Sunday, February 17, 2013
Leslie Knope
I think I may want to nominate Leslie Knope for our Good Woman Hall of Fame. I think she's one of the best candidates we've raised so far.
Bechdel-ing the classics
Many of these I have not watched. I'm prejudiced against All About Eve because it later turned into the stage musical Applause, which is one of those musicals in which actors gather on stage to tell audiences how special it is to be an actor. But thinking about it makes me wonder if Bechdel needs a piece of shading. Yes, there's a lot of fighting over a man and using a man to keep score, but he's treated rather like a piece of meat and not an object of adoration.
Bonnie and Clyde I still haven't seen. Philadelphia story is still in que. Sound of Music I've avoided for decades, particularly when I was getting ready to direct it. Swing Time-- I agree. In fact, now that I think of it, the 30's might be a fertile decade for us to look at, with a fairly good supply of hard-boiled women.
Wizard of Oz. Good catch. Not only are there a bunch of ladies, but what men are present are largely ineffectual-- the Uncle, the Wizard, the trio. It's the women who have to sort everything out. But does Dorothy count as a strong woman if she's written to be a girl?
Bringing Up Baby. Tell you what. You don't have to feel bad about not watching Aliens until I finally watch this.
Cabaret. Again, I'm going to allow half a point if the woman is looking for a man, sort of, but not to rescue her or fix her.
Singing in the Rain. Wow. The two female leads are together for the discussion of whether Cathy will sing for Lena or not. And Rita Moreno had some more stuff that got left on the cutting room floor.
Some Like It Hot. There's a trombone player named Doris, if that helps. Several of the band girls get names in passing, and the band bus scene is an interesting femaled-up locker-room talk scene.
I can't dispute the fails. In fact, the entire original Star Wars trilogy-- three entire movies-- only has Leia, the Aunt, and some unnamed female crowd person in the last one. Outside of that it's dancing girls and crowd scenes. It's six hours and an entire universe of boys. I suppose some of the ewoks might be female, but that's a stretch. We know Ben Burtt could even have created female robots if he wanted to (he did it four decades later for Wall-E), but no-- even the hardware in Lucas's universe is male.
And while Woody Allen movies may have well-written women, in terms of lead roles, all Allen movies have the same woman in them-- she's just played by different actresses over the years.
Bonnie and Clyde I still haven't seen. Philadelphia story is still in que. Sound of Music I've avoided for decades, particularly when I was getting ready to direct it. Swing Time-- I agree. In fact, now that I think of it, the 30's might be a fertile decade for us to look at, with a fairly good supply of hard-boiled women.
Wizard of Oz. Good catch. Not only are there a bunch of ladies, but what men are present are largely ineffectual-- the Uncle, the Wizard, the trio. It's the women who have to sort everything out. But does Dorothy count as a strong woman if she's written to be a girl?
Bringing Up Baby. Tell you what. You don't have to feel bad about not watching Aliens until I finally watch this.
Cabaret. Again, I'm going to allow half a point if the woman is looking for a man, sort of, but not to rescue her or fix her.
Singing in the Rain. Wow. The two female leads are together for the discussion of whether Cathy will sing for Lena or not. And Rita Moreno had some more stuff that got left on the cutting room floor.
Some Like It Hot. There's a trombone player named Doris, if that helps. Several of the band girls get names in passing, and the band bus scene is an interesting femaled-up locker-room talk scene.
I can't dispute the fails. In fact, the entire original Star Wars trilogy-- three entire movies-- only has Leia, the Aunt, and some unnamed female crowd person in the last one. Outside of that it's dancing girls and crowd scenes. It's six hours and an entire universe of boys. I suppose some of the ewoks might be female, but that's a stretch. We know Ben Burtt could even have created female robots if he wanted to (he did it four decades later for Wall-E), but no-- even the hardware in Lucas's universe is male.
And while Woody Allen movies may have well-written women, in terms of lead roles, all Allen movies have the same woman in them-- she's just played by different actresses over the years.
The Most Bechdel-y AFI 100 Movies
1.All About Eve- Movie about women treat eachother when fame and men and power are on the line. But I mean that in a good way. This movie is the bomb, and pretty much the best for women on the whole list.
2. Bonnie and Clyde- Actual dynamic and tension-filled relationship between two flawed but well-rounded characters. Two great performances as well.
3. Philidelphia Story- Mother and two daughters talking to each other like actual family members do (though you don't want to think too hard about Katherine Hepburn's accent and the other's lackthereof).
4. The Sound of Music- How do you solve a problem like Maria? A lot of films could really sidestep their Bechdel problems with a chorus of nuns.
5. Swing Time- Ginger and her older lady friend. Both of them are sassy and genuinely unimpressed by the men dancing around them. Funny, and the best any Fred and Ginger movie did at showing off the awesomeness of Ginger.
6. Wizard of Oz- Man, I never thought about this before, but there are a ton of ladies dominating this sstory. And even though Dorothy rolls with a male entourage, she often gets to be the hero of her own story. Plus, the women aren't around only for romantical purposes.
7. Bringing up Baby- Katherine Hepburn and an old aunt. The Bechdel scale is helped by some awkward dinner conversation, but KH is the bomb in this movie, which changed my opinion on her forever.
8. Cabaret- Ahhh Liza, just amazing. This one frontloads the fellas, but it passes the test, even if only by a hair.
9. Singin in the Rain- Ok, I can't actually say this for sure! The girls talk about how one has to sing for the other right? They are both present for that conversation? Talk about getting by by a hair, but there are some fun parts for women in that movie.
10. Some Like it Hot- A hoot and the women essentially steal the show. Only one of the 4 leads is a woman, but most of the rest of the ensemble is female, and plenty get their moment to shine. Plus, there is lots of talk about drinking, to balance out the talking about men.
Doesn't Pass the Bechdel Test, but has an Awesome Lady Character
The African Queen- Katherine again. In this movie's defense, there are really only two characters, so 50% of the screen share isn't bad at all. Great romantic movie because of the age and orneriness of its leads.
Network- Faye Dunaway is great in this (and she does talk to the Black radical Laureen HObbs briefly I think, but Beatrice Straight won an oscar for 5 minutes of screen time and she earned it.
The Graduate- Again, maybe the women do talk to each other, but its not outstanding enough in the plot for me to remember. But kudos to them for having 2 female characters.
It Happened One Night- Claudette Colbert comes off as a little cliche, but I wonder if it just that people have now been copying this movie for 60 years.
Lord of the Rings-3 ladies- never talk or see each other, but each is a bit of a badass and has some narrative sway.
Star Wars- Leia's the bomb. Again, maybe some brief lady to lady conversation, but I don't remember it.
Annie Hall- Woodt Allen is a lot of things, but he can write great parts for women. It's no Hannah and her Sisters or even Manhattan, but Dianne Keaton's Annie is still a pretty great character.
Ok, this may seem pretty promising, but I have seen 43 of these movies so far, and I think it would be tough to make a solid argument for any of the others. And you know I have been putting off the ones where there are no women given any sort of billing for the movie. I will let you know if anything surprises me.
2. Bonnie and Clyde- Actual dynamic and tension-filled relationship between two flawed but well-rounded characters. Two great performances as well.
3. Philidelphia Story- Mother and two daughters talking to each other like actual family members do (though you don't want to think too hard about Katherine Hepburn's accent and the other's lackthereof).
4. The Sound of Music- How do you solve a problem like Maria? A lot of films could really sidestep their Bechdel problems with a chorus of nuns.
5. Swing Time- Ginger and her older lady friend. Both of them are sassy and genuinely unimpressed by the men dancing around them. Funny, and the best any Fred and Ginger movie did at showing off the awesomeness of Ginger.
6. Wizard of Oz- Man, I never thought about this before, but there are a ton of ladies dominating this sstory. And even though Dorothy rolls with a male entourage, she often gets to be the hero of her own story. Plus, the women aren't around only for romantical purposes.
7. Bringing up Baby- Katherine Hepburn and an old aunt. The Bechdel scale is helped by some awkward dinner conversation, but KH is the bomb in this movie, which changed my opinion on her forever.
8. Cabaret- Ahhh Liza, just amazing. This one frontloads the fellas, but it passes the test, even if only by a hair.
9. Singin in the Rain- Ok, I can't actually say this for sure! The girls talk about how one has to sing for the other right? They are both present for that conversation? Talk about getting by by a hair, but there are some fun parts for women in that movie.
10. Some Like it Hot- A hoot and the women essentially steal the show. Only one of the 4 leads is a woman, but most of the rest of the ensemble is female, and plenty get their moment to shine. Plus, there is lots of talk about drinking, to balance out the talking about men.
Doesn't Pass the Bechdel Test, but has an Awesome Lady Character
The African Queen- Katherine again. In this movie's defense, there are really only two characters, so 50% of the screen share isn't bad at all. Great romantic movie because of the age and orneriness of its leads.
Network- Faye Dunaway is great in this (and she does talk to the Black radical Laureen HObbs briefly I think, but Beatrice Straight won an oscar for 5 minutes of screen time and she earned it.
The Graduate- Again, maybe the women do talk to each other, but its not outstanding enough in the plot for me to remember. But kudos to them for having 2 female characters.
It Happened One Night- Claudette Colbert comes off as a little cliche, but I wonder if it just that people have now been copying this movie for 60 years.
Lord of the Rings-3 ladies- never talk or see each other, but each is a bit of a badass and has some narrative sway.
Star Wars- Leia's the bomb. Again, maybe some brief lady to lady conversation, but I don't remember it.
Annie Hall- Woodt Allen is a lot of things, but he can write great parts for women. It's no Hannah and her Sisters or even Manhattan, but Dianne Keaton's Annie is still a pretty great character.
Ok, this may seem pretty promising, but I have seen 43 of these movies so far, and I think it would be tough to make a solid argument for any of the others. And you know I have been putting off the ones where there are no women given any sort of billing for the movie. I will let you know if anything surprises me.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Current Viewing
Ok, so I keep putting this off because I know I need to watch Aliens, but I just haven't gotten there yet. I am a bad daughter. Or a bad feminist film viewer. Definitely a bad something.
So I can't say much about Bones, because I have missed that whole thing. If there is no Ice-T and Mariska involved, then I really don't care about crime shows. It's sad they are pulling the classic needing a man and baby trick on her. It's a pretty played out plot line, right? Make a (sort-of) strong female character and then continually show what a fool she is? You know what all of these shows need? Some mother-fucking Murphy Brown. She would destroy them all, though I can't remember much about once she spawned, except that Dan Quayle was pretty upset about it.
Also, I find it funny that this blog is being revived in the midst of your Ally McBeal watching.
Tonight I watched North by Northwest, which is basically a dude movie where a woman is bounced around a bunch for sexual use by the main protagonist and antagonist. I guess the final showdown becomes all about saving the girl, because of course the best she can do for herself is make really obvious faces and mumble about losing an earring. Perhaps not the biggest step for lady kind, but Hitchcock isn't really known as a protofeminist, right? Anyway, going through the AFI list has been one horrible dude movie after another, but I am almost halfway. Perhaps I will be surprised by some of the things coming up- how is Schindler's List for women? Goodfellas? Pulp Fiction? The history of film is kind of the worst.
I also watched Safety Not Guaranteed, where Aubrey Plaza does her thing, but she is basically the only girl in a sea of dudes (dead mom and all). I also think Aubrey Plaza is a tricky case, because her schtick can easily fall into the "girls are dumb, look how special I am" trap without another solid female character around her. This movie made me miss Leslie Knope (as if that is a weird thing- am I allowed to say one of the reasons I love Parks and rec is because it is one of the best tv shows for female characters ever?). She is a cool character, we are clearly supposed to identify with her regardless of our gender, and it is a nice little sci-fi love story. So all in all, not bad.
So I can't say much about Bones, because I have missed that whole thing. If there is no Ice-T and Mariska involved, then I really don't care about crime shows. It's sad they are pulling the classic needing a man and baby trick on her. It's a pretty played out plot line, right? Make a (sort-of) strong female character and then continually show what a fool she is? You know what all of these shows need? Some mother-fucking Murphy Brown. She would destroy them all, though I can't remember much about once she spawned, except that Dan Quayle was pretty upset about it.
Also, I find it funny that this blog is being revived in the midst of your Ally McBeal watching.
Tonight I watched North by Northwest, which is basically a dude movie where a woman is bounced around a bunch for sexual use by the main protagonist and antagonist. I guess the final showdown becomes all about saving the girl, because of course the best she can do for herself is make really obvious faces and mumble about losing an earring. Perhaps not the biggest step for lady kind, but Hitchcock isn't really known as a protofeminist, right? Anyway, going through the AFI list has been one horrible dude movie after another, but I am almost halfway. Perhaps I will be surprised by some of the things coming up- how is Schindler's List for women? Goodfellas? Pulp Fiction? The history of film is kind of the worst.
I also watched Safety Not Guaranteed, where Aubrey Plaza does her thing, but she is basically the only girl in a sea of dudes (dead mom and all). I also think Aubrey Plaza is a tricky case, because her schtick can easily fall into the "girls are dumb, look how special I am" trap without another solid female character around her. This movie made me miss Leslie Knope (as if that is a weird thing- am I allowed to say one of the reasons I love Parks and rec is because it is one of the best tv shows for female characters ever?). She is a cool character, we are clearly supposed to identify with her regardless of our gender, and it is a nice little sci-fi love story. So all in all, not bad.
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