Gender in Movies [315]

[estro]

Chloe and Myles dragged me out last night to see Whip It; while not the best film I have ever seen, it was thoroughly enjoyable and totally worth the price of admission (given many of the movies to come out this year, that is high praise). Whip It even passes the Bechdel test with flying colors, and, as sophiism suggests, that is worth a monetary vote on its own.

I find it frustrating that I still live in a world with enough subtle gender pigeonholing in the media that merely having female leads in something other than a romantic comedy is notably refreshing. I have spent most of the afternoon trying to think of movies I have seen where most of the key personalities in the movie are female and the list is depressingly short. Ghost World, The Magdalena Sisters, and Bend it Like Beckham came first to mind. But I'm a Cheerleader, Bound, and Chutney Popcorn have being a lesbian as a key plot point. The Election (which I hated) has a majority of relevant female characters but I can't remember if the women talk to each other about things other than the guys. Same for Monsoon Wedding (which I loved). Rommie and Michelle's Highschool Reunion probably passes the test though I am not sure whether I am more surprised by this or shamed that I am owning up to having seen it.

Most of those films were only shown in indie art-house theaters.

Even when I include children's movies, My Neighbor Tortoro is the only additional film I can think of. The Harry Potter movies pass the Bechdel test, but aren't close to parity genderwise.

Really, how difficult can it be to sell a worthwhile movie with a bunch of female characters? Preferably one without a plot that revolves around their love lives.

Comments

[points.livejournal.com]

Fried Green Tomatoes? Or am I mis-remembering?

[blue-estro.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that, so I can't say. Thelma and Luise and the Spice Girls movie are probably another two, but I haven't seen those (no regrets about that, either)

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

Hrrmm.

"Pride & Prejudice" might or might not count, despite having many female characters. I liked it, but... *shrug*

M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village"?

"High Fidelity"? (Romantic comedy, most likely.)

"Better Than Chocolate"? (Lesbians as key plot point.)

*shrugs helplessly* I'm coming up pretty blank, too.

[avar1c3.livejournal.com]

http://thebechdeltest.blogspot.com/ Has a bunch. Of the top few I've only seen Persepolis and Girl Interrupted. The former is really good, extremely thought-provoking. Haven't seen the latter since I was a teenager so I don't trust my opinion of it.

[artkiver.livejournal.com]

I'd wager that many/most of Miyazaki's films pass this, not just Totoro. Nausicaa, Kiki, Spirited Away come immediately to mind, but the more I think about it the more the rest of them seem to follow as well. *shrug* During his lecture at UCB a couple months back, when asked about the prevalence of strong female characters he mentioned wanting to depict something he rarely saw in movies, but experienced in life (I believe other interviews he's alluded to having based some characters off his parent/grandparents). At any rate, apparently most of the new animators coming to work for him are now women, with men being the exception. Which is pretty much the opposite of when he started in the industry.

[shoutingboy.livejournal.com]

Alien comes close. Offhand, I think only two of the seven crew are female, but a couple of the males get offed pretty quick, and another [SPOILER]turns out to actually be an android[/SPOILER], so for most of the movie there's something close to gender parity.

And the original The Rule strip even refs it as getting a passing grade!

[xthread.livejournal.com]

The Devil Wears Prada, ironically enough.
Sophie's Choice. Also, every divorce film ever.

Ermm, having given a quick read over Ms Bechdel's blog, I think the problem you may be running into is that most of your moviegoing is on the art-house circuit.

[blue-estro.livejournal.com]

I haven't made it out to the movies much lately, but most of the movies I do see are in mainstream theaters of late. A large number of the ones I have seen that have more than a few women in them that aren't romantic-relationship films are the ones I saw in art-house theaters.

And, having let it mulled longer, I can name more movies, but they are still a notable minority of the movies I have seen.

[kimmalat.livejournal.com]

The Candidate. It lacks a lot of female characters but the main one it has packs one heck of a wallop. Plus, the ending is awesome - it has kinda stuck with me over the years, which says something as I tend to forget all the details of a movie almost directly after I've left the theater.

[diatom.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that was the Bechdel test! *learns something*

Personally, I cringe at the term "chick flick", which may or may not involve movies that would pass the Bechdel test. I suspect they would? But, I find this term _disturbing_. Reclaiming it is taking a while, for me.

Other movies: Bring It On, Stick It (about competitive cheerleading/gymnastics).

Whip It not only had a cast of mostly female actors. It focused on sports and interpersonal relationships, and the movie ends with the protagonist single.

How many movies end with the protagonist single? Hmmmm? That's a kick-ass statement, I think.