nichelledouglass

[nichelledouglass]

The Bechdel Test can be a pretty good indicator, but it has many flaws. Many movies with strong female leads may not even have 2 female characters in it, or may not have many characters at all. For example, Gravity was all about one women journeying through space, the story of her recovered strength, and her impossible feats and bravery. But it doesn't pass the Bechdel test. Also, two women can talk about a man in many aspects besides romance and relatinoships, such as competition in a career. I interviewed a feminist film critic and she thinks the Bechdel test has a very limited scope in its analysis, and prevents a broader look at the bigger picture, which can be very feminist even if it doesn't have that one specific moment the test looks for.

The Bechdel Test is a way to test movies to see if two female characters talk about something other than a man. The specific requirement for a move to pass this test is that it must:

1. Have at least 2 named women in it

2. Who talk to each other

3. About something other than a man

The amount of movies that do not pass this simple test is disappointing. But the amount of movies that pass the Bechdel test surprisingly seems to be increasing! The left portion of this website shows a list of recent movies and whether or not they pass the test!

[nichelledouglass]

Earlier in the year, Shailene Woodley unintentionally became a part of the anti-feminist movement discussion due to her comments about feminism, or at least

Probably after hearing all the backlash from her initial views, she tried to change what she said, but she still doesn't seem to know what feminism is. She believes it's "giving women all the power" and that feminism aims for a world completely run by women and only women. She's using all these other words like "sisterhood" because she thinks it has a better meaning than feminism, yet she doesn't even know the true definition. Also, from watching her interviews, I think Shailene likes to maintain a very free-spirited, organic image, and she likes to act like she's anti-mainstream (despite Divergent). This may affect what she says, and young girls will start believing that feminism is a nasty word because of an uninformed, but very famous, actress.

[nichelledouglass]

Ellen touches on a lot of points that were made in the video on gendered marketing that we watched in class, such as the higher cost of 'pink', but also makes jokes that women need special pens because they can't read of write. She also jokes about the pay gap and the products made to improve men's lives vs women's lives. 

[nichelledouglass]

I also agreed with Amy at first, but after we talked in class about how feminism is about giving women the right to make their own choices, I wasn't sure who was right. If Bernadette wanted to sexualize her own body for a magazine, she should have that right. Later on in the episode, Amy called the magazine and complained, and the magazine then canceled the photoshoot. While many people would agree with Amy, by getting involved she was making the decision for Bernadette, and taking away Berndatte's control of her own body. But I agree that the "sexy male scientist" situation would also never happen, and it's a very good point.

Amy and Bernadette have a conversation about Bernadette agreeing to do a Sexiest Women Scientist article for publicity. I agree with Amy that female scientist should be celebrated for their achievements and not for physically appearance. It is also interesting to note how Amy said that no one would consider doing the same type of article for male scientists which is absolutely true. 

-judith