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Last week, fellow Beat writer Alex Jones wrote this article about the TV show Arrow and it's treatment of female characters. I don't really follow Arrow, so I can't say whether I agree with his assessment. But the premise got me thinking about whether any of these shows could pass the Bechdel test, i.e. the new standard for fictional female characters.
Is there a “problem” with the Bechdel test? I think it serves a good purpose, but point #2, on its own, doesn’t mean that a show/film is a failure. It’s possible that you can have a couple very good female characters who never meet each other, but they pass #1 and #3
Wow. Can you comment on the reason for this article? I don’t sit around making hashmarks about my personal obsessions when I watch TV. Or read a book, see a movie, etc. The main question I have about my entertainment–is it entertaining? Entertain first. Preach second. Or never. This commentary really belongs on a personal blog, not a comics news site.
How did Age of Ultron pass? The only conversation I can recall are when Black Widow and Mrs. Hawkeye discuss the gender of the baby which was male..
Ultron passes according to this – http://bechdeltest.com/view/6217/avengers:_age_of_ultron/
I think the Madam B/Black Widow scenes would qualify it if you exclude the baby discussion
Vichus – I completely agree that a show/movie can fail this test and still be good. I also don’t think the Bechdel test is the only gauge for how well women are represented in fiction, but it’s a decent and quantitative starting point, with the assumption that there will always be exceptions where the test doesn’t really work (like Gravity). I don’t think that was the case in any of these specific episodes, though.
Oh no! Not the Flash!
Jerry, of course you don’t. If you’ve never felt marginalized, then you’re not going to feel the need to speak out or point out certain things. If two people are out on an extremely hot day and one feels fine while the other does not, whose reaction is valid and whose is not?
Colin, there are more women in the film than that.
Hannah: Yeah, the Bechdel test would also “fail” if the movie only involved one or two people. Good point.
Any time that group stereotypes are reinforced it is a public issue, not simply “a personal obsession”.
I wish that one more point could be added to the Bechdel test:
4. In a scene featuring a female character, is she fully clothed, or is she in a state of undress, or wearing clothing that is overtly revealing in some way?
I love The Flash, but it definitely wouldn’t pass this test, either.