Girl Power!
Thank you for all the photos you've been sending of your crafts, cooking and exercise. I will organise them to put on a blog on Wednesday.
Today's blog has been written by Sparkle Unicorn and gives you something to think about...
Have you ever thought about the women and girls when you’re watching a film or a TV show?
What kind of roles do they have? Are they strong? Powerful?
Some of the ways women and girls are shown in films isn’t always how we might like them to be. We know girls can do anything, but a lot of the time the films and TV we watch doesn’t show that. Women are often shown as secondary characters, and only in supportive roles while men get to be heroes.
Of course this isn’t always the case. The very popular Captain Marvel film showed us recently that women can definitely be heroes and defeat the baddies just as well as men can!
Feminists who were interested in how films show women and girls use something called the Bechdel Test <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test >. The test is named after the cartoonist and author Alison Bechdel, who created it in one of her comic strips.
The test asks if, in a film:
1. Are there two (named) women, and;
2. they talk to each other…
3. …about something other than a man
If these three things are present in the film, it passes the test.
(The Bechdeltest.com website < http://bechdeltest.com/> is a crowd-sourced catalogue of recent films and whether or not they pass the test.)
There are lots of reasons why it’s important to show women in films and TV that are whole characters and not just supporting male characters. When you watch a film or a TV show, you might be inspired to do something you see the characters doing. For you that might be saving the world, caring for people, running a science lab, winning as an athlete, or anything else you want to be. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we never saw women doing those great things in films and on TV?
Some recent films which have told the stories of brilliant real-life women include:
• Hidden Figures, about the women whose maths and science calculations helped NASA astronauts land on the moon (cert PG)
• On the Basis of Sex, about Ruth Bader Ginsburg who fought sexism to become a Supreme Court Judge in the USA (cert 12A)
• Joy, about a woman who fought to find her voice, created a new type of mop and became a successful businesswoman (cert 12A)
• Suffragette, about the women who fought for their right to vote when only men were allowed to (cert 12)
• A League of Their Own, about the women of the first ever female professional baseball league (cert PG)
There are plenty of films with great imaginary women too:
• Captain Marvel, about a female superhero who doesn’t take no for an answer and saves the world (cert 12)
• The Hunger Games, about a young women who won’t give up the fight for justice and to save her friends (cert 12A)
• Disney’s Moana and Brave, both about princesses who don’t need a prince for their happily ever after (cert U/PG)
These are just a few to inspire you.
Your challenge is to watch 3 films of your choice, each from a different genre, and try the Bechdel Test on them. (make sure that they are suitable for your age - check with a parent if you aren't sure)
Present your findings for others to see. ( see pages 8 to 11 in your badge book)
Badge link: - Media Critic Page 33.
-You can reply to Sparkle Unicorn by sending your messages to Red Squirrel. She would love to hear your views.
Notes - I said I would post the links for the Festival and sleepover so here they are:
The link to the Festival information is here: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/events-and-opportunities/event-and-opportunity-finder/girlguiding-presents-adventures-at-home-festival/
The link to the You Tube channel, (the actual festival) is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/girlguiding
In addition, our Challenge to any girls in the District is to sleep somewhere other than your own bed on the Friday or Saturday. lots of ideas here: https://secretmanchester.com/ikea-fort-instructions (parents need to make their own decisions about what they regard as safe for their own children.)
Today's blog has been written by Sparkle Unicorn and gives you something to think about...
Have you ever thought about the women and girls when you’re watching a film or a TV show?
What kind of roles do they have? Are they strong? Powerful?
Some of the ways women and girls are shown in films isn’t always how we might like them to be. We know girls can do anything, but a lot of the time the films and TV we watch doesn’t show that. Women are often shown as secondary characters, and only in supportive roles while men get to be heroes.
Of course this isn’t always the case. The very popular Captain Marvel film showed us recently that women can definitely be heroes and defeat the baddies just as well as men can!
Feminists who were interested in how films show women and girls use something called the Bechdel Test <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test >. The test is named after the cartoonist and author Alison Bechdel, who created it in one of her comic strips.
The test asks if, in a film:
1. Are there two (named) women, and;
2. they talk to each other…
3. …about something other than a man
If these three things are present in the film, it passes the test.
(The Bechdeltest.com website < http://bechdeltest.com/> is a crowd-sourced catalogue of recent films and whether or not they pass the test.)
There are lots of reasons why it’s important to show women in films and TV that are whole characters and not just supporting male characters. When you watch a film or a TV show, you might be inspired to do something you see the characters doing. For you that might be saving the world, caring for people, running a science lab, winning as an athlete, or anything else you want to be. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we never saw women doing those great things in films and on TV?
Some recent films which have told the stories of brilliant real-life women include:
• Hidden Figures, about the women whose maths and science calculations helped NASA astronauts land on the moon (cert PG)
• On the Basis of Sex, about Ruth Bader Ginsburg who fought sexism to become a Supreme Court Judge in the USA (cert 12A)
• Joy, about a woman who fought to find her voice, created a new type of mop and became a successful businesswoman (cert 12A)
• Suffragette, about the women who fought for their right to vote when only men were allowed to (cert 12)
• A League of Their Own, about the women of the first ever female professional baseball league (cert PG)
There are plenty of films with great imaginary women too:
• Captain Marvel, about a female superhero who doesn’t take no for an answer and saves the world (cert 12)
• The Hunger Games, about a young women who won’t give up the fight for justice and to save her friends (cert 12A)
• Disney’s Moana and Brave, both about princesses who don’t need a prince for their happily ever after (cert U/PG)
These are just a few to inspire you.
Your challenge is to watch 3 films of your choice, each from a different genre, and try the Bechdel Test on them. (make sure that they are suitable for your age - check with a parent if you aren't sure)
Present your findings for others to see. ( see pages 8 to 11 in your badge book)
Badge link: - Media Critic Page 33.
-You can reply to Sparkle Unicorn by sending your messages to Red Squirrel. She would love to hear your views.
Notes - I said I would post the links for the Festival and sleepover so here they are:
The link to the Festival information is here: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/events-and-opportunities/event-and-opportunity-finder/girlguiding-presents-adventures-at-home-festival/
The link to the You Tube channel, (the actual festival) is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/girlguiding
In addition, our Challenge to any girls in the District is to sleep somewhere other than your own bed on the Friday or Saturday. lots of ideas here: https://secretmanchester.com/ikea-fort-instructions (parents need to make their own decisions about what they regard as safe for their own children.)