isagrimorie:septuplelutz:helenaisis:circusbones:qualapec:bobbimorsed:All the Bechdel test does it sh
isagrimorie:septuplelutz:helenaisis:circusbones:qualapec:bobbimorsed:All the Bechdel test does it show that two women are named and talk to each other about a dude. A nice test, sure, but it is in no way indicative of the quality of the film, characters or the representation. Please stop acting like it is.Natasha is a feminist character because she kicks ass and is integral to the plot to a point where the movie would have gone very differently without her, and probably wouldn’t have ended as happily as it did.If that makes her ‘one of the boys’ then maybe it’s time to look at how a large role which involves kicking ass and being important in the overall plot is automatically thought of, by some people, as a male role.Nevermind that Natasha’s entire character arc is about using the tools forced upon her by her oppressors and re-appropriating them to turn the tables, which is a very feminist theme.Basically if you think Natasha is just a token character and didn’t get a full arc you were watching the wrong movie and/or you need to reevaluate how you decode female narratives.Plus I have always seen the spirit of the Bechdel test as measuring if it is clear that a woman has a life, goals and desires outside of her dude/the dudes. Pepper very much does, Jane, Maria, and definitely Natasha. Natasha, who wants her slate made clean and is one of the few characters in The Avengers who gets shit -done- while the dudes are obnoxiously posturing at each other. Ten bucks says OP finds Mako Mori weak cause she cries XDI think people put a little too much emphasis on the Bechdel test. Bechdel test can be a little too advance for certain movies.In movies like ‘Pacific Rim’ and ‘Avengers’ I prefer Kelly Sue’s ‘Sexy Lamp’ test.If the lone main female character can be replaced with a sexy lamp (a’la the lamp from ‘A Christmas Story’) and the plot move ahead as planned, then you have a problem.Ahh, the Bechdel test being used to belittle awesome female characters. MY FAVORITE THING. 8|Here’s the thing about the Bechdel test: in no universe is it meant to measure the quality of female characters in a thing.Not passing the Bechdel test is not an indicator that a thing is antifeminist, doesn’t have awesome ladies in it, defines women only by their men, etc. The Avengers is just one of many examples of films with totally awesome female characters who never talk to other women.The Bechdel test isn’t useful because it tells you which movies are shitty and sexist. It’s completely useless for determining if a thing is shitty and sexist. What the Bechdel test does pretty awesomely is point out that fictional relationships between women are often centered around men when they exist at all. It points out how rare significant relationships between women are, while relationships between dudes are everywhere, in everything, ever.And yes, Pacific Rim and The Avengers fall very short in that category. They’re both full of m/m and m/f (or perhaps even m/m/m/m/m/f) relationships, and both fail to have a single f/f relationship. We can, and should, criticize that. But you know what?The Bechdel test does not exist so you can dismiss awesome female characters where they do appear. It exists so that we can point out the absence of women and push for future media to honor women’s relationships with each other. In conclusion, don’t be a dick.THIS. Emphasis mine. Let me repeat that:The Bechdel test does not exist so you can dismiss awesome female characters where they do appear. It exists so that we can point out the absence of women and push for future media to honor women’s relationships with each other. -- source link
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