Ladies, this one's for you

I don't quite remember where I first heard of the Bechdel rule.  I'll read almost anything about movies, so the possibilities are vast.  I have come to believe it is one of those things where, once you learn about it, you can't stop thinking about it.  For instance, say you were about to enter a room full of people you didn't know and someone told you, just as you were entering, "Hey, one of the people in there looks like a celebrity."  Would you remember what you were going in there to talk about or would you be staring at everyone, trying to see a celebrity? Except instead of spotting celebrities, you're spotting gender disparities.  One of those is probably more fun than the other.

At any rate, I'm now totally obsessed with this rule, which might be clear from the fact that this is the second time I've brought it up.  Why am I so obsessed?  Because so many movies fail to pass the rule.  For those of you who don't feel like watching this video describing it, the rule was first mentioned in Alison Bechdel's comic, "Dykes to Watch Out For," in 1985.  To pass the rule, a movie has to have:

1. At least two female characters
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides men.

If you're curious, there is (of course) a website tracking this in movies.  But for now, let's focus on why this concept is giving me heartburn.  Look at that list again.  It's a short list.  If you are a female-type person, think: when was the last time you went a day without talking to another woman?  And how often were you talking about men?  If you're a feller, think about hanging out with some ladies.  Were they able to discuss topics besides men?  Let's hope so.  How is it possible that ANY movies don't pass this rule?  Unless the movie is taking place in a men's prison, you can bet there should be more than one woman in there.

This is on my mind a bit at the moment because I saw the movie "RED" over the weekend.  Or, as my coworker put it, "the old people movie?"  Yes, dear reader, I saw the old people movie.  It wasn't Citizen Kane, but it wasn't bad.  Notably, it features Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker.  If you are a person of good taste (and you must be, since you're here.  Zing!) then you probably know an important fact about those two ladies: namely, that they are awesome.  Between the two of them, they have approximately a million acting awards and nominations.  See exhibit A and exhibit B.  One might even say they are titans of both stage and screen.  They have one scene together in RED.  Do you know what they talk about in that one scene together?  Spoiler alert!  They talk about Mary-Louise Parker's relationship with Bruce Willis.  In the movie up to that point, Mary-Louise has (continued spoilers about the old people movie to follow) been kidnapped, tied to a bed, and shot at, not to mention become privy to a whole slew of confidential information about the CIA, the vice president, and the likelihood of entirely insane people being armed to the teeth.  Hey, it's an action movie.

A more important question might be, does Mary-Louise Parker talk about anything besides her love life in this movie?  The answer is probably no, but I can't say for sure because even I eventually stop contemplating feminist concepts during movies and get distracted by the many explosions and thinking things like, hey, isn't that the guy from Nip/Tuck?

As I said, it's an action movie.  I'm not looking for Mary-Louise and Helen to have an in-depth conversation about the challenges facing women today while hiding in a snow drift and staking out a house.  But doesn't it seem equally ridiculous to have a heart-to-heart about their love lives at that point?

The questionable logic of action movies aside, how is it possible that so many screenwriters have no interest in writing a simple conversation between two women that doesn't revolve around relationships?  I can't say that my conversations with my female friends are identical to the ones men have around each other, but I can say this: we talk about everything under the sun.  It is laughable to say, in regard to a two hour long movie, no, there are no scenes of two women talking to each other about something besides men.  Or even worse, there is only one woman in this movie.

To touch briefly on a theme of my first post, when you are working in a medium in which anything is possible, there is no excuse for pretending all stories are about 6 men and one woman who will fall in love with one of the men.  I think we can all agree, that world sounds pretty grim for anyone besides that one guy with the love interest.