Embark on a stylish, energised short from Gianna Mazzeo which educates and delights with its playful explainer approach in The History of the Carabiner. As Mazzeo sat in a pre-production meeting she was astounded that no one in the gender diverse and queer group was aware of the storied biography of this enigmatic emblem of lesbian life and so dove straight into how she would tell the story. The History of the Carabiner, made in conjunction with WaterBear and Nikon Europe comprises an entirely queer, non-binary and lesbian cast whose individuality, pride and love for their accessory of choice and the lifestyle it denotes are dazzlingly captured and celebrated by Mazzeo. As The History of the Carabiner hits the pages of Dn we speak to Mazzeo about how much she struggled to find reliable source material and archival footage in her research, getting past her initial reluctance to use her...
- 4/29/2024
- by Sarah Smith
- Directors Notes
Alison Bechdel came up with the comic strip premise for the Bechdel Test in 1985, identifying the lack of female representation in countless movies and TV shows in which two women don’t even speak to one another. The first use of the phrase “global warming” preceded that in 1975, but now in an unusual marriage, the two concepts are coming together to help entertainment address climate change.
Non-profit organization Good Energy is today launching what it’s calling a “Climate Reality Check,” introducing a study and its criteria for a Bechdel-type test assessing whether some recent releases acknowledge the existence of climate change in its text.
The test is intended as a guide for screenwriters and industry professionals to “interrogate their own stories” and see whether Hollywood is representing reality — the grim reality being climate change — on screen. And the organization is calling it a reality check because it believes that...
Non-profit organization Good Energy is today launching what it’s calling a “Climate Reality Check,” introducing a study and its criteria for a Bechdel-type test assessing whether some recent releases acknowledge the existence of climate change in its text.
The test is intended as a guide for screenwriters and industry professionals to “interrogate their own stories” and see whether Hollywood is representing reality — the grim reality being climate change — on screen. And the organization is calling it a reality check because it believes that...
- 3/1/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Editor’s Note: This interview took place prior to the beginning of the Writers Guild of America strike on May 2.
Welcome to It’s a Hit! In this series, IndieWire speaks to creators and showrunners behind a few of our favorite television programs about the moment they realized their show was breaking big.
As he geared up for the premiere of “Fire Island” on Hulu, writer and star Joel Kim Booster was braced for a deluge of #discourse.
He was familiar with the critical audience feedback for well-intentioned queer media of yesteryear, and fully prepared for “Fire Island” to engender the same polarizing response.
“Listen, I think I got away with murder a little bit in terms of the discourse around this movie,” Booster told IndieWire. “Gay men are especially critical of a media that depicts us because we are so starved for it. There’s not a lot of...
Welcome to It’s a Hit! In this series, IndieWire speaks to creators and showrunners behind a few of our favorite television programs about the moment they realized their show was breaking big.
As he geared up for the premiere of “Fire Island” on Hulu, writer and star Joel Kim Booster was braced for a deluge of #discourse.
He was familiar with the critical audience feedback for well-intentioned queer media of yesteryear, and fully prepared for “Fire Island” to engender the same polarizing response.
“Listen, I think I got away with murder a little bit in terms of the discourse around this movie,” Booster told IndieWire. “Gay men are especially critical of a media that depicts us because we are so starved for it. There’s not a lot of...
- 5/18/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
(Welcome to Animation Celebration, a recurring feature where we explore the limitless possibilities of animation as a medium. In this edition: "Persepolis.")
I was a sophomore in college taking my first Women's Literature class when I was first introduced to Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, "Persepolis." My professor was an adventurous woman who was clearly tired of rehashing Emily Brontë and Jane Austen year after year and wanted to try something new with our class. In addition to the so-called classics, she gave us the graphic novel "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel (of The Bechdel Test fame) and "Persepolis." I distinctly remember one of my classmates scoffing at the book, dismissing graphic novels as "glorified picture books" and refusing to read the material. My professor had zero patience for someone disparaging the good word of graphic novels and held up "Persepolis" in her hand like a televangelist with a bible.
I was a sophomore in college taking my first Women's Literature class when I was first introduced to Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, "Persepolis." My professor was an adventurous woman who was clearly tired of rehashing Emily Brontë and Jane Austen year after year and wanted to try something new with our class. In addition to the so-called classics, she gave us the graphic novel "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel (of The Bechdel Test fame) and "Persepolis." I distinctly remember one of my classmates scoffing at the book, dismissing graphic novels as "glorified picture books" and refusing to read the material. My professor had zero patience for someone disparaging the good word of graphic novels and held up "Persepolis" in her hand like a televangelist with a bible.
- 11/22/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
With Lady Gaga and Brendon Gleeson in the cast, director Todd Phillips sequel project would sit fine with the nuttiness of the current DC universe
The history of Hollywood comic-book musicals is not a long and garlanded one. Comic books that have become stage musicals, well yes – there are quite a few of those. Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Little Orphan Annie, Josie and the Pussycats – all were inspired by, or were synonymous with, the printed page before making it to the big screen. Alison Bechdel, she of the Bechdel test, saw her introspective and gruelling graphic memoir Fun Home transformed into a Tony award-winning Broadway musical in 2015.
But actual superhero musicals? There’s the ill-fated, rightly obscure 1983 Australian comedy The Return of Captain Invincible, starring Alan Arkin and (remarkably) Christopher Lee, but it is certainly not a populous pantheon. So it is something of a surprise to learn that...
The history of Hollywood comic-book musicals is not a long and garlanded one. Comic books that have become stage musicals, well yes – there are quite a few of those. Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, Little Orphan Annie, Josie and the Pussycats – all were inspired by, or were synonymous with, the printed page before making it to the big screen. Alison Bechdel, she of the Bechdel test, saw her introspective and gruelling graphic memoir Fun Home transformed into a Tony award-winning Broadway musical in 2015.
But actual superhero musicals? There’s the ill-fated, rightly obscure 1983 Australian comedy The Return of Captain Invincible, starring Alan Arkin and (remarkably) Christopher Lee, but it is certainly not a populous pantheon. So it is something of a surprise to learn that...
- 9/9/2022
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
There just aren't a lot of queer-themed stage musicals starring queer kids. And when I refer to kids, I mean those on the lower spectrum of teenhood, around 13, or lower.
It was years ago I saw Carly Gold as 10-year-old Alison Bechdel perform "Ring of Keys," a signature number in the touring "Fun Home" musical. Four years later, I watched "Trevor: The Musical," based on the 1994 Academy Award-winning short film "Trevor" directed by Peggy Rajski and written by Celeste Lecesne, at Stage 42 off-Broadway in NYC. While it was by no means a groundbreaker, I realized then...
The post Trevor: The Musical Review: Holden William Hagelberger Shines in the Filmed Version of the Off-Broadway Stage Production appeared first on /Film.
It was years ago I saw Carly Gold as 10-year-old Alison Bechdel perform "Ring of Keys," a signature number in the touring "Fun Home" musical. Four years later, I watched "Trevor: The Musical," based on the 1994 Academy Award-winning short film "Trevor" directed by Peggy Rajski and written by Celeste Lecesne, at Stage 42 off-Broadway in NYC. While it was by no means a groundbreaker, I realized then...
The post Trevor: The Musical Review: Holden William Hagelberger Shines in the Filmed Version of the Off-Broadway Stage Production appeared first on /Film.
- 6/27/2022
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Joel Kim Booster is having a month.
The comedian, writer and actor is fresh off his well-received screenwriting debut Fire Island, a queer spin on Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, and rolling right into the release of his first Netflix comedy special, Psychosexual. Topically, the two projects are so complimentary they could be watched as a double-feature.
But the one-hour comedy special from the Los Angeles-based multihyphenate offers a more direct look at who Booster is, personally and creatively. A three-act takedown of what he’s faced over the course of his artistic career, Psychosexual sees Booster dissect how he’s dissected by audiences through a series of jokes for (and not for) said audiences.
Seemingly a declaration that the comedian is no longer concerned with others’ concerns, Psychosexual offers a hilariously biting deconstruction and reconstruction of Booster’s identity onstage; a...
Joel Kim Booster is having a month.
The comedian, writer and actor is fresh off his well-received screenwriting debut Fire Island, a queer spin on Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, and rolling right into the release of his first Netflix comedy special, Psychosexual. Topically, the two projects are so complimentary they could be watched as a double-feature.
But the one-hour comedy special from the Los Angeles-based multihyphenate offers a more direct look at who Booster is, personally and creatively. A three-act takedown of what he’s faced over the course of his artistic career, Psychosexual sees Booster dissect how he’s dissected by audiences through a series of jokes for (and not for) said audiences.
Seemingly a declaration that the comedian is no longer concerned with others’ concerns, Psychosexual offers a hilariously biting deconstruction and reconstruction of Booster’s identity onstage; a...
- 6/20/2022
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Fire Island” ignited a viral Twitter debate on June 7 over gender representation, but now the Bechdel Test creator herself, Alison Bechdel, has issued the last word.
The conversation began after New York Magazine podcaster Hannah Rosin tweeted, “So Fire Island gets an F- on the Bechdel test in a whole new way,” citing the lack of female characters in the queer Aapi reimagining of Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice,” aside from Margaret Cho’s mother hen onscreen persona.
The Bechdel Test is formally “a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction, such as a film, on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters.” The criteria tested is that a film must include at least two women, they must interact with each other, and their conversation must be about something other than a man. It originated, however, as a joke in...
The conversation began after New York Magazine podcaster Hannah Rosin tweeted, “So Fire Island gets an F- on the Bechdel test in a whole new way,” citing the lack of female characters in the queer Aapi reimagining of Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice,” aside from Margaret Cho’s mother hen onscreen persona.
The Bechdel Test is formally “a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction, such as a film, on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters.” The criteria tested is that a film must include at least two women, they must interact with each other, and their conversation must be about something other than a man. It originated, however, as a joke in...
- 6/8/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
In 1985, cartoonist Alison Bechdel drew a sequence in her strip Dykes to Watch Out For that depicted a pair of women walking by a movie theater. “I have this rule,” one says. “I only go to a movie if it satisfies three basic requirements: One, it has to have at least two women in it who, two, talk to each other about, three, something besides a man.” The punchline is that under those standards, the last film she was able to see was Alien – released six years prior.
The Bechdel test, as the three rules came to be known, has since entered the cultural vernacular as an earnest gauge of gender representation in media. It has spawned variants aiming to account for inclusion behind the scenes as well as intersectionally, sometimes getting extremely granular about stereotypes and tropes in depictions involving women (“one...
In 1985, cartoonist Alison Bechdel drew a sequence in her strip Dykes to Watch Out For that depicted a pair of women walking by a movie theater. “I have this rule,” one says. “I only go to a movie if it satisfies three basic requirements: One, it has to have at least two women in it who, two, talk to each other about, three, something besides a man.” The punchline is that under those standards, the last film she was able to see was Alien – released six years prior.
The Bechdel test, as the three rules came to be known, has since entered the cultural vernacular as an earnest gauge of gender representation in media. It has spawned variants aiming to account for inclusion behind the scenes as well as intersectionally, sometimes getting extremely granular about stereotypes and tropes in depictions involving women (“one...
- 6/8/2022
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Directed and produced by Vivian Kleiman, Tribeca premiere No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics provides a glimpse into the lives and works of comic artists Alison Bechdel, Rupert Kinnard, Mary Wings, Howard Cruse, and Jennifer Camper, who were integral to the development of the first queer comics in the underground comic scene. Kleiman does a phenomenal job in placing the vibrant energies of the pioneering artists in dialogue with younger artists while framing their comic works within the larger context of intersectional identities and the history of the LGBT community. When asked about the creative influences that […]
The post “The Whole Impetus for Queer Comics is to Make our Lives Visible”: Vivian Kleiman on Tribeca World-Premiering No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Whole Impetus for Queer Comics is to Make our Lives Visible”: Vivian Kleiman on Tribeca World-Premiering No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/23/2021
- by Sally McGee
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Directed and produced by Vivian Kleiman, Tribeca premiere No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics provides a glimpse into the lives and works of comic artists Alison Bechdel, Rupert Kinnard, Mary Wings, Howard Cruse, and Jennifer Camper, who were integral to the development of the first queer comics in the underground comic scene. Kleiman does a phenomenal job in placing the vibrant energies of the pioneering artists in dialogue with younger artists while framing their comic works within the larger context of intersectional identities and the history of the LGBT community. When asked about the creative influences that […]
The post “The Whole Impetus for Queer Comics is to Make our Lives Visible”: Vivian Kleiman on Tribeca World-Premiering No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Whole Impetus for Queer Comics is to Make our Lives Visible”: Vivian Kleiman on Tribeca World-Premiering No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 6/23/2021
- by Sally McGee
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The 2021 Sheffield Doc/Fest has announced its competition contenders alongside its full program.
The international competition includes “Charm Circle” “Rancho”, “Factory to the Workers” and “Summer”.
Also competing are “Equatorial Constellations”, “From the 84 Days”, “This Stained Dawn”, “Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is Our Land!”, “White on White”, “Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions” and “My Dear Spies”.
The festival’s complete program includes 55 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 15 European premieres and 59 U.K. premieres from 57 countries with 63 languages represented, spread over 78 features and 88 shorts.
Being presented as special screenings this year are five world premieres. Steve McQueen and James Rogan’s new series “Uprising”; Clive Patterson’s “Sing, Freetown”; and working with U.K. poet laureate Simon Armitage, Brian Hill presents “Where Did The World Go.” Additionally, three films will offer different perspectives on 9/11 and its consequences — “My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan...
The international competition includes “Charm Circle” “Rancho”, “Factory to the Workers” and “Summer”.
Also competing are “Equatorial Constellations”, “From the 84 Days”, “This Stained Dawn”, “Nũhũ Yãg Mũ Yõg Hãm: This Land Is Our Land!”, “White on White”, “Double Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions” and “My Dear Spies”.
The festival’s complete program includes 55 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 15 European premieres and 59 U.K. premieres from 57 countries with 63 languages represented, spread over 78 features and 88 shorts.
Being presented as special screenings this year are five world premieres. Steve McQueen and James Rogan’s new series “Uprising”; Clive Patterson’s “Sing, Freetown”; and working with U.K. poet laureate Simon Armitage, Brian Hill presents “Where Did The World Go.” Additionally, three films will offer different perspectives on 9/11 and its consequences — “My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan...
- 5/17/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
by Murtada Elfadl
Gyllenhaal with Tesori in 2018
Thankfully the box office failure of Cats hasn’t put the kibosh on green lighting musicals for the big screen. The latest Broadway sensation to get the big screen treatment will be Fun Home, based on illustrator Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about her bittersweet relationship with her father. Yes that’s the Bechdel of the Bechdel test. Jake Gyllenhaal will produce and star as Bruce Bechdel, the role that won Michael Cerveris a Tony for best actor in a musical- one of 5 Tonys Fun Home won in 2015. The part is multi faceted as the elder Bechdel is a closeted conflicted gay man and the musical charts not only his daughter’s queer awakening but also his messy relationship with her and with his wife.
Sydney Lucas as Small alison with Cerveris on Broadway
I loved this show on Broadway and I'm excited to see a film adaptation,...
Gyllenhaal with Tesori in 2018
Thankfully the box office failure of Cats hasn’t put the kibosh on green lighting musicals for the big screen. The latest Broadway sensation to get the big screen treatment will be Fun Home, based on illustrator Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about her bittersweet relationship with her father. Yes that’s the Bechdel of the Bechdel test. Jake Gyllenhaal will produce and star as Bruce Bechdel, the role that won Michael Cerveris a Tony for best actor in a musical- one of 5 Tonys Fun Home won in 2015. The part is multi faceted as the elder Bechdel is a closeted conflicted gay man and the musical charts not only his daughter’s queer awakening but also his messy relationship with her and with his wife.
Sydney Lucas as Small alison with Cerveris on Broadway
I loved this show on Broadway and I'm excited to see a film adaptation,...
- 1/5/2020
- by Murtada Elfadl
- FilmExperience
Is there an actor making more interesting career choices currently than Jake Gyllenhaal? Just look at the work he’s turned in over the past two years, with roles in “Wildlife,” “The Sisters Brothers,” “Velvet Buzzsaw,” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Let’s also not forget his scene-stealing appearance in John Mulaney’s latest Netflix special.
Continue reading Jake Gyllenhaal Reportedly Producing & Starring In A Film Adaptation Of Alison Bechdel’s ‘Fun Home’ at The Playlist.
Continue reading Jake Gyllenhaal Reportedly Producing & Starring In A Film Adaptation Of Alison Bechdel’s ‘Fun Home’ at The Playlist.
- 1/3/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
“Musicals can be very tricky,” Jeanine Tesori explains. “Because when you deliver something and you put a beautiful string section underneath it, it sways you. It sways you because of the physics of music, and the overtone series and the ways that music is embedded inside the science of being alive.”
Tesori, the composer of the music within David Henry Hwang’s complex and fascinating new play, Soft Power, certainly understands how musicals can manipulate, persuade, and influence. She won a Tony for Best Original Score for Fun Home, along with Lisa Kron,...
Tesori, the composer of the music within David Henry Hwang’s complex and fascinating new play, Soft Power, certainly understands how musicals can manipulate, persuade, and influence. She won a Tony for Best Original Score for Fun Home, along with Lisa Kron,...
- 11/7/2019
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
The massive success of Jill Soloway’s “Transparent” offered a foot in the door for many trans actors, writers, and directors to get a first legitimate credit in Hollywood. Episode director Silas Howard directed Octavia Spencer in “A Kid Like Jake”; writer Our Lady J is a writer and producer on “Pose”; and actress Trace Lysette’s star is about to reach new heights when she appears opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers.”
Now, we can add Rhys Ernst to the list of trans Hollywood elite to come out of the school of Soloway. A visual artist and filmmaker, Ernst makes his feature filmmaking debut with “Adam,” a Ya romantic-comedy with an unusual twist.
The movie, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, packs a number of rising stars in its ranks. Margaret Qualley, who will next appear in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” costars in the film,...
Now, we can add Rhys Ernst to the list of trans Hollywood elite to come out of the school of Soloway. A visual artist and filmmaker, Ernst makes his feature filmmaking debut with “Adam,” a Ya romantic-comedy with an unusual twist.
The movie, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, packs a number of rising stars in its ranks. Margaret Qualley, who will next appear in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” costars in the film,...
- 7/22/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things!
Ah, young love. Amongst all the thrills, Stranger Things doesn't shy away from its young romances, from sweet young lovebirds Mike and El to longtime love interests Jonathan and Nancy. But in the third season, an unexpected love blossoms: awkward Dustin finally gets a girlfriend, Suzie, and is able to prove that she's real at exactly the right time - by singing a duet over the radio with her! Suzie made a big impact in her short screen time, so here's what you need to know about the talented actress who plays her!
Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Pizzolo is new to Stranger Things and new to the Netflix family, but she's already got several credits on her young résumé. As you might have guessed from her hilariously awesome singing duet with Gaten Matarazzo's Dustin, she's got a musical background, starring in lead roles in two...
Ah, young love. Amongst all the thrills, Stranger Things doesn't shy away from its young romances, from sweet young lovebirds Mike and El to longtime love interests Jonathan and Nancy. But in the third season, an unexpected love blossoms: awkward Dustin finally gets a girlfriend, Suzie, and is able to prove that she's real at exactly the right time - by singing a duet over the radio with her! Suzie made a big impact in her short screen time, so here's what you need to know about the talented actress who plays her!
Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Pizzolo is new to Stranger Things and new to the Netflix family, but she's already got several credits on her young résumé. As you might have guessed from her hilariously awesome singing duet with Gaten Matarazzo's Dustin, she's got a musical background, starring in lead roles in two...
- 7/5/2019
- by Amanda Prahl
- Popsugar.com
Galentine’s Day is here to remind you that romantic relationships come and go, but friends are forever.
Coined by Leslie Knope on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” Feb. 13 has become a day for leaving your partners at home and honoring sisterhood over breakfast food. “It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas,” says our favorite overachiever.
In honor of the recently-spawned holiday, Variety has compiled a list of some of the best female friendship films, including everything from “Thelma & Louise” to “Girls Trip.” Each show or film also passes the Bechdel Test, so in the words of “Golden Girls” star Blanche Devereaux, “I’ve been having a good time, and there wasn’t even a man in the room.”
“Beaches”
Polar opposites Cc (Bette Midler) and Hillary (Barbara Hershey) have been the wind beneath each other’s wings since they were children and gone through falling for the same man,...
Coined by Leslie Knope on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” Feb. 13 has become a day for leaving your partners at home and honoring sisterhood over breakfast food. “It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas,” says our favorite overachiever.
In honor of the recently-spawned holiday, Variety has compiled a list of some of the best female friendship films, including everything from “Thelma & Louise” to “Girls Trip.” Each show or film also passes the Bechdel Test, so in the words of “Golden Girls” star Blanche Devereaux, “I’ve been having a good time, and there wasn’t even a man in the room.”
“Beaches”
Polar opposites Cc (Bette Midler) and Hillary (Barbara Hershey) have been the wind beneath each other’s wings since they were children and gone through falling for the same man,...
- 2/13/2019
- by Nate Nickolai and Rachel Yang
- Variety Film + TV
Forward Theater Company continues its 10th anniversary season celebration by producing its first musical, Fun Home Book amp Lyrics by Lisa Kron, Music by Jeanine Tesori This groundbreaking musical is based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, and is the winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. As an added bonus, Forward Theater is excited to feature Tony Award-winning actress Karen Olivo in the production as Adult Alison. This Wisconsin premiere will be presented in the Playhouse at Overture Center, through November25.
- 11/5/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Forward Theater Company continues its 10th anniversary season celebration by producing its first musical, Fun Home Book amp Lyrics by Lisa Kron, Music by Jeanine Tesori This groundbreaking musical is based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, and is the winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. As an added bonus, Forward Theater is excited to feature Tony Award-winning actress Karen Olivo in the production. This Wisconsin premiere will be presented in the Playhouse at Overture Center, November 1 - 25.
- 10/9/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
You may be asking: Why is a man reviewing a documentary about gender inequality in Hollywood? But then you may as well ask: Why did a man direct such a film in the first place?
Representation is an issue that affects all of us, on-screen and off, and while it’s inspirational to see women directors such as Natalie Portman and Maria Giese on the front lines of the 2017 Women’s March — as we do in Tom Donahue’s “This Changes Everything” — there’s something to be said for solidarity shown by those who have nothing to gain from their support beyond the advancement of the greater good. So, like white people at a Black Lives Matter rally or straight folks at a Gay Pride parade, Donahue deserves credit for proactively going out of his way to make a movie that tells it like it is — and paints it as it could be.
Representation is an issue that affects all of us, on-screen and off, and while it’s inspirational to see women directors such as Natalie Portman and Maria Giese on the front lines of the 2017 Women’s March — as we do in Tom Donahue’s “This Changes Everything” — there’s something to be said for solidarity shown by those who have nothing to gain from their support beyond the advancement of the greater good. So, like white people at a Black Lives Matter rally or straight folks at a Gay Pride parade, Donahue deserves credit for proactively going out of his way to make a movie that tells it like it is — and paints it as it could be.
- 9/9/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Do you know about the F Rating?
It originated at the Bath Film Festival; it means the film was either written by, directed by or features women in a significant roles.
Here’s a link to their page about it: https://filmbath.org.uk/f-rated/the-f-rating
If you go to IMDb and go to Keywords and choose “F Rated” you will be directed to 23,128 titles that have women in many, many categories:
A brief history of the F-Rating
The F-Rating is a film rating which is awarded to films directed by and/or written by women.
If the film also stars significant women in their own right, the film is Triple F-Rated, our gold standard.
The aim of the rating is to highlight films where the main person telling the story is a woman; to encourage film exhibitors to F-Rate their programme; to help film goers easily find films directed...
It originated at the Bath Film Festival; it means the film was either written by, directed by or features women in a significant roles.
Here’s a link to their page about it: https://filmbath.org.uk/f-rated/the-f-rating
If you go to IMDb and go to Keywords and choose “F Rated” you will be directed to 23,128 titles that have women in many, many categories:
A brief history of the F-Rating
The F-Rating is a film rating which is awarded to films directed by and/or written by women.
If the film also stars significant women in their own right, the film is Triple F-Rated, our gold standard.
The aim of the rating is to highlight films where the main person telling the story is a woman; to encourage film exhibitors to F-Rate their programme; to help film goers easily find films directed...
- 8/18/2018
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Based on the best-selling graphic novel of the same name,Fun Homeintroduces us to author Alison Bechdel at three different ages, revealing memories of her uniquely dysfunctional family. As we look through her eyes we witness her journey to self-acceptance and a daughter's determination to understand and connect with her volatile, brilliant, enigmatic father. A refreshingly honest musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes,Fun Homeis a blazingly original heartbreaker and a nonstop treasure of invention...
- 4/19/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
As you might be able to tell from the year in the post title, I’ve gotten more than a little lackadaisical about keeping up with this annual series of the best in comics created by North Americans. (I reviewed 2006 at the beginning of 2007, 2007 later in 2007, 2008 in 2008, 2009 in 2009, 2010 in 2011 after the next book was published, 2011 in 2012, 2012 in 2013, 2014 in 2014, and have so far missed 2015, 2016, and 2017. If it were still my job to keep up with things being published, I would probably be deeply ashamed of myself — but it hasn’t been for a decade now, so I’m not.)
But I’m still interested in good comics, as always. So here I finally am with the Jeff Smith-edited The Best American Comics 2013 , only four and a half years after it was published and six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years after the work in it originally appeared.
This is the point where one is...
But I’m still interested in good comics, as always. So here I finally am with the Jeff Smith-edited The Best American Comics 2013 , only four and a half years after it was published and six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years after the work in it originally appeared.
This is the point where one is...
- 3/3/2018
- by Andrew Wheeler
- Comicmix.com
It’s been over 30 years since Alison Bechdel, a renowned cartoonist, created the Bechdel-Wallace Test with the intention of highlighting Hollywood’s persistent gender disparities on-screen. The original Bechdel test simply asked whether a film features two women talking to each other about something other than a man.
But the Bechdel Test mostly addresses the way white women are portrayed in film, and expectations of diversity and representation have changed since the 1980s.
This is why FiveThirtyEight, a politics and economics website with a data journalism perspective, reached out to 13 women in the film and television industry and asked them to devise their own tests.
But the Bechdel Test mostly addresses the way white women are portrayed in film, and expectations of diversity and representation have changed since the 1980s.
This is why FiveThirtyEight, a politics and economics website with a data journalism perspective, reached out to 13 women in the film and television industry and asked them to devise their own tests.
- 1/17/2018
- by Frances Solá-Santiago
- PEOPLE.com
Girl Talk is a weekly look at women in film — past, present, and future.
The Bechdel Test is not perfect — even the creator of said test, prolific author and cartoonist Alison Bechdel agrees, and when I spoke to her in 2014 on the occasion of her winning a MacArthur Genius Grant, she was open about the test and its limitations. “I’m not a stickler about the Test — if I were, I wouldn’t see many movies,” she said at the time. She even ticked off a handful of films she had recently enjoyed that didn’t pass her own metrics (“Jackie Brown,” “About Time,” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” for those interested).
There are only three requirements for passing the test, which aims to determine how active and present women are in a film: It must feature at least two women in speaking roles, who have names, and who talk...
The Bechdel Test is not perfect — even the creator of said test, prolific author and cartoonist Alison Bechdel agrees, and when I spoke to her in 2014 on the occasion of her winning a MacArthur Genius Grant, she was open about the test and its limitations. “I’m not a stickler about the Test — if I were, I wouldn’t see many movies,” she said at the time. She even ticked off a handful of films she had recently enjoyed that didn’t pass her own metrics (“Jackie Brown,” “About Time,” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” for those interested).
There are only three requirements for passing the test, which aims to determine how active and present women are in a film: It must feature at least two women in speaking roles, who have names, and who talk...
- 12/29/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
- 9/27/2017
- by Nia Vardalos
- Vulture
Girl Talk is a weekly look at women in film — past, present, and future.
There are only three requirements for passing cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s eponymous test to determine how active and present women are in a film: It must feature at least two women in speaking roles, who have names, and who talk to each other about something – anything – other than a man. Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” does not meet any of these measures, and while that might make for a splashy talking point or prove a filmmaker’s spotty history with crafting compelling female characters, it’s the only acceptable outcome for a bombastic, fact-based war film.
As valuable and insightful a metric as the Bechdel Test – off-handedly conceived of in one of Bechdel’s ’80s-era comic strips, and generously inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf – it has its limitations. Plenty of films don’t pass the test,...
There are only three requirements for passing cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s eponymous test to determine how active and present women are in a film: It must feature at least two women in speaking roles, who have names, and who talk to each other about something – anything – other than a man. Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” does not meet any of these measures, and while that might make for a splashy talking point or prove a filmmaker’s spotty history with crafting compelling female characters, it’s the only acceptable outcome for a bombastic, fact-based war film.
As valuable and insightful a metric as the Bechdel Test – off-handedly conceived of in one of Bechdel’s ’80s-era comic strips, and generously inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf – it has its limitations. Plenty of films don’t pass the test,...
- 7/21/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“Fun Home” author Alison Bechdel coined the Bechdel Test over thirty years ago as a simple way to measure a story’s gender equity. The test is simple: Does a movie or TV show have more than two female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man? Surprisingly few pass the bar, although things have been changing. Now, the nonprofit media watchdog group Common Sense Media has introduced their own test to determine whether or not a movie or TV show defies gender stereotypes.
“This matters because these rigid stereotypes are holding us back — politically, economically and socially,” reads a report released by Common Sense Media yesterday. “Gender stereotypes riddle our movies, TV shows, online videos, games, and more, telling our boys that it’s Ok to use aggression to solve problems and our girls that their self-worth is tied to their appearance.”
Read More: Paul Feig, Kimberly Peirce, and 50 Others Address Gender Inequality With Sweeping New Initiative
“Everyone I encountered in the industry tried to tell me it wasn’t a problem any more, that it had been fixed,” actress Geena Davis told the New York Times. Davis is an advisor on the project and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. “Even people making these products are sure they’re gender-balanced when they’re profoundly not.”
The group already evaluates media in seven different categories: Positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism and drinking, drugs and smoking. They will add an eighth metric to highlight positive gender representation.
Read More: Jessica Chastain Blasts Portrayal Of Women In This Year’s Cannes Films As ‘Quite Disturbing’
The rates of measurement are more subjective than the Bechdel Test, causing some complicated choices. Despite depictions of violence and drug use, “Moonlight” received the stamp of approval for its singular and nuanced exploration of black male sexuality. The Fox series “Bones” made the cut for showing women as scientists, while “Bridesmaids” did not. “There wasn’t necessarily an intent to push against gender stereotypes,” said Common Sense executive editor for ratings Betsy Bozdech.
For now, the ratings will mostly be used as a guide for parents who feel frustrated by Hollywood’s use of outdated gender roles. As Common Sense’s influence grows, the seal of approval may guide potential advertisers as well.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related storiesThe Onion Explains Why There Are So Few Women Directors in Hollywood -- WatchPaul Feig, Kimberly Peirce, and 50 Others Address Gender Inequality With Sweeping New InitiativeMale Movie Stars Get Almost Twice as Much Screen Time: Report...
“This matters because these rigid stereotypes are holding us back — politically, economically and socially,” reads a report released by Common Sense Media yesterday. “Gender stereotypes riddle our movies, TV shows, online videos, games, and more, telling our boys that it’s Ok to use aggression to solve problems and our girls that their self-worth is tied to their appearance.”
Read More: Paul Feig, Kimberly Peirce, and 50 Others Address Gender Inequality With Sweeping New Initiative
“Everyone I encountered in the industry tried to tell me it wasn’t a problem any more, that it had been fixed,” actress Geena Davis told the New York Times. Davis is an advisor on the project and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. “Even people making these products are sure they’re gender-balanced when they’re profoundly not.”
The group already evaluates media in seven different categories: Positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism and drinking, drugs and smoking. They will add an eighth metric to highlight positive gender representation.
Read More: Jessica Chastain Blasts Portrayal Of Women In This Year’s Cannes Films As ‘Quite Disturbing’
The rates of measurement are more subjective than the Bechdel Test, causing some complicated choices. Despite depictions of violence and drug use, “Moonlight” received the stamp of approval for its singular and nuanced exploration of black male sexuality. The Fox series “Bones” made the cut for showing women as scientists, while “Bridesmaids” did not. “There wasn’t necessarily an intent to push against gender stereotypes,” said Common Sense executive editor for ratings Betsy Bozdech.
For now, the ratings will mostly be used as a guide for parents who feel frustrated by Hollywood’s use of outdated gender roles. As Common Sense’s influence grows, the seal of approval may guide potential advertisers as well.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related storiesThe Onion Explains Why There Are So Few Women Directors in Hollywood -- WatchPaul Feig, Kimberly Peirce, and 50 Others Address Gender Inequality With Sweeping New InitiativeMale Movie Stars Get Almost Twice as Much Screen Time: Report...
- 6/21/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Steven Spielberg is the most famous filmmaker in the world, so it was only a matter of time before his lengthy filmography was scrutinized by 21st century standards. The Bechdel test was going to find him eventually.
The Bechdel test — coined by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, it calls for a movie to have at least two named woman characters, who speak to each other about something other than a man — has its flaws, but it’s a simple, quantifiable way to measure whether a movie’s portrayal of women is credible. It’s not an issue that would have come up for Spielberg when he launched his career nearly 50 years ago, but times have changed.
Read More: Lgbt Superheroes: Why ‘Wonder Woman’ Could Never Have Been The Lesbian Avenger We Still Need
At a Women In Film luncheon held on Tuesday, the actress and director Elizabeth Banks said Spielberg “never...
The Bechdel test — coined by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, it calls for a movie to have at least two named woman characters, who speak to each other about something other than a man — has its flaws, but it’s a simple, quantifiable way to measure whether a movie’s portrayal of women is credible. It’s not an issue that would have come up for Spielberg when he launched his career nearly 50 years ago, but times have changed.
Read More: Lgbt Superheroes: Why ‘Wonder Woman’ Could Never Have Been The Lesbian Avenger We Still Need
At a Women In Film luncheon held on Tuesday, the actress and director Elizabeth Banks said Spielberg “never...
- 6/15/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Rating awarded to Frozen, American Honey and others, as database adopts system to raise profile of movies written by, directed by and starring women
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has adopted the F rating, a feminist classification system designed to highlight films that are written, directed or starring women.
The F rating was created in 2014 by Bath film festival executive director Holly Tarquini to “support women in film and change the stories we see on screen”. It was inspired by the Bechdel test, a system devised by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel to determine whether a work of fiction features at least two women talking about topics other than a man.
Continue reading...
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has adopted the F rating, a feminist classification system designed to highlight films that are written, directed or starring women.
The F rating was created in 2014 by Bath film festival executive director Holly Tarquini to “support women in film and change the stories we see on screen”. It was inspired by the Bechdel test, a system devised by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel to determine whether a work of fiction features at least two women talking about topics other than a man.
Continue reading...
- 3/7/2017
- by Gwilym Mumford
- The Guardian - Film News
Of 20 sampled films, 11 fulfill all three requirements of Alison Bechdel’s litmus test for female representation in storytelling, according to a new Bustle survey. The sample pool is admittedly subjective, with a mix of ten of the year’s highest grossing films, and ten of what the author deemed “the most buzzed about films.”
The top-grossing films of 2016 were:
“Finding Dory”
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Zootopia”
“The Jungle Book”
“The Secret Life of Pets”
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Deadpool”
“Suicide Squad”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”
“Doctor Strange”
Read More:
Bustle’s most buzzed about films were:
“La La Land”
“Arrival”
“Ghostbusters”
“Moana”
“Moonlight”
“Manchester By the Sea”
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
“X-Men: Apocalypse”
“Bad Moms”
“The Legend of Tarzan”
To pass the so-called Bechdel test, a movie or story must have: At least two named female characters, who have a conversation, about something other than a man.
The top-grossing films of 2016 were:
“Finding Dory”
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Zootopia”
“The Jungle Book”
“The Secret Life of Pets”
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Deadpool”
“Suicide Squad”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”
“Doctor Strange”
Read More:
Bustle’s most buzzed about films were:
“La La Land”
“Arrival”
“Ghostbusters”
“Moana”
“Moonlight”
“Manchester By the Sea”
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
“X-Men: Apocalypse”
“Bad Moms”
“The Legend of Tarzan”
To pass the so-called Bechdel test, a movie or story must have: At least two named female characters, who have a conversation, about something other than a man.
- 1/17/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
How is your holiday shopping going? Mine is mostly finished, because I am a selfish person and don’t give gifts to very many people. However no matter how many people you love or how many people to whom you feel obligated, I’d like to make a suggestion for the perfect present.
The truth.
I don’t mean the excellent graphic novel by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker, although you should definitely consider it if you haven’t already. No, I mean the actual truth.
If the last several months have shown us anything, it is that, to most Americans, the truth is a fungible thing. Anything is true if you want it to be true. Fact-checking is for suckers. This isn’t healthy for us as individuals, nor for the country as a whole.
It certainly doesn’t bode well for our government. And by forcing news-gathering organizations to make profits,...
The truth.
I don’t mean the excellent graphic novel by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker, although you should definitely consider it if you haven’t already. No, I mean the actual truth.
If the last several months have shown us anything, it is that, to most Americans, the truth is a fungible thing. Anything is true if you want it to be true. Fact-checking is for suckers. This isn’t healthy for us as individuals, nor for the country as a whole.
It certainly doesn’t bode well for our government. And by forcing news-gathering organizations to make profits,...
- 12/16/2016
- by Martha Thomases
- Comicmix.com
The Bechdel-Wallace Test was developed in 1985 by Alison Bechdel and Liz Wallace to see if a work of fiction featured at least two women talking about something other than a man. Looking at the 25 top-grossing films of 2016, The Hollywood Reporter decided to conduct the test to see if those movies passed.
The test has three requirements: 1. Does it have more than two female characters (with names) in it? 2. Do those characters engage in a conversation with each other? 3. And is that conversation about anything other than a man?
The results were put into four categories, Pass, Incomplete, Fail and Seriously, which meant that the film didn’t achieve any of the three requirements. According to THR only half of the movies passed, with “Ghostbusters” having 36 scenes involving two or more women talking about something other than a man and “The Conjuring 2” having 27 scenes.
Other films that checked all the requirements were “Bad Moms,...
The test has three requirements: 1. Does it have more than two female characters (with names) in it? 2. Do those characters engage in a conversation with each other? 3. And is that conversation about anything other than a man?
The results were put into four categories, Pass, Incomplete, Fail and Seriously, which meant that the film didn’t achieve any of the three requirements. According to THR only half of the movies passed, with “Ghostbusters” having 36 scenes involving two or more women talking about something other than a man and “The Conjuring 2” having 27 scenes.
Other films that checked all the requirements were “Bad Moms,...
- 12/10/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
THR recently gave the 25 top-grossing films of 2016 the Bechdel-Wallace Test. What's that? It's a quiz developed in 1985 by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace that reveals just how sexist (or not) any given work of fiction might be. To pass, the work simply has to affirmatively answer three questions: 1. Does it have more than two female characters (with names) in it? 2. Do those characters engage in a conversation with each other? 3. And is that conversation about anything other than a man? Shockingly (or not), only about half the movies we tested...
- 12/9/2016
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I hate writing about this. I hate having to write about this so frequently. But this is the world we live in.
As my ol’ pal Martha Thomases wrote a couple days ago, I tend to have a thing about free speech. I’m an absolutist. In my fevered brain, I figure we don’t have free speech unless it’s complete and it covers everything, in all forms of expression. Some people put limitations on what will be tolerated and they put restrictions on what can be said and where things can be said. Even if I were the one making those decisions – an amusing concept – that is not free speech. As I keep on saying, I would not remove Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf from the libraries, although I would use the book to teach high schoolers the cause and effect of hate speech.
This does not absolve the speaker (writer,...
As my ol’ pal Martha Thomases wrote a couple days ago, I tend to have a thing about free speech. I’m an absolutist. In my fevered brain, I figure we don’t have free speech unless it’s complete and it covers everything, in all forms of expression. Some people put limitations on what will be tolerated and they put restrictions on what can be said and where things can be said. Even if I were the one making those decisions – an amusing concept – that is not free speech. As I keep on saying, I would not remove Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf from the libraries, although I would use the book to teach high schoolers the cause and effect of hate speech.
This does not absolve the speaker (writer,...
- 12/7/2016
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
★★★★☆ The famous Bechdel Test - taken from a 1985 comic strip by Alison Bechdel - has over the past few years become an ever more popular barometer to gauge the validity of a film's treatment of women. The new film from Athina Rachel Tsangari, Chevalier spectacularly fails the test by not actually featuring a single female character on screen and yet those interested in equality of gender representation in current cinema would be advised not to overlook it. Eschewing the more outlandish elements of 2010's Attenberg, this is a brilliantly contained and sublimely ridiculous send-up of competitive male egos from a female perspective.
- 11/14/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Bechdel Test. First coined by Alison Bechdel via Dykes to Watch Out For in ’85, the theory has been applied to countless works of fiction ever since as a means of measuring gender bias across any medium – or lack thereof, in some cases. Its premise is simple: in order to pass the test, said subject must contain at least two women in it, two women who talk to one another about something besides a man.
Sounds simple? You’d be surprised by how many films fail to meet even that most basic requirement. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is categorically not one of them.
Talking to Facebook to commemorate International Day of the Girl, director James Gunn posted an exhaustive post on the matter, before confidently stating that not only does Guardians 2 pass the Bechdel test, the sequel seemingly manages to “run over it and back up over it...
Sounds simple? You’d be surprised by how many films fail to meet even that most basic requirement. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is categorically not one of them.
Talking to Facebook to commemorate International Day of the Girl, director James Gunn posted an exhaustive post on the matter, before confidently stating that not only does Guardians 2 pass the Bechdel test, the sequel seemingly manages to “run over it and back up over it...
- 10/13/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
In “Our Little Sister,” the Japanese siblings referenced in the title attend three funerals. They share meals frequently and giggle constantly. The four sisters always say “please” and “thank you” and talk about kindness. They garden, give each other pedicures and borrow one another’s clothes. As graphic novel estrogen-fests go, it’s a tale that rivals the complete output of Alison Bechdel. Also Read: Gkids Picks Up North American Rights to Feminist Animated Film 'Miss Hokusai' Acclaimed director Koreeda Hirokazu (“After Life,” “Still Walking”) took Yoshida Akimi’s manga about three grown sisters who meet their half-sister...
- 7/8/2016
- by Tricia Olszewski
- The Wrap
Who decides what is pornography? Who gets to stop people from seeing it? And why do they bother?
A Utah state senator got a bill passed declaring pornography a public health crisis. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Utah, but I was in New York City a couple days ago and I figure if porn is a “public health crisis” in Utah, there would be some sign of that in the Big Apple. I saw no signs of any public health crisis whatsoever. I asked my fellow ComicMix columnist Mindy Newell if she’s seen any signs of a porn-related health pandemic; by day Mindy’s an operating room nurse in the New Jersey portion of the metropolitan area. She acknowledged that pornography might be a threat to the health of certain religions that maintain broad governmental power, but it’s not a physical health threat like,...
A Utah state senator got a bill passed declaring pornography a public health crisis. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Utah, but I was in New York City a couple days ago and I figure if porn is a “public health crisis” in Utah, there would be some sign of that in the Big Apple. I saw no signs of any public health crisis whatsoever. I asked my fellow ComicMix columnist Mindy Newell if she’s seen any signs of a porn-related health pandemic; by day Mindy’s an operating room nurse in the New Jersey portion of the metropolitan area. She acknowledged that pornography might be a threat to the health of certain religions that maintain broad governmental power, but it’s not a physical health threat like,...
- 5/25/2016
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
Alison Bechdel is blameless in all this, but a couple of years ago, when the reductive-but-snappy litmus test for cultural sexism that bears her name was upwafting on the zeitgeist, it inspired a thought experiment of my own. Now, most of the mental quizzes I set myself when bored have mayfly lives, because after a while (and this is the problem with the Bechdel test and its subsequent dogmatization too), applying such agenda-based filters as a method of cultural critique becomes as robotic as Mr. Skin fast-forwarding through films to timestamp each instance of boob. But this one continues to rattle around, maybe because to my mind, no wholly satisfying answer ever presented itself. My "Danielle Plainview paradigm" is simply this: Who is the most qualitatively similar female version of the Daniel Day-Lewis character from Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood"? The new 13-episode Starz show "The Girlfriend Experience" that quietly reclaims the.
- 4/8/2016
- by Jessica Kiang
- The Playlist
Netflix’s Sense8 and Amazon’s Transparent took home top drama and comedy honors, respectively, at the 27th annual GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday in Beverly Hills.
RelatedSense8 Renewed for Season 2
E!’s I Am Cait tied with TLC’s I Am Jazz for Outstanding Reality Program.
The awards recognize media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
A list of the major TV categories from the Los Angeles fête follows. More winners will be announced May 14 at the New York ceremony.
Outstanding Drama Series
Arrow (The CW)
Black Sails (Starz)
Empire...
RelatedSense8 Renewed for Season 2
E!’s I Am Cait tied with TLC’s I Am Jazz for Outstanding Reality Program.
The awards recognize media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
A list of the major TV categories from the Los Angeles fête follows. More winners will be announced May 14 at the New York ceremony.
Outstanding Drama Series
Arrow (The CW)
Black Sails (Starz)
Empire...
- 4/3/2016
- TVLine.com
Getting cast in this Tony-winning Broadway production could be a dream come true for any young musical theater actor! “Fun Home” is holding auditions April 6 in New York City for possible future replacements of all roles. That includes protagonist Alison Bechdel’s youngest stage incarnation (aged 9–11) and her two child brothers: Christian and John. For those unfamiliar with this coming-of-age hit, Christian is the oldest Bechdel child. Casting directors Jim Carnahan and Jillian Cimini are looking for young male Equity actors aged 10–12 for the role. John is the youngest (age 7–9), and described as being full of energy and having a quirky imagination. Both roles call for a young, prepubescent singer with a natural sound, good sense of harmony, and pitch. The young Alison holds much more heft in the show than her two stage brothers—original cast member Sydney Lucas earned a Tony nomination for the role, after all! She...
- 3/24/2016
- backstage.com
The Late Late Show's James Corden will host the 70th annual Tony Awards, set to air live from New York's Beacon Theatre June 12th on CBS at 8 p.m. Et.
While Corden will be making his debut as host of the Tonys, he's no stranger to Broadway's big night. In 2012, he won Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his turn in One Man, Two Guvnors, beating out heavyweights James Earl Jones, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Frank Langella and John Lithgow.
Corden previously performed on Broadway in The History Boys,...
While Corden will be making his debut as host of the Tonys, he's no stranger to Broadway's big night. In 2012, he won Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his turn in One Man, Two Guvnors, beating out heavyweights James Earl Jones, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Frank Langella and John Lithgow.
Corden previously performed on Broadway in The History Boys,...
- 2/2/2016
- Rollingstone.com
I went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night. That’s not incredibly impressive because so did almost everyone else. While I was on line for my overpriced movie snacks, I did overhear a very interesting conversation. Three guys in their late twenties, talking about the Bechdel test and if certain movies would pass or fail.
In case you don’t know what the Bechdel test is, here are some details. The Bechdel test (also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test) first appeared in Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For. In a strip published in 1985 “The Rule”, two women discuss seeing a film and one of them lays out these rules that we have all come to use. The rules are: 1) The movie has to have at least two women in it, 2) who talk to each other, 3) about something besides a man. After the comic strip’s publication,...
In case you don’t know what the Bechdel test is, here are some details. The Bechdel test (also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test) first appeared in Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For. In a strip published in 1985 “The Rule”, two women discuss seeing a film and one of them lays out these rules that we have all come to use. The rules are: 1) The movie has to have at least two women in it, 2) who talk to each other, 3) about something besides a man. After the comic strip’s publication,...
- 12/23/2015
- by Molly Jackson
- Comicmix.com
You might think there are too many awards shows. You'd be wrong. Because if they constantly turn out performances like the ten below, we should have a new awards telecast every single day. Here are the ten best awards show performances of 2015. 10. Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake at the Country Music Association Awards, "Tennessee Whiskey" Chris Stapleton is undoubtedly the year's breakout country music star, and he even has a shot at Album of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards. This duet with Justin Timberlake was inspired, rad, and a pulsing, soulful version of a bona fide smash. 9. Kelly Clarkson at the Billboard Music Awards, "Invincible" With the possible exception of the #2 artist on this list, Kelly Clarkson is perhaps our most trusted live pop performer. "Invincible" gave Clarkson a chance to belt, endear us with her casual vulnerability, and wow us with some closing notes worthy of another "American Idol" crown.
- 12/23/2015
- by Louis Virtel
- Hitfix
Now a staple of feminist criticism, Alison Bechdel’s test comes from the cartoon Dykes to Watch Out For – but has had its roots in lesbian culture erased
In the first Star Wars film in 1977, Princess Leia appeared to be about the only woman in all of explored space. Thirty-five years later, The Force Awakens has a much more realistic gender balance; not only does the universe contain more than one woman, but the film actually passes the Bechdel Test.
Made famous online, the Bechdel test has become a staple of feminist film criticism. The test asks if a film (a) has more than one woman, and (b) if those women talk to each other about (c) something other than a man . It’s a simple and ingenious way to see how men in art often serve as the default. The original Star Wars has one great female character in...
In the first Star Wars film in 1977, Princess Leia appeared to be about the only woman in all of explored space. Thirty-five years later, The Force Awakens has a much more realistic gender balance; not only does the universe contain more than one woman, but the film actually passes the Bechdel Test.
Made famous online, the Bechdel test has become a staple of feminist film criticism. The test asks if a film (a) has more than one woman, and (b) if those women talk to each other about (c) something other than a man . It’s a simple and ingenious way to see how men in art often serve as the default. The original Star Wars has one great female character in...
- 12/22/2015
- by Noah Berlatsky
- The Guardian - Film News
Now a staple of feminist criticism, Alison Bechdel’s test comes from the cartoon Dykes to Watch Out For – but has had its roots in lesbian culture erased
In the first Star Wars film in 1977, Princess Leia appeared to be about the only woman in all of explored space. Thirty-five years later, The Force Awakens has a much more realistic gender balance; not only does the universe contain more than one woman, but the film actually passes the Bechdel Test.
Made famous online, the Bechdel test has become a staple of feminist film criticism. The test asks if a film (a) has more than one woman, and (b) if those women talk to each other about (c) something other than a man . It’s a simple and ingenious way to see how men in art often serve as the default. The original Star Wars has one great female character in...
In the first Star Wars film in 1977, Princess Leia appeared to be about the only woman in all of explored space. Thirty-five years later, The Force Awakens has a much more realistic gender balance; not only does the universe contain more than one woman, but the film actually passes the Bechdel Test.
Made famous online, the Bechdel test has become a staple of feminist film criticism. The test asks if a film (a) has more than one woman, and (b) if those women talk to each other about (c) something other than a man . It’s a simple and ingenious way to see how men in art often serve as the default. The original Star Wars has one great female character in...
- 12/22/2015
- by Noah Berlatsky
- The Guardian - Film News
This week, possibly for the first time ever, You’re the Worst may pass the Bechdel Test.
For those unfamiliar with the term, the Bechdel Test was first put forth by cartoonist Alison Bechdel to evaluate fiction: If a film/book/TV show contains at least one scene where two female characters have a conversation that isn’t about guys, it passes muster. (Side note: Most don’t.)
In this week’s installment of the Fxx comedy, “Gretchen and Lindsay discover all they do is talk about men,” star Kether Donohue tells TVLine. “And they set out to change the status quo.
For those unfamiliar with the term, the Bechdel Test was first put forth by cartoonist Alison Bechdel to evaluate fiction: If a film/book/TV show contains at least one scene where two female characters have a conversation that isn’t about guys, it passes muster. (Side note: Most don’t.)
In this week’s installment of the Fxx comedy, “Gretchen and Lindsay discover all they do is talk about men,” star Kether Donohue tells TVLine. “And they set out to change the status quo.
- 10/7/2015
- TVLine.com
Alison Bechdel has requested that you stop calling it the Bechdel Test.
The Fun Home cartoonist has asked that the famous, bare-minimum standard of representation in film be referred to as the 'Bechdel-Wallace Test'.
Speaking to NPR's Fresh Air, Bechdel said that the idea for the test came out of a conversation with Liz Wallace.
"I feel a little bit sheepish about the whole thing, because it's not like I invented this test or said, 'This is the Bechdel Test'. It somehow has gotten attributed to me over the years," she said.
"It's this weird thing. Like, people actually use it to analyse films to see whether or not they pass that test."
The so-called Bechdel Test was first proposed in a 1985 instalment of Bechdel's comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.
She has typically been wary of claiming credit for the test, which was incorporated into the rating systems...
The Fun Home cartoonist has asked that the famous, bare-minimum standard of representation in film be referred to as the 'Bechdel-Wallace Test'.
Speaking to NPR's Fresh Air, Bechdel said that the idea for the test came out of a conversation with Liz Wallace.
"I feel a little bit sheepish about the whole thing, because it's not like I invented this test or said, 'This is the Bechdel Test'. It somehow has gotten attributed to me over the years," she said.
"It's this weird thing. Like, people actually use it to analyse films to see whether or not they pass that test."
The so-called Bechdel Test was first proposed in a 1985 instalment of Bechdel's comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.
She has typically been wary of claiming credit for the test, which was incorporated into the rating systems...
- 8/27/2015
- Digital Spy
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