The Bechdel Test

"Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a fucked-up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind; don't assign me yours."

Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

So, this has been playing on my mind ever since I first heard it. A father of young children points out a totally obvious fact that, like so many other apparent details, is hidden right there in plain sight. As I watch more and more films, read more and more reviews, I see how startlingly valid “The Bechdel Test” is! There is usually only one woman in a film, even if she’s playing the lead role. If there is another, she is likely the victim of a crime in need of rescue or avenging by some musclebound hero. Almost never do two women engage in any dialogue and when they do, it really does seem too often to be about men.

Further, women in book adaptations seem to always be introduced with some small variation of “Mary-Jane, 25, stunningly beautiful” or “Lisa, 25, attractive, wearing a blah blah blah” (And don’t let me go anywhere near the only other available option for the role of a non-penised person on the screen, the nagging old witch!!). Forget for a moment that the scope of perception is impossibly narrow and consider that it is far less common to read, “Thomas, 43, handsome,” or “Steve, 19, attractive wearing a blah blah blah”. Men seem to be introduced, you know, properly with telling details about their character whereas women are uniformly “attractive”.

Which is why, for the last few weeks I’ve been enveloped by the genius of Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake! Thank you, BBC, for supporting the kind of artistry that is life-changing, inspiring, and so incredibly different that it has painted the usual misogynistic shite we see on TV the dull, monotone colour it has become. My praise for this this amazing work cannot be sung loudly enough. Any writer should be fuelled by this to work towards bringing more vivid portrayals of female characters to the screen. It’s entertainment so I’m not looking for reality here, just equality in the equivocation. That shouldn’t be too much to ask, should it?

So, what’s top of the lake all about;

Detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) returns to her remote New Zealand hometown of Laketop to visit her mother who is dying of cancer, leaving behind in Sydney her fiancé of five years, Steve. When twelve-year-old Tui (Jacqueline Joe) is found standing fully dressed in the local lake, the school nurse discovers that Tui is five months pregnant. Robin is brought in to interview the child on account of her experience with abuse cases. When asked who impregnated her, Tui writes the word “No-one” on a piece of paper.

That’s all you’re getting! I’ll only spoil it by bringing more of the characters in! It’s beautifully written, beautifully acted and beautifully staged, so, if you’re reading this and you haven’t seen it, be you woman or man, in the UK get it on the iPlayer, for everyone else, I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait for the beeb to sell it to the networks!

What I’m wearing this week;

Head & Teeth - .LeLutka. Head.Simone 3.0

Eyes - CATWA UN-RIGGED EYE V1.1 - (Custom eye texture)

Hair - .Entwined. Ashley

Eyebrows - Glam Affair - Katya suggest eyebrows 01

Skin - LURE: Emily (Carnation)

Body, Hands & Feet - Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V4.0

Nail Varnish - alaskametro<3 "Classic/Solid" Slink/Omega/Maitreya nail polish applier

AO - VISTA ANIMATIONS *HUD 4.14*MIRIAM BENTO AO-V1B

Physics - 2.- Sutile -Subtle.~ Physics by Temptation

Shape - Custom Made

Tattoo - Nomadic Owl - Black [CAROL G]