I’ve been thinking about how women are portrayed in works of
fiction – especially movies. Specifically, I’m thinking about the Bechdel test
as a way to measure how we’re represented. Essentially, there are three
criteria: One, there must be at least two female characters. (Occasionally, you’ll
see the requirement that they have names.) Two, they must talk to each other.
Three, they must talk about something other than a man. It seems simple, until
you try to find a movie that actually passes the test. The Adam Project doesn’t.
Neither do Secrets of Dumbledore, Lightyear, Morbius or Uncharted. It reminds
me of something Virginia Woolf once said: “Strange to think the great women
of fiction were not only seen BY the other sex, but seen only IN RELATION to
the other sex. And how small a part of a woman's life is that?” It’s why so
many female characters (if they show up at all) are so lacking in depth.
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