What are you watching & reading? Will you do the Beshdel Test on it?

[Seabright]

I have been trying to apply the Beshdel Test to what I've been watching lately.

The wiki entry in the link above explains more, but basically to pass the Beshdel Test a work of fiction must have:

A) At least two female characters
B) Who Talk to each other
C) About something other than a man

This evening I have watched:

1. Rizzoli & Isles - pass, just
   
2. The Good Wife - pass
   

And I'm reading an Ian Rankin novel at the moment (yes, my choice of tv and books is pretty limited - crime & murder!) which so far fails, but I'm only part way through.

[Schooldidi]

I've just watched QI - fail, not a single woman on that particular episode (it was a repeat).
HAve also watched today Jamies 30 minute meals, failed obviously.
Dog the Bounty Hunter (not my choice) passed easily, it usually does.
The six nations rugby failed obviously.

I'm reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, it's failing so far and I'm 3/4 of the way through. It's good though.

[EduCated]

I'm not sure I've ever seen more than one woman on QI at once

Watched 2 episodes of New Girl tonight, one passed, one failed.

[LeucanTheMopsis]

Watching Agatha Christie - pass.
Reading Gimpel the Fool, Isaac Bashevis Singer - a surprising fail.

[NorthernLurker]

I'm watching Romancing the stone atm. I know Kathleen Turner and her sister talk together about the treasure etc etc but I think Michael Douglas creeps in there too and the only other conversation is between Kathleen and her publisher - revolved around romance fiction and how hopeless Kathleen is. I'm failing it.

Ice age 2 also failed.

The west wing - pass

[Schooldidi]

I've seen two episodes of QI that have had 2 women on. One of those was directly talking about gender differences.

[CaseyShraeger]

I don't think you can fail Romancing The Stone on the basis that they are talking about romance fiction and how hopeless Kathleen Turner is. That's still a Bechdel Test pass, but a useful opportunity to stress the associated note "Passing the test does not necessarily make it more feminist, or otherwise positive-for-women".

[AdriftAndOutOfStardust]

Watching: "The Killing" - Lund does speak to various females at various points but I'd struggle to think of an instance where the subject of the conversation wasn't a man (though obviously that'll be in a suspecting-him-of-murder rather than in a romantic sense). "Misfits" I think will have some individual episodes that pass but not all of them - it does have 2 female characters but they aren't often shown in conversation with one another and when they are the subject is usually one or other of the men. "Game of Thrones" - I think it passes, just - two matriarchs converse with one another about a variety of matters some of which are not about menfolk.

Reading: "Her Fearful Symmetry" passes easily - central characters 2 female twins who talk to all sorts of people both male and female about a variety of subjects.

[CaseyShraeger]

Interestingly, the current (tenth) series of QI has featured three episodes including two women:

Episode 4 "Jack and Jill" (Katy Brand and Sue Perkins)
Episode 5 "J-Places" (Susan Calman and Sandi Toksvig)
Episode 9 "Jeopardy" (Sue Perkins and Julia Zemiro)

This is the same number as in all of the previous nine series put together (if you exclude the 2011 Comic Relief special); previously we had had

Series 1 Episode 6 "Arthropods" (Jo Brand and Jackie Clune)
Series 4 Episode 12 "Domesticity" (Jo Brand and Jessica Stevenson/Hynes)
Series 7 Episode 7 "Girls and Boys" (Ronni Ancona and Sandi Toksvig)

So this could be a sign that something is changing... maybe...

[CaseyShraeger]

Further suggestion that it might be a deliberate policy change...

Season 1: 4/12 episodes (33%) were all-male
Season 2: 5/12 episodes (42%) were all-male
Season 3: 8/12 episodes (67%) were all-male
Season 4: 7/12 episodes (58%) were all-male
Season 5: 7/12 episodes (58%) were all-male
Season 6: 6/12 episodes (50%) were all-male
Season 7: 8/16 episodes (50%) were all-male
Season 8: 8/16 episodes (50%) were all-male
Season 9: 6/16 episodes (38%) were all-male
Season 10: 3/16 episodes (19%) were all-male

[TheDoctrineOfSciAndNatureClub]

Hallelujah re QI.

How are you getting on with HFS, Adrift? I much preferred TTTW.

[WoTmania]

I apply the Beshdel test to everything (so glad we only watch DVDs or, going by stuff I've seen at other people's houses) it would ruin my entire viewing experience. As it is I often end up seething at the end of DVDs.

Currently reading Wheel of Time book 1 (again) passes.
Watching mainly Stargate - passes (as pointed out upthread), however this aren't current programmes or books.

[CaseyShraeger]

Watched The Descendants last night, which passed.

[AmandaPayne]

Watched Borgen last night. Passed many times - Birgitte/Laura, Birgitte and other female politicians, Katrine/Hanne...

[WhichIsBest]

Watched last night - Breaking Bad= fail.
Reading - Just about to start The Eye in the Door, so I can't judge it yet!

[Takver]

Last film I saw was Les Mis on Sunday - does pass the Bechdel test but fails comprehensively on general feminist principles (and I wanted to slap most of the characters & tell them not to be so stupid).

Currently reading a book about the politics of food in WW2, none of the people mentioned talk to each other as such, but quite a few women's voices from Mass Observation records.

[tourdefrance]

Just finished The Kingmaker's daughter. Pass

[coldcupoftea]

Watched Silent Witness last night- despite having 2 strong female characters it didn't pass as as far as I can remember they didn't actually talk to each other!

[stubbornstains]

Riders, by Jilly Cooper

But it does pass the Bechdel test...at least in places; Fen's doing a lot of discussing showjumping tactics with her female groom at the moment.

....I wouldn't say it's a great work of feminist literature in general though ....(still love it).

[ethelb]

Persopolis - pass

[Trills]

Gilmore Girls passes in probably every episode.

[Maebe]

The Bourne Legacy, which surprisingly does pass.

Was a fail on any personal 'feminist' level though as I spent the entire two hours trying not to lick the screen ogling Jeremy Renner

[RM76]

Okay, I'm hoping I'm right with these.
'Brave' the animated movie.(got slated by some fools as a 'chick flick' I think mainly because the hero didn't have a penis!) although, it is about the daughter not wanting to get married, does that count as talking about men?

'Warehouse 13' the T.V. Show. (Sci-if channel have been trying to get more female viewers) they even team two women up as partners, more than once, and there's no cat fight or anything!
Warehouse 13 really is the best IMO when it comes to great female characters. They even have a woman, over the age of sixty, without Botox, as a desirable lady, shock, horror!

'The Guild' (written, made, starring a woman, shown online)

Christ, that really took some effort, there are hardly any, and most are Geeky shows because they knew they had a sexism problem in the area and made an effort.
Really depressing.

[ApplesinmyPocket]

Reading (male author) Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series at the moment.

Main characters are a woman and her teenage daughter. Good, strong characters. Definite pass.

[NotGoodNotBad]

"got slated by some fools as a 'chick flick' I think mainly because the hero didn't have a penis!"

Well didn't you know RM76, films with a women/girl as the main character(s) are "chick flicks", films with no women in them at all are just, you know, films...