Lila Schow

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Bechdel's Rule:

Here's the Rules:

  1. Movie must have at least 2 women.
  2. The 2 women must talk to each other about ...
  3. ... something besides a man.

Simple enough.

I've decided to make my own movie list using the rule as a guide.  Just to see what the statistics are on what I've seen.  I also decided that this rule shouldn't just be for movies, but I'm too lazy to apply it to the books I've read.

Movies
Pass! Fail!
bullet Bolt, The dog owner is a child actress who talks to her mom, talks to an exec where she is asked to make an adult decision that will impact the lives of many other people working on the show.
bullet Coraline Coraline talks to many women, not just her mother.  I really thought the theme of mother's consuming their daughters was an interesting one that didn't get near enough screen time.
bulletCity of Ember, Saoirse Ronan talks to her little sister, her friends and her landlady!  About her job and her goals and her worries!
bulletDon't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, a romance that still has 2+ women talking to each other about things other than a man!
bulletStepmom, Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon are able to talk about raising children without bringing Ed Harris up.
bullet

The Parent Trap They talk about getting their parents back together so this toes the line, but still...

bullet

The Tale of Despereaux, The princess and the handmaid talk about the state of affairs in the country.  And the princess orders the handmaid around.  So pass!  But, this is a case of it passing, but still failing.

bullet Batman Begins, failed #1
bullet

Banlieue 13, failed #1

bullet

Big , failed #2

bullet Burn After Reading , failed #2
bullet Dark Knight, failed #1
bulletDr. Strangelove, failed #1
bulletFat Man and Little Boy, failed #2
bullet Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, failed #2
bullet Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels #1
bullet

Monsters vs Aliens, failed #1 ( I figure the mom doesn't count)

bulletPrincess Bride, failed #2
bulletRashomon, failed #1 which is especially interesting given it's feminist bent and it's topic rape.
bullet RocknRolla, failed #1
bullet Slumdog Millionaire, failed #2
bulletStar Wars.  All of them.  Fail #1 &#2
bullet Traitor, failed #1
bulletTropic Thunder, failed #1
bullet

Unforgiven, failed #3

bullet

W., failed #1

bullet

Wall E, failed #2

 

 

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Last modified: 01/19/09