#Native Female Bechdel Test FAILED

[ladyaj-13]

The Eagle

I watched 'The Eagle' last night, and I enjoyed it - it kept me interested all the way through, which is not a given with a film these days (attention span, where did you go???).

It was gorier than I expected which felt more realistic, and Jamie Bell is always a good shout (what has he done more recently? I need to look him up), but I had three main issues. Minor spoilers ahead.

One, the clear late demonising of the native tribe in order to position the leads together against an uncomplicatedly evil enemy (after setting up quite well, I thought the tensions between different sides of a war in relation to Esca and Marcus). It felt out of touch.

Two, the fact that so much was lost in the pursuit of a bloody statue. I'm sure this is my modern thinking, but I struggled to get on board with that. People died. Quite a lot of people. Over a fake bird.

And three, I don't think a single woman uttered a single line in the whole film. (Or if they did, I blinked and missed it.) This film didn't even get far enough to begin measuring for the Bechdel test. And after a bit of Googling apparently there was a female character in the book, who they decided to cut, so... not great, guys.

I did enjoy it though. I find it entertaining to pull out the failings (what does that say about me?!) but I would say people should give it a watch if it sounds like their kind of thing!

[pass-the-bechdel]

Stargate SG1 s05e18 ‘The Warrior’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

No.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

One (10% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Episode Quality:

Doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Tried so hard, got so far...

Female characters:

Samantha Carter.

Male characters:

Imhotep.

Bra’tac.

Jack O’Neill.

George Hammond.

Teal’c.

Daniel Jackson.

Rak’nor.

Tara’c.

Yu.

OTHER NOTES:

Check this dumb dude with his chainmail overalls:

“...Backatcha.”

‘K’tano’ questions Carter’s abilities as a warrior, on account of her being female. This is preditcable, really; Teal’c being the one who immediately and unequivocally voices support for Carter’s prowess, I do appreciate.

This episode plays out a bit too simplistic in its concepts and quick and convenient in its action, but I’ll give them this: the actor playing K’tano/Imhotep (Rick Worthy, for those of you playing at home) is commanding as heck.

Seriously though: the IDEA of this episode is a goldmine; it’s just too bad about the execution.

Ok, so this episode is the first of four credited to Christopher Judge (Teal’c himself), and the only one credited as ‘story by’ instead of ‘written by’, and man, the difference is stark. Not to get too ahead of myself, but Judge’s later episodes which he wrote himself include my personal favourite episode of the entire series (in season six), and two partner episodes in seasons seven and eight which sink their teeth into gender politics in Jaffa society (something which I feel Judge wanted to start the conversation on right here in this episode, based on that little moment re: Carter). The man gets his character, but even more than that, he gets the concept of speculative fiction; using the versatility of the scifi medium to analyse complex real-world themes. Where the exclusively white-male Powers That Be running this show are failing to utilise that versatility, Judge’s narrative ideas are fantastically engaged, and you can see so much of that in this episode: it’s couched in a powerful concept of faith and betrayal based around the eagerness of the oppressed, and how easily ‘freedom’ can be manipulated into a different kind of prison by an opportunistic oppressor. It’s not hard to see how Judge (as a black/Native American man) draws parallels to the struggles of his own people and ancestors whose fight for freedom and equality is continually co-opted by white government trying to ensure that whatever gains are made, it ultimately still gets to maintain control. The conceptual arc of the episode is strong, and honestly, maybe a bit too ‘real’ and serious for the usual tone of this show, but in a very good way; the bad news is that the story idea Chris Judge offered up has then been developed for tv by that white as white as white as white production team who have no apparent understanding of how preserving the intent of the episode is essential to its watchability, paring it down to whichever aspects they can squeeze the most action from without much regard for the pace or tone being created, and it’s a whiplashy result as we bounce from creatively intelligent structural storytelling to amateurish action shorthand. If the sacrifice of this episode’s finer points was the price that had to be paid to convince Chris Judge to write his next idea himself and thus produce my favourite episode of the show, the I guess I can’t be too mad, but. I’m still a little mad anyway. This had everything it needed to be a really great hour of television, and sometimes it nearly gets there despite the hurdles. It’s kinda ironic that way.

[educatingtheotherkin]

Apparently there's a variant of the Bechdel tests for Native and Aboriginal women, and apparently a movie can fail just because the female character has a love interest who is a white male. It doesn't even say that he has to be treated like the hero or something. Even if he's respectful of her culture and they treat each other like equals, and their relationship isn't the main focus, apparently a movie will fail that test just because he's white.

What??? I don’t... people complain about the weirdest things, Anon

[yersina]

soooo i just watched kong: skull island with my family today. which was. interesting. I honestly didn’t hate it that much (I haven’t read anything about it and haven’t experienced like any other opinions or media related to the movie other than the trailers, so idk if any of this opinion is shared by other people). uhhh, my assessment at the end of the movie: it was satisfying, but expected. there were several times in the movie where i literally said out loud what i thought was going to happen next, and I was right, so... i dunno what that says about the movie.

Another bone that I have to pick with it: it doesn’t pass the bechdel test, which is stupid as hell, cause there are two female “main” characters (one main and one side, i guess i should say) and they’re in the same flipping group!!!!!! and they never talk to each other on camera!!!! even once!!!! wtf?? I was literally waiting the entire movie for them to even acknowledge each other and it didn’t happen. it’s bizarre. cause, like, i’d understand it if they were split up between the two groups and then never got a chance to talk, but they spent time together in a confined space??? and like. never communicated. why.

lol another thing. movies have been getting better about this recently, but it annoys me to no end when the movies try to force a romance into a movie. it’s something that i complain about a lot, since i feel like i’m experiencing the relationship develop in... probably about like an hour or so? which is waaaaaaaaaay too rushed by any account. idk, some people like that (or don’t notice it as keenly as i do), i’m one of the ones who don’t. it wasn’t super obvious in the movie, which i appreciate, but it still felt a bit like both of the women were paired off? esp with the failing of the bechdel test, i just feel a bit iffy about that.

overall though, i liked the message that they were trying to convey with the movie. they sort of explained the thinking of both sides (packard wanting to avenge his men and corden? whatever his name was. mal... something too. lol i just watched the movie and i’ve already forgotten their names that’s not good.but yeah they just wanted to get the fuck off the island and leave the delicate balance the way it is, which is nice) so that way it didn’t feel like one side was specifically more justified than the other. well. at least for the beginning. the way that they reacted to the situation felt real, or at least as real as getting trapped on a supernatural island can get. 

Oh! that reminds me: another thing that really bothered me while i was watching it: the fact that the native people let the guy into their community so easily. like, i get that he’s been there for almost three frigging decades, but like. it also felt to me like he was in a position of power, which definitely irked me. it didn’t feel as weird once they left, but while he was interacting with them, it was just. weird. 

but again, the movie itself isn’t horrible, it just got a few flaws. another 3.5/5, i’d say. if they got rid of the whole weird no-girls-interacting thing they’ve got going on, it’d be closer to a 4/5. 

[avaantares]

Kong: Skull Island (spoiler-free review)

It got a bit long, so I’m putting the detailed review after a jump to spare your dash.

TL;DR: It was better than I expected. Not an absolute must-watch, but the cast is good and it was enjoyable. Stay for the after-credits scene.

Overall: While not mind-blowing or deeply intellectual, this was a perfectly watchable monster movie that is less about explosions and more about humanity than you’d expect from the trailer. It definitely missed some opportunities (a native culture is treated as literal scenery rather than a significant part of the narrative; the Bechdel test is well and truly failed, despite the presence of two female characters -- twice the average number for an action movie cast!), but avoids some common pitfalls of the genre (the natives are not beholden to a White Savior; neither of the female characters ends up like Fay Wray in the original King Kong).

There are plenty of light moments that keep the film from being too heavy. The soundtrack embraces the Vietnam-era setting, using pop songs as background almost in the vein of Guardians of the Galaxy (but ultimately with more symbolism). The cinematography is more artistic than many action films, with some beautifully framed shots and interesting camera angles.

Creatures: Like every creature feature ever, the ethology is a hot mess, though this one actually didn’t offend me quite as much as any film featuring wolves a lot of other films. It at least makes an effort by emphasizing the otherworldliness of the ecosystem and attempting to explain Kong’s actions via the human protagonists. (But realistically, 99% of the audience won’t be bothered because they don’t have a background in animal behavior, and therefore won’t realize how implausible the whole central conflict is.)

The effects were quite good overall, with only a handful of spots where I got distracted by the CGI (moments where the motion didn’t look quite right, or the lighting wasn’t correct, or there should have been discoloration and algae on those logs that had been underwater for years but for some reason they were the exact same color as the ones above water, so you could tell they were fake...). The creature designs... well, the Skull Crawlers have major structural flaws and probably couldn’t exist IRL, but the rest of the creatures aren’t bad.

Characters: The characterization felt a bit weak across the board, though a strong cast helps make up for the thin places in the script. TV Tropes would have a field day with the supporting cast lineup (specific tropes eschewed here for reasons of spoilers), but they do have unique characters and plenty of personality, rather than just being a line of additional bodies for fight scenes. Also, the racial diversity is nice.

Tom Hiddleston manages to bring some depth and sensitivity to a role that might have gone to any musclebound action star in Hollywood with disappointing results. (Let’s be honest, Hiddleston is half 76% of the reason I went to see this movie. I have seen him in nearly two dozen roles, and I have yet to be disappointed in a performance. Also, he’s gorgeous and has the sexiest voice in the film industry, which maaay influence my decision to see his films...)

Samuel L. Jackson’s immovable military leader feels more like a product of his motivations than a well-rounded character; he could also have benefited from some more thorough development, though admittedly, it might have bogged down the pacing to spend more time on that. (He does get in a subtle Jurassic Park reference, which is fun.)

Brie Larson’s photojournalist (read: requisite lead female in the party) has the least dynamic arc of the top-billed trio, which is unfortunate, as her characterization started strong and just... didn’t really go anywhere. She’s an active character, but it would have been nice to see her grow or develop more over the course of the film.

I liked John C. Reilly’s marooned airman more than I expected to. I feared the character would be a walking trope (crazy castaway comic relief/convenient local knowledge/guy who lived with natives and is now vaguely mystical), but he had surprising humanity and depth.

Important: Stay for the post-credits scene. Not going to spoil it, but it’s worth the price of admission, especially if you’re a fan of the kaiju film genre.