The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Bechdel Test

This post is a continuation in a series where I determine if a film has passed the Bechdel Test. My original post about the Bechdel Test can be found here.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and the Millennium Series of which it is the first novel, are very dark books. There is a great deal of violence, most of it sexual and directed at women. For these reasons, I was very interested to see how the new version of the film would hold up against the Bechdel test. 

As a reminder, the Bechdel Test determines whether a movie is worth seeing based on three rules:

1. The movie must have at least two female characters.

2. The female characters must speak to each other. 

3. The female characters must speak to each other about something other than a man,

So, how does The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fare? There are many female faces in the film, and several named characters. The woman with the most screen time is Lisbeth Salander, so I will base the answers to the second question on her interactions. Lisbeth speaks to more than one character in the film, and rarely  talks to either of them about a man. In fact, the only time she mentions a man to another woman at all is when reminding a secretary that her boss has given Salander permission to do what she needs to do to collect evidence. 

Clearly, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors, which is extremely interesting for several reasons. First and foremost, this film is, at its core, about the way women are treated as "less than" in society by men who act as though women exist solely for their sexual needs. The character of Lisbeth Salander is a reminder that women can (and do!) fight back against the men who try to reign in their strength and power. 

The next reason this is so interesting revolves around the marketing for the film. The first movie poster featured an entirely nude Lisbeth Salander with Mikael Blomkvist's arm around her protectively. The reasons why this poster is completely incongruent with the story warrant their own post, but let it suffice to say that the poster does not lead you to believe the film will pass the Bechdel Test.

New Year, New Look, New Thoughts

Hello, again!

You may have noticed I have been on a hiatus of sorts. This blog was originally created for a course I was taking, and after that ended, I let it go by the way-side, which is kind of crazy because I truly enjoyed writing it.

Moving forward, you will continue to read my thoughts about all things media related, but you can expect information about new technology, trends, and perhaps a dash of DIY. I also hope to have some guest bloggers stop by.

Stay tuned!

Dear John - Bechdel Test

Recently I watched to movie "Dear John". In this movie a young woman meets a young man while he is home on leave. The fall in love in two weeks, and write eachother letters while he is deployed. Their relationship continues when he comes home, and then write letters when he is deployed once again.

So let's see how "Dear John" fairs against the Bechtel Test:

The movie must have at least two female characters: Yes, but they do not have names, so I am going to say no.
The female characters must speak to each other: Yes
The female characters must speak to each other about something other than a man: Nope.


Sadly, "Dear John" Fails the Bechtel Test.

Leave Buffy Alone!

I love the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Love. And I was BEYOND excited when I heard the powers that be were working on a feature film. At least I was up until I learned they are planning to do this without creator Joss Whedon, star Sarah Michelle Geller or any other actor or actress from the show.

What is with Hollywood taking on beloved television shows and movies and trying to remake them? The new project is rarely as good as the original. I know there are people with good ideas out there, who have awesome (read: new) stories to tell. Why aren't those people being given an opportunity to create something new and awesome?



*Yes, I know the television show was technically a reboot of the movie, but Joss was the original creator, so as far as I am concerned, he can remake things all he wants.

My Favorite Time Wasting Website

Have you ever worked in any kind of customer service or retail job? If so, I think you will like this website as much as I do.  The website is notalwasyright.com, and it is my favorite online time waster. I am always amazed by the things that come out of people's mouths.

Where do you waste time online? Post a link here!

Hazing

Last week we took part in National Hazing Prevention Week at BSU. There were some great events, including a presentation by Travis Apgar. After everything that was discussed last week, I feel like I have a pretty solid understanding of what hazing is and how it can affect a person. Fast forward to this week when a story broke about hazing at Needham High School** on the soccer team. Now, the hazing incident itself was shocking enough, but it doesn't compare to the reactions of the players' parents and the news media.

-The school reacted (correctly, and according to policy) by suspending the players and not allowing them to play in a championship game.
-The parents reacted (wrongly, and outrageously) by attempting to get a court injunction that would allow the girls to play. They did not deny their child's actions, or even argue that what they did was right. They basically argued that they shouldn't be punished for behaving in an illegal manner. One father stated to the nightly news that it was "a misguided team-building exercise", which, frankly, is pretty much the definition of hazing.
-The media reacted by sending mixed messages to the viewing public. They descended upon the families to question their motives, and used graphics with their stories that implied perhaps the school was wrong in their reactions. At the same time they all aired or wrote opinion pieces that derided the players, the coach and the parents for their actions while celebrating the school's reaction.


Perhaps it is time to consider how entertainment programming presents hazing. Movies like Animal House and Old School present it as something that is fun and brings people together. Even the popular television show Greek has shown hazing as a normal activity. I can't think of any sports movies where hazing is presented off the top of my head, but I know they exist. I wonder if presenting hazing as both normal and entertaining has led to the average person thinking it is both normal and entertaining in the real world.

What do you think? Both about the situation in Needham and the way hazing is presented in entertainment?

**Check out the comments on this link. They are pretty outrageous.

Media Undefined

I got into a major disagreement with a faculty member last week about internships. He basically said that all media internships must take place in a studio/production setting, and I disagreed. I think a media internship also relates to social media, and other content creation such as advertising and even marketing, especially when you are creating the content.

What do you guys think? What does this really broad term "media" really mean?