¡Sarah!

So through the Twilight post on Feministing I was introduced to the "Bechdel Rule," which requires that a movie must A) have two female characters B) who have a conversation C) about something that is not a man. I was reminded of this rule while A and I were watching Iron Man tonight - a movie that almost fulfills this rule, but makes me think there should be a fourth component to it, perhaps: D) without one of the characters insulting the other. (Man, Iron Man was a textbook case of how Hollywood treats fictional women, am I right or am I right. :/ )

Guys, this makes me want to start a meme! To participate, please go through your favourite movies and tell me which ones do and do not fulfill this rule. :D

My list, with the note that I am only counting female characters who are important enough that you would list them if you were making a list of characters in the movie:

After Life: Actually a pretty good number of female characters (Shiori, the woman who remembers her brother, the woman who collects flower petals, the girl who remembers her mother, the woman who lies about her age, Kyoko, the woman who remembers the earthquake, the woman who remembers meeting her boyfriend after the war, the secretary). Shiori and the girl who remembers her mother have two conversations (one about Disneyland and one about their parents), and the woman who remembers the earthquake shows Shiori how to make onigiri, so this one definitely passes.

Aladdin: ONE female character (Jasmine). COMPLETE AND UTTER FAIL!

Amadeus: Four female characters (Stanzi, Frau Weber, Katerina, Lorl). The closest thing to a conversation that any of them has with another is when Stanzi asks Lorl if the anonymous person is going to be paying her. So that's a pass, but kind of a pathetic one ...

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Five female characters, but I'm being a bit lenient here (Elizabeth, her servant lady, Annamaria, Scarlett, Giselle). Elizabeth and Annamaria shout at each other about how best to outrun the pirates, so technically it passes, but Annamaria is pretty eager to offer Elizabeth to the pirates which I think kind of breaks my addition to the rule.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Four female characters (Elizabeth, Tia Dalma, Scarlett, Giselle). I'm calling this a fail; Scarlett and Giselle exchange knowing glances but they're thinking about Jack, and when Tia Dalma talks to Elizabeth everyone is thinking about Jack, so yeah. That's a fail.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: Seven female characters (Elizabeth, Tia Dalma, Mistress Ching, Scarlett, Giselle, Sao Feng's two women who have three minutes of screen time). Elizabeth talks to Tia Dalma but about Sao Feng. Mistress Ching asks Elizabeth for her orders? So I guess this passes, although like Amadeus, it's kind of pathetic ...

I feel like I'm forgetting a really obvious movie, but oh well that's enough for now. x) How do your favourite movies stand up??

The rules as written by some anonymous online soul:

1. Pick fifteen of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. No using Google/IMDb search or other search functions.

I definitely interpreted them more like: pick fifteen movies you like well enough and post a quote from each, whether or not the quote could be found on IMDb. (haha I'm a rebel.)

I apologize in advance, guys -- in my attempt to prevent this little game from becoming too easy, I think I may have made it too difficult. D: But ... I have faith in you!!! x);;

~

01. "Now you know how it feels to be just like everybody else. Isn't it just peachy?"

02. "You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail."

03. "There's no Hell? Everyone ends up here?"

04. "Because You are unjust. Unfair. Unkind."

05. "You're not dying, you just can't think of anything good to do."

06. "Belay that belay that!"

07. "Well, to be honest, I've never been so scared. But at least I have a husband."

08. "I taught you how to fight but I never taught you why to fight."

09. "Well of course we talk. Don't everybody?"

10. "Whoops! I hit the wrong target!"

11. "Don't mess wit' me. I'm the Stair Master. I've mastered the stairs. I wish I had a step right here, right now, I'd step all over it."

12. "We just thought maybe you were made of something stronger."

13. "Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but -- well, there haven't been any quiet moments."

14. "There are children here somewhere. I can smell them."

15. "Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?"

So on Tuesday night I was flipping through the channels and my favourite movie Amadeus was on Bravo again. Nothing terribly unusual but always a pleasant surprise, hehe. :) And so I watched it and was happy.

And then last night I was flipping through the channels again (during the Word, my least favourite part of Colbert Report, hahaha burn). And so I get to the CBC. And who is on my screen but Iseya, talking about whether there is a heaven or a hell.

Basically what I am trying to say is that my favourite movie After Life was on TV last night, and when I realized it I basically nearly fainted. Because oh man, talk about a movie I never ever expected to see on TV! Because it is foreign and it put the majority of my eleventh grade Japanese class to sleep. But there it was, presented as a part of CBC's "International Movie Night," haha. (Though I noticed they cut out that one minute of black screen. Which cracks me up. I would cut it out too, if I was showing this on TV.)

(One thing I don't get, though, is why Amadeus got a PG stuck in the corner of the screen and After Life got a 14A. Because I have no idea what there is in After Life that would bump it up even past a G. There is so much worse stuff in Amadeus than in After Life, even when it's not the Director's Cut, and I am just so confused.)

My two favourite movies being on TV one night after the other is pretty awesome, right?? XD Hahaha. So I was thinking it would be super hilarious if my favourite movie Aladdin was on tonight, but I didn't watch as much TV tonight and anyway it probably wasn't. :P

( I always pronounce 'Aladdin' like it's pronounced in that episode 'My Fair Aladdin' but I don't think anyone ever gets it. )

And here is an announcement that actually has to do with real life and not a whit with TV: I have decided to give in and just let my ear piercings grow over. Today I tried to put earrings in, to sort of save the piercings (stupid tactic I know), but then decided I was just not interested in forcing them through again. Well, that's a lie -- the right piercing is still just fine and dandy. WHY DO THEY COVER OVER AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS AUGH I WOULD BE SO MUCH HAPPIER IF THEY WERE THE SAME. But anyway I haven't worn earrings since grad and it's ridiculous to think I'll just randomly start and it's ridiculous to think "augh but I spent thirteen dollars on these when I was ten" because that's just ridiculous. And augh I wish the marks would disappear, I don't want to look like I have pierced ears and not have pierced ears ... aaaaaaaugh well whatever.

So Athena, if you want some free earrings, let me know ... :P

I want to watch Wandafuru Raifu like right now but I don't have it, sigh.

That is all.