Thanks a lot!

[blackcats73]

After lurking (and the occasional post) on this board, I can't watch a film like Love Actually without noticing and being outraged by its sexism!

The porn star couple. Porn shown in a positive light, she is the only showing her rude bits.
The evil assistant seducing poor Alan Rickman who has a frumpy wife.

Thought of more last night but can't remember now!

I used to love that film!

You have all ruined my Friday night film and wine experience

raaaaaar

Don't be scared, we're only mean to men, whose balls we eat for lunch.

I've never seen The Descent, give us an overview?

You made me jump, didn't think anyone here would be awake.

Anyway, it's one of the scariest films I have ever seen.

Never, ever want to watch it again.

A group of women go potholing. Lots of back story about how the women know each other, some relevant some just character forming. The one leading the group takes them to a different area than they had thought they were going to go to, so no-one knows where they are when they get stuck. (You know it's going to end in tears right now, don't you.)

Cue lots and lots of subterranean humanoid creatures who go after them.

Didn't mind the creatures but my heart still ends up in my mouth and I feel sick when I think of the scene where they get trapped. And I'm only mildly claustrophobic.

Can I go now? Please. I've been good and I hate some men too!

Oooh sounds scary. Dunno if I could watch that, I am a wuss.

It sounds cool though, nice to see a film about women doing something that's not shopping or shagging.

Come back some time, won't you?

Only problem is, some of the back story is about one of the women having an affair with another's husband (which ends badly), so there's quite a lot of talk about men but I can't remember how much and I'm not going to watch it again to find out.

Thank-you for being nice. I'm going back to bed now. DS is asleep again and DP isn't snoring so I stand a chance of getting some shut-eye.

Scroobius I always used to think that Piglet and Rabbit were girls in that programme as they appear fairly gender neutral

DS seems to think some of the male trains in Thomas are girls. I haven't corrected him.

Ooh I'm desperate to see Hunger Games. I loved the book but missed it at the cinema :(

Don't get me started on Thomas, Bertie. Bloody Annie and Clarabel...

So what other blockbuster films would meet the Bechdel test? The Help perhaps? Struggling to think of any right now.

Harry potter would pass? With Luna and Hermione talking about Dumbledore's Army

I am I can't think of any more. I am a feminist. I get the rage about shite misogynistic films. How did I not notice this!

The Hunger Games was pretty great, Bertie. It was SO refreshing to see a female lead who never did a single simper, wasn't all pretty pretty (although she IS gorgeous, if you know what I mean - she just looked like a normal girl) and did cool stuff like fire a bow and sacrifice herself for her sister.

Prometheus is good - fiesty , strong women in that film - Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron kick ass.
Sci fi always seems to have the best female characters, which is good 'cos I love Sci fi.
Extremely loud and incredibly close is an amazing film too, Sandra Bullock is fabulous in it, I watched it on the plane and was in floods of tears at the end, as was DH, but then he cried at Forrest Gump last night.

does Aliens pass the test? no wimpy screaming women waiting to rescued by men in that iirc.

What about my sisters keeper?

For TV, 30 Rock is pretty good. It deals with racism and sexism and stereotyping and makes me laugh A LOT.

Buffy, both the film and the tv series. Awesome. Bad ass women in a lead role, in the TV series you have Buffy, Faith and Kendra as super strong, super confident women. You have Willow and Tara as super clever (and gay) witches. You have Anya as a revenge demon bringing doom to men who hurt to women... Then you have the fairly pathetic male characters!

Also, in Love Actually, they are not "porn stars", they are extras, body doubles. Martin Freemans character says that he once bottom doubled for Brad Pitt. And the technical dude chivvys them up saying "we need to get the actors in"

Katnis is caked in make up for most of the hunger games
plus it's like twilight in that she has to choose between 2 men/boys. In the book most of the men seem to run around after her a lot because she's pretty.

One of my favourite films is Calamity Jane, and funnily enough I think it passes the Bechdel test...Katie Brown and Calamity become good friends, and talk about Katie going on stage as an actress, Calamity's life so far, and ahem housework.

Yet it has to be one of the most sexist films I have ever seen. Lots of talk about 'female thinking', and Bill Hickok advising Calamity to see how women dress in Chicago, as if nice clothes make you a better standard of women.

Another very annoying trope is the "Woman as magical catalyst, not as an actual person", the Manic Pixie Dream Girl - think Natalie Portman in Garden State is the classic example of this: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManicPixieDreamGirl

Oh yes ManicPixieDreamGirl.

Lot of it about.

I fucking HATE Garden State.

YRC - I watched it and it was like having toothache. I may have shouted "Fuck off!" Several times at the tv screen during it.