Beyond Bechdel-Wallace

[gryphonsegg]

It has come to my attention that some people on this very internet are misusing the Bechdel-Wallace test to an egregious degree. Specifically, they have been asserting that anything that clears this very low bar is a net good for "female representation in media," even if the thing in question is Oz: The Great and Powerful or A Game of Thrones.

Comments

[denelian]

strangely, Avengers passed all BUT the Bedchel test [yes, BW was about to be tortured. it wasn't rape, and IT WAS HER PLAN to get info. totally voluntary on her part!]
arguably, BW is THE hero - she's the one who closed the gate.
and while she did sort of use "feminine wiles" - Maria Hill DID NOT. she just kicked ass, took names, and didn't say much. she was never dressed up or anything.

there were 3 whole women in the movie [theater release, i mean - there's a whole sub-plot with "Beth" - a waitress - and Steve that didn't get shown] and i'm not sure they ever even talk to each other...

[gryphonsegg]

I'm really, really happy to see you commenting again. *hugs*

Pacific Rim also passes the other three tests I describe here, but not the Bechdel-Wallace test (although the latter failure is kind of extra-frustrating for me because the cast is very unbalanced for absolutely no logical reason).

Black Widow is very much a mixed bag for me because there are good stories where I have great sympathy for her as a character, but it's impossible not to be aware of the context in which male writers use her to play off and simultaneously perpetuate sexist tropes.

[denelian]

oh, Pacific Rim... the Russian woman was awesome. but yeah - WHY weren't there more women?!?!

i mostly quit reading comics books 15(ish) years ago, in part because of how characters like BW were used. [though i SORT OF kept up with over-arcing plots]

but i was referring specifically and only to the movie. wyich was SO MUCH BETTER than i'd thought it would be. i;d been worried about it for a long time, and then it was, well... almost perfect!

[gryphonsegg]

I was less satisfied with the Avengers movie, but I did like Black Widow in it.

I saw Pacific Rim earlier than my friends, so I had to warn them about how, even though Tumblr was collectively freaking out about IDRIS ELBA!!! OMG!!!!!! and STRONG! FEMALE! CHARACTER!!! OF COLOR!!!, the movie was otherwise filled with white dudes and included a completely unnecessary side story about white dude daddy issues.