toy Story films; Mrs. Incredible; Dory; etc.), they've always had to play second fiddle to the male characters of those films. I am happy that this is a movie about a girl's personal journey, and about how her journey affects other women around her. It's a story that isn't told often enough...and I think it's good for my girls to see a "Disney Princess" that doesn't need rescuing or saving...she can save herself!
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES! This should probably come as no surprise, since Merida and her mother Elinor are the two main characters (the Witch has many lines but isn't named, and kitchen maid Maudie has a minimum of lines; most of the other characters are all men). Merida and Elinor do talk about Merida's arranged marriage (this could probably count as talking about a "man"), but they talk about many other things as well: etiquette; history; manners; love; survival; danger; etc. Merida and The Witch also talk a great deal about Elinor and Merida's life. So Brave passes the Test with flying colors!
Now, here are a few more quick reviews of movies I saw this summer for the first time (with one exception). Most of these (unsurprisingly) I saw with the kids. Hence all the cartoons, and hence my not caring enough to write a longer review.
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Review: This movie was release in 2006, eight years after 1998's Antz and A Bug's Life. Still, the comparisons are hard to avoid...another CGI movie about ants?? This one at least takes a slightly different approach; the ants use magic(!!) to shrink a boy down to their size, and he must learn to live as one of them and work as part of a team. It's decent fare for a family movie night (which is how our family saw it), but I'm not compelled to seek it out again.
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? QUESTIONABLE. There are several human (and ant) female characters in the film, but none of them talk much to each other. And when they do, it usually involves the question, "Where's Lucas (the title character)?" There may be a few snippets of non-Lucas-centric conversation between these characters, but I'm hard-pressed to remember them.
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Review: I was surprised how much I enjoyed this movie! I was fearing another Shrek-type movie, with fart jokes and quickly-outdated pop-culture references. Puss's first solo film, however, plays it a lot more traditional, and the result is a pleasing hybrid of fairy tale and spaghetti Western. The action is fun; Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots is always hilarious; and Humpty Dumpty, of all people, provides a surprisingly complex emotional arc to the film. Who knew?
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? NO. Besides Kitty Soft-Paws (Puss's love interest), there is also Jill, the female half of a robber duo that includes her husband Jack (get it?), and Imelda, the head of an orphanage. However, none of these three named female characters ever speak to each other. So, fail.
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Review: Getting to the bottom of the barrel here. I guess if you like to see a bunch of rude, annoying chipmunks ruin their manager's life (and then get stranded on a jungle island where they proceed to be rude and annoying some more), then this is the movie for you. And if you like to hear hit pop songs re-recorded with annoying high-pitched voices, then this is definitely the movie for you. There are one or two moments that were okay, but I won't miss this film much.
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES! Despite the fact that this movie bugged me, it does pass the Test with relative ease. There are three Chipettes (Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor), as well as a human castaway on the island named Zoe. They all talk to one another at some point. While some of the dialogue revolves around the "male" Chipmunks, clothes and sweet dance moves also come up. In one particularly serious (for this film) conversation, Zoe asks Jeanette for some help in retrieving some treasure hidden on the island.
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Review: Ugh, this movie. I enjoyed the Smurfs cartoon when I was a kid, but all the charm is gone. The Smurfs themselves aren't all that interesting, their antics get tiresome (and are never funny), and the whole movie goes on way too long. Plus, Gargamel. Oy. Hank Azaria needs to stick to voice acting, because every time he's physically on screen, I want to punch his awful, overacting face. As Gargamel, he's cartoony, awkward, and generally awful. Other, better actors (particularly Neil Patrick Harris! Why, Neil? Why did you need to participate in this???) also go to waste. So sad that people are so blinded by nostalgia that a sequel to this non-deserving film is forthcoming.
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES! Ironic, really...since Smurfette has often been the ONLY female character in Smurf stories! However, Smurfette does have another girl to talk to this time around. Her name is Grace Winslow; she's the pregnant wife of Harris' character, who takes the Smurfs in and helps them out as they try to return to their own dimension (or something). Grace and Smurfette have a few conversations about "girl stuff" throughout the film, like clothes, flowers, etc. At one point, they both talk about the value in having a female friend to confide in. Nice sentiment...too bad it's stuck in the middle of a lousy movie.
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Review: Susan Murphy gets hit by mysterious alien energy force on her wedding day, then grows 50 feet high. Susan becomes part of secret government lab that houses monsters. Alien conqueror plans invasion of earth. Monsters (including Susan, aka Ginormica) head out to stop aliens. Modest hilarity ensues. It's a pretty straightforward plot, and a pretty straightforward movie. It was mildly amusing the first time I saw it, and it hasn't really improved from there. The characters & plot are all very lazy; this movie could have been pretty awesome, but it's not trying very hard--it always goes for the cheap laughs.
But Does It Pass The Bechdel Test? YES! (barely) Here's an example of a movie with a female main character that has trouble passing the Test. As a character, Susan is actually a pretty good one. She's tough and brave, yet pretty feminine too. She gains lots of self-respect and confidence as the movie goes on. The problem is there aren't many female characters in the film at all. Susan's girlfriends, her mother, and her future mother-in-law all talk with Susan at the beginning of the film, but it's all about the wedding (and, by extension, her fiance Derek). Afterwards, Susan's paired off with the all-male military/monsters/aliens cast through most of the rest of the movie. However, towards the end, Susan's mom tells Susan how proud she is of all her daughter's accomplishments. It's a nice moment...and enough for the film to pass! But it wasn't much.
Okay, faithful readers...that's it for now. I might try this exercise again with other films down the road, or as a one-shot analysis of a single film/TV show I want to write about in more detail. In the meantime, let me know how your favorite films fare when the Bechdel Test is applied!
Have you heard about te smurfette principle? Very basically it's a term that means the movie has a "token girl" character who is made to be "palatable" to men. (the sexy sidekick for example) google it, it's interesting :)
ReplyDeleteMarissa
I have heard about the Smurfette Principle before (thanks, TVTropes.org!!). In my mind, that principle is one of the symptoms the Bechdel Test is designed to expose and (hopefully) prevent. It's a really interesting microcosm of what's wrong with women's depiction in the media.
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