Word of the Day
Smattering (n., SMATT-turr-ing)
A small, superficial amount of knowledge, or a small amount of something. Remember: smatterings beget spatterings (firings, bad movie deaths, etc.).
Gif of the Day
Link of the Day
Bechdel Test / We're losing all our strong female characters to Trinity Syndrome
A double feature today! Let's start with the second item first.
At The Dissolve (RIP), Tasha Robinson used How To Train Your Dragon 2 to shine a light on how capable, well-written female characters are being sidelined in movies:
Valka is just the latest example of the Superfluous, Flimsy Character disguised as a Strong Female Character. And possibly she’s the most depressing, considering Dragon 2’s other fine qualities, and considering how impressive she is in the abstract. The film spends so much time on making her first awe-inducing, then sympathetic, and just a little heartbreakingly pathetic in her isolation and awkwardness at meeting another human being. But once the introductions are finally done, and the battle starts, she immediately becomes useless, both to the rest of the cast and to the rapidly moving narrative. She faces the villain (the villain she’s apparently been successfully resisting alone for years!) and she’s instantly, summarily defeated. Her husband and son utterly overshadow her; they need to rescue her twice in maybe five minutes. Her biggest contribution to the narrative is in giving Hiccup a brief, rote “You are the Chosen One” pep talk. Then she all but disappears from the film, raising the question of why the story spent so much time on her in the first place.
Robinson's piece includes a checklist for writing good Strong Female Characters and an excellent example of one from recent cinema.
She also references the Bechdel Test, a simple thirty-year-old test:
1. Does the movie have at least two women in it?
2. Do the women talk to each other?
3. Do the women talk to each other about something besides a man?
Seems simple, right? In practice, it doesn't happen that much. Even in 2015, 40% of movies didn't pass the test. The test has its own biases, sure, but it's still a useful rule of thumb, and 40% of movies failing to hit the threshold is sort of amazing.
Next time you watch a movie or TV show, play along and see if what you're viewing passes the test. It may be harder than you think.
ArtsFilmThe DissolveBechdel TestBasic competencyBaselinesHow to Train Your DragonHighly capable women