It's mid-November already?

[rogueslayer452]

++ You can now listen to previews of the Desolation of Smaug soundtrack. I'm waiting until I see the movie, which is just a personal preference of mine especially when it comes to films I am anticipating to see in the theaters, but just looking at the track listing makes me super happy.

++ New Richard Armitage photoshoot, plus the interview of where they came from. Like fine wine, this man. He is basically a triple threat: an adorable dork, ridiculously handsome, and eloquently intelligent. Also, he should wear plaid/flannel more often because, dayum. ♥

++ I came across this article thought it was a great read: The Mako Mori Test: An Alternative to the Bechdel Test. I like that this article challenges the misuse and flaws of the Bechdel test and it gives an alternative way of looking at films and other things in media by using the perfect example of the recent success of Pacific Rim with the character of Mako Mori. I love women interacting and having friendships with other women, but I also love stories about a singular woman who has and takes control of her own narrative, and is most importantly treated like a human being within the story and in the writing (which is essential for anything and everything always, tbh.) Both these things are awesome, and it saddens me when the latter gets dismissed when it doesn't feature the former.

Comments

[sixphanel.livejournal.com]

It's super late now, and my brain is kind of asleep already, but I'm saving the alternative to the Bechdel Test page and I'm so reading it tomorrow! It looks really interesting, from what you've said :D

PS. This is random, because you don't even talk about BSG here, but ohhhh I've been watching the 2nd season with a friend (she hadn't watched the show till now) and gah, the soundtrack. Brilliant man, Bear McCreary. Another version of Wander my friends... Feelings everywhere!

[silverusagi]

Thanks for the link. I think the Mako Mori test is just as valid as the Bechdel test. And TBH, while the Bechdel test is a very useful point to make, I'm kind of sick of it being toted as the be all and end all of feminism.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

while the Bechdel test is a very useful point to make, I'm kind of sick of it being toted as the be all and end all of feminism.

That's my issue, as well. It can be a helpful tool, but the way it's been seen as the mandatory litmus test by others is kind of disconcerting, especially since it's not a perfect checking system. Not everything that passes is automatically feminist, and not everything that doesn't pass is inherently bad either. To take such a test like that at face value is dismissing and overlooking everything else.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I don't mind random BSG talk, like at all. Any excuse to strike up conversation about anything BSG related is a-okay in my book. ;)

Firstly, yay for your friend getting into BSG! I think out of all the seasons, S2 might be my favorite. Secondly, ugh, Bear McCreary. He is literally a musical genius. There is not one day that I haven't listened to at least something of him, and that's not even an exaggeration. I feel like he's one of the composers which I want to do music for everything in life. Movies, television, radio, my life story....etc.

[carameltrap.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for the Mako Mori Test article. I thought that the Bechdel Test was a little flawed because as long as the movie has 2 women talking to each other, it'll pass. Even if the movie might end up not feminist.

[http://users.livejournal.com/unnecessary_/]

I put a lot of stock into the Bechdel Test not because it's flawless but because I think that the people who are influenced by media will not assume that all women are strong if they only see one strong woman in a piece of work. I think they'll assume that this "special snowflake" is above "normal" women, and not that she is the norm of what women are. I think that all of the new feminist tests out there are awesome, but I think that considering them an alternative to the Bechdel Test is going to cause more harm than good.