Star Trek Into Darkness & The Bechdel Test

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by Shaka Zulu, Jun 6, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    The only one who ever did that was Roddenberry and it was used as a sales tool. I quit buying his 'progressive vision of the future' schtick when I read that he dumped the female first officer character because he'd rather lie to his fiance than tell her the truth on why she was being replaced.

    I don't want my kids getting there values from entertainment, that's what parents are for. :rolleyes:
     
  2. CrazyHorse89

    CrazyHorse89 Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    But like it or not, they will get some of their values-their self-perception and perception of others-from entertainment. And even if they don't, then everyone else's kids will.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXJqspNwGGE

    27:06
     
  3. Ovation

    Ovation Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2003
    Location:
    La Belle Province
    Not really. What would really be "letting down young boys and girls" are parents who allow entertainment to substitute for the hard work of teaching values to their children. If any parent feels strongly enough about a particular value, they will take time to pass that value on to their children and ensure they've understood it. If that is done, then the children should not be so easily swayed away from that value by a 2 hour bit of entertainment. Indeed, if the lesson is well-learned, the children will raise the value conflict on their own (if they're too young, the parents are free to point out the conflict). However, the filmmakers have NO OBLIGATION to produce something that won't "let down" any particular "young boy or girl". No obligation whatsoever. We, as the audience, are NOT entitled to be satisfied on that score--ever. We merely have the right to agree or disagree with what we see and say so.
     
  4. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2009
    Location:
    Bristol, United Kingdom
    And it's in the true spirit of Star Trek! Prejudice should be fought in all its forms... oh no, wait... :rolleyes: It's also crap. The producers aren't deliberately choosing to use male characters for artistic reasons, they're simply tone deaf to gender balance.

    The post is advocating the worst type of status quo - it's ok to make a movie with all the black folks are downtrodden menials if that's your artistic intent? Thank the stars Uhura survived that kind of crap.

    But more to the point, since when has gender equality been arbitrary? It's one of the most fundamental things that should have been rectified in Star Trek's utopian future decades ago. TMP probably came the closest but even there all the security guards were male.
     
  5. CrazyHorse89

    CrazyHorse89 Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Who said anything about obligations?

    Unfortunately, children and adolescents are very impressionable and live in a world of 24-hour media which presents masculinity and femininity, men and women, and sexuality in a very specific way. Even with the best parenting and the strongest will, children cannot help but internalise and externalise the culture around them. Wouldn't it be brilliant if Star Trek, a show about the future, and a semi-utopian future at that, actually had a place for women who were not glorified mannequins?

    Now, that's just my humble opinion. I'm not suggesting that all movies should do this or that because it's politically correct. What I'm saying is that I think certain films could deconstruct traditional gender roles in a bold, fresh, and innovative way. A way, coincidentally, that gives young people a positive alternative to the status-quo.
     
  6. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2009
    Location:
    Bristol, United Kingdom
    How about if it's EVERY piece of 2 hours entertainment they're likely to see? Because the latest study suggests that girls might as well give up on a equal chance at a career alongside men and aspire to be moms and girlfriends instead. Don't bother going into acting either girls because you're twice as likely to be unemployed even if you are willing to flash your push up bra on screen. This attitude doesn't surprise me but it's still wrong.

    And nobody is suggesting that every movie has to have a 50/50 gender divide but a franchise like Star Trek is a golden opportunity to do so and they screwed it up big.
     
  7. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    So you're saying that every producer should have a checklist that they have to follow? Every time you write a short story, should someone come behind and make sure that you've not left anyone out that they feel should be there and that there's a fifty-fifty gender balance. What about transgendered folks? What about the overweight? The blind? The left-handed? Nudists?

    Why shouldn't everyone be represented in any given story?

    Your perfectly within your right to decide whether or not a piece of entertainment is acceptable to you. Your perfectly within your right to reject something that isn't acceptable to you.
     
  8. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    Funny stuff. My wife works for a major tele-communications company while I stay home, which is becoming more and more common here in the States. My daughter is studying Criminal Justice with an eye on a career in Law Enforcement.

    So... I honestly don't know what planet your living on.
     
  9. Crazy Eddie

    Crazy Eddie Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2006
    Location:
    Your Mom
    Interesting as that is, the tallies it DOES have are

    - A man and a woman talking about another man (2x)
    - Two men talking about a woman (3x)
    - A man and a woman talking about another woman (1x)
    - Women who talks about alot of things other than men (multiple)
    - A woman talking to an vicious homicidal alien about a man (1x)

    I'm not sure how the Bechdel test even becomes relevant under such circumstances, especially considering the first movie featured a scene in which two women in their underwear discuss something other than a man just before one of them discovers a half-naked man hiding under the bed.

    Of course, I'm not the first person to point that technically "Two Girls One Cup" would pass that test if you took it at face value.:evil:
     
  10. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2009
    Location:
    Bristol, United Kingdom
    When playing Dungeons & Dragons we use random tables! :techman: But you know what, would I think it was cool if Scotty's assistant in engineering was transgender and nobody batted an eyelid? Hell yes.

    But this kind of attitude misses the point. It's a tougher call on issues like race where there are many options to choose from but gender - absolutely not. Women make up more than 50% of the population and they should be 50% of the characters in Trek. It's that simple.
     
  11. Ryan8bit

    Ryan8bit Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Location:
    St. Paul, MN
    I'm going to create an adaptation of 12 Angry Men, except this time it's going to be called 6 Angry Men, 6 Angry Women, 1 of Them Might Be Gay, a few aren't white.
     
  12. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    No it's not. They should use the people they need to tell the story they want to tell. No one should be forced to 'head count' characters. If Trek is unsatisfactory in this regard, you can simply withhold your money.
     
  13. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2009
    Location:
    Bristol, United Kingdom
    The exceptions prove the rule? Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minster so women are equally likely to be Prime Minister?

    To a certain extent, I would expect to see more women lawyers because lawyers know the equality laws, although I'd be interested to know how many female senior police officers and senior judges you have.

    As far as movie characters go, the statistics are not all that favourable to women.
     
  14. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2009
    Location:
    Bristol, United Kingdom
    The story would be the same wouldn't it? But actresses would be getting work they deserve. I'd have no problem with that adaptation.

    Do you have a problem with it? :rofl:
     
  15. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    What does "it is becoming more and more common" mean to you? I can't speak for wherever you live, but here is the States women are making up more and more of the work force and are becoming a larger percentage of primary-income earners.

    Then it's pretty simple: withhold your money from those productions that you don't feel meet you expectations. If enough people feel the same way, then things will change.
     
  16. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2009
    Location:
    Bristol, United Kingdom
    Is it right that women are denied work because of the prejudice of the writers?

    It means we're nowhere near equal yet.

    That would only leave me soap operas. That's not a world I want to live in!
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2013
  17. CrazyHorse89

    CrazyHorse89 Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    A lot of us are living on a planet with a massive gender pay-gap. A planet where women's bodies are objectified and commodified in a way and on a scale that men's bodies aren't. One where women make up 51% of the population but only 10-20% of state legislatures. One where 1 in 5 women can be expected to be raped and only 2-5% of them can expect to see their attacker prosecuted. And on and on and on...

    I think Star Trek could make a tiny dent in all of this. A really tiny one; but you've got to start somewhere. Why not on the Enterprise?
     
  18. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2009
    And if the film features all 6 angry women doing a striptease and then sitting around naked while all the men wear suits, the point is moot again.


    It's not about the quota, folks, it's about the content.
     
  19. Crazy Eddie

    Crazy Eddie Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2006
    Location:
    Your Mom
    So you should definitely keep your daughters away from Star Trek, then, which features two different women who are both genius-level experts in their field in a way that makes their male counterparts look like useless chumps.:vulcan:

    And even puts the "be a girlfriend!" thing into context with Uhura's line
    "It's not just me, the Captain thinks so too!"
    And Kirk:
    "No, no, don't drag me into this! Seriously, though, she's right."

    This is, in fact, the first time in Trek history that Uhura was a full member Team Enterprise in every sense that someone could be part of it. It almost makes up for the TFF "Fan Dance" scene.

    How do you figure? Just counting the number of females on the bridge, it looks like about 30/70. Carol Marcus is a physicist and a weapons specialist and doesn't get all screamy until 1) Khan breaks her leg and 2) Khan sqishes her father's head like a watermelon (hell, I woulda screamed too).

    Speaking of the Bechdel Test, I'm reminded that Insurrection actually managed to pass it due to this awesome piece of dialog
    How inspiring!
     
  20. Crazy Eddie

    Crazy Eddie Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2006
    Location:
    Your Mom
    Considering how little we know about Keenser...

    Or, for that matter, the Ensign who took Chekov's post on the bridge.:alienblush:
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.