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.

[CaseyShraeger]

Thinking about Cbeebies I'm pretty sure most episodes of Me Too would pass (many of them wouldn't pass a reverse Bechdel test, though), also many episodes of Nina and the Neurons (ditto). Come Outside would pass on quite a few episodes (when the person explaining stuff to Auntie Mabel is female) but wouldn't generally pass a reverse Bechdel. Charlie and Lola would pass when Lotta is in it.

[Chubfuddler]

Balamory tends to involve discussion between miss hoolie and another woman about fixing a problem PC plum is having, or Archie, or Spencer. There may be episodes that pass.

Me too - well doctor juno's dog is male, so she discusses him with granny Murray, the lady who cleans buses has a son so that's out, can't remember any other female characters.

Still just some episodes of me too and balamory is pretty rubbish out of the entire channel.

[CaseyShraeger]

There's Tina the taxi driver too. But the characters discuss all sorts with Granny Murray. Last week Doctor Juno was off on a sponsored bike ride to France and she chatted about that with GM before she went; the week before Doctor Juno and bus-cleaning woman (whose name I forget) had a talk about the "Be Seen, Be Safe" publicity campaign. Tina is heavily into am dram so she tends to talk to Granny Murray about that. Women who have male dogs and/or sons are capable of talking about something else. i can't offhand think of many episodes I've seen that wouldn't pass.

On Balamory over half the recurring cast (and the only character who's in it every single week) is female. So 50% of the time the person who first turns up to talk to Miss Hoolie will be female and it'll automatically pass.

Did you mean to just deliberately ignore all the other examples people gave? I mean, I'm prepared to load quite a bit of opprobium on Cbeebies fir the sexist tosh that is Tree Fu Tom but I don't feel the need to whitewash entire shows out of the collective consciousness to make my point.

[Xiaoxiong]

ouryve I'm reading Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, having just finished Equal Rites.

I think every Pratchett book I've ever read would pass both the Bechdel and reverse Bechdel tests with flying colours.

[WowOoo]

Watched Borgen and it passed.

[TheDoctrineOfSciAndNatureClub]

YY amanda - I saw a hang glider on holiday and made a conscious effort to say "where's she gone now?" etc to DS. It's a definite effort.

[Trills]

If you like Terry Pratchett you might like this

[ouryve]

These blog posts are fab, Trills. I'm slowly working my way through them!

[paperclips]

Reading "The Secret Life of Bees", it passes easily.

I've been enjoying Frasier every morning with my breakfast but it always fails.

Also watching "My Mad Fat Diary" which only just scrapes through, they talk about "lads" most of the time but not always.

Our current box-set is "The Fringe" season 4. There are a few more passes this season, as Nina Sharpe talks to Olivia more about "stuff other than men". Otherwise, Olivia and Astrid only talk about the male characters or the cases, although about half the cases are women. It usually passes.

[CheerfulYank]

I watched 27 Dresses last night...it passed.

[kerala]

Zero Dark Thirty passes frequent scenes of 2 women discussing their work.

[FrameyMcFrame]

Just watching Call the Midwife with DD. It does pass but women are beaten up and humiliated, another is sexually abused on a cargo ship by the sailors. I know it's set in the past but it's not really family viewing

[EduCated]

Not quite right for the test, but am watching the BAFTAs. Will be interesting to see how many women present as compared to men.

[AmandaPayne]

I have already browsed the outfits (oh the shame ). I was pleased to see quite a few women actually wearing coats on the red carpet. Small improvements and all that.

[Sunnywithshowers]

I'm watching Piranha.

Epic fail on all counts.

[Melpomene]

Just saw Wreck-it Ralph at the cinema. It passed the test on the basis of two scenes - one scene where some girl video game characters are discussing a go kart race (although this does involve bullying), and a second happier discussion at the end involving the same group of girls.

Two of the main four characters in the film are female - they play a more significant role in the film than I expected from watching the trailer. They don't really ever talk to each other, but both are presented as feisty, active and resourceful.

[msrisotto]

Les Miserables...I think it fails? I know Fantine is bullied out of the factory where she was working by women who were bullying/talking to her but I don't think they actually had names.....

[AmandaPayne]

I think it fails too. The bully Fantine essentially about a man - the whole conversation is about her sexual behaviour. Eponine and Collette never speak, which is a bit chance missed IMO.

[Trills]

There's a conversation between Cosette and Mme Thernardier along the lines of "work harder, go get water", "I'm scared and I don't want to". So that's technically a pass.