Cartoonist/writer Alison Bechdel is credited with coming up with something called “Bechdel’s Law” as a gauge for whether she’d be interested in seeing a movie. (See our Cinematical Seven on Bechdel Law) It first appeared in a 1985 installment of her long-running strip, Dykes to Watch Out For, and it goes like this:
1. The movie has to have at least two women in it.
2. Who talk to each other.
3. About something other than a man.
Sadly, if you were to restrict your film-going to films that comply with Bechdel’s Law, you’d find yourself avoiding about 99 percent of Hollywood movies, including those that are ostensibly produced for the female audience.
And the new Star Trek? Oh, that’s right out.
Like most of America, I love J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek reboot. It’s exciting, funny, smart, and the special effects are awesome. But it’s a serious sausage fest. If Star Trek were a treehouse, it might not actually have a sign on the door that says “He-Man Woman Haters Club,” but there would definitely be free cootie shots available in the sick bay.
How nice it would have been if this brand-new Trek for a brand-new generation reflected some of the strides that women have made in society (if not motion pictures) since the series began in 1966. But the Enterprise’s lone named female crew member, Lt. Uhura, is nothing more than The Girl, to be ogled in her miniskirt — and, at one point, in her underwear — and lusted after by both Kirk and Spock, if only to make it clear that these new Starfleet men aren’t nearly as slash-ficcy as their predecessors.
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom
Continue reading New ‘Trek’ Has It All … Except Strong Female Characters
