Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
The big news of the internets over the last 24 hours? Star Wars The Force Awakens reportedly passes the Bechdel Test. And this is good news. I’ve already reported why I’m optimistic about the new film thanks to the certified, informal Shonda Rhimes “Hell Yes” stamp of approval. But I also think that it’s not enough for all of us to accept this and move on. And here’s why.
Star Wars The Force Awakens will be the biggest film of the year. It may be the biggest film of the decade. Perhaps the century. Seriously. I mean that.
Let’s quickly be reminded what the Bechdel Test actually is because I’m shocked how few people know the details. It starts with cartoonist named Alison Bechdel. In 1985, she penned a strip called “The Rule” in her series, Dykes To Watch Out For. The test requires a movie to:
- Have more than one woman in the film
- The women must talk to each other
- And the women must talk about something other than a man
It’s not a perfect test. But for 30 years, it’s provided a frame of reference that women, and really anyone, who care about the value that women provide in media and the value of our stories as a whole. Roughly 55% of films passed the test last year, which is pretty damn impressive, but it’s basically pathetic when you realize that the in 1955, 56% of major feature films passed the test.
Tough to get excited when you see those numbers, isn’t it?
And so this is why I’m going to push you to think about this: Is Star Wars passing the Bechdel Test really the only criterion we should be requiring the biggest motion picture of our recent history to be judged against when it comes to how it treats women and people of color?
I would say no. I would say, we should both HOPE for and DEMAND more. There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful, too. Shonda Rhimes doesn’t just stand for female empowerment: she IS female empowerment in Hollywood. Star Wars star Gwendolyn Christie reported that her costume wasn’t a prototypical sex pot piece, which is promising. And the most recent trailers heavily feature Daisy, one of the new characters to be added to the franchise. Not only is she featured, she is in on the action and part of it too.
This weekend, as we all head to the theaters to see our beloved franchise reimagined by the mind of JJ Abrams, I hope we’ll all go in with higher expectations. It’s no longer enough for franchises to tokenize women and people of color. It’s no longer acceptable for “strong female characters” to be sexualized props and scantily clad for the sake of visual aesthetics at the expense of story logic. And it should no longer be acceptable to cast one person of color and think we’ve hit our quota.
I’m excited because The Force Awakens could be a new day - not just in the Star Wars universe - but in how inclusion our entertainment can be.
beinggeekchic posted this 