Thanks to @lilyraabe, I was reminded again of it and many other awesome movies from my childhood. She has set up a contest in which we must create a post talking about a movie we love that passes the Bechdel Test.
What is the Bechdel Test? It's simple really... To quote from Lily's post:
The Bechdel Test examines whether women in films are portrayed as three-dimensional human beings with a range of lived experience and interests that do not revolve around men. The primary criteria for a film to pass the test are:
(1) it has to have at least two women in it
(2) who talk to each other
(3) about something besides a man.
Now, I knew about the Bechdel test but in my research for doing this post, I came across some criticism of it (read about it here on wikipedia) and also discovered an alternative test called the "Mako Mori" test, which seemed to me superior.
The Mako Mori test is passed if the movie has:
a) at least one female character
b) who gets her own narrative arc
c) that is not about supporting a man’s story.
I'm very happy to report that Mary Poppins passes both tests with flying colours ;)
Why do I love this movie so much? Well, besides it being a nostalgic connection to the happier days of my childhood, there's something magical about it that makes it enjoyable to watch even now, more than half a century later. And that for both children and adults alike.
As for the tests... It is obvious why it passes the Mako Mori test. But what about the Bechdel?
Well, it has many female characters, such as Jane, Mrs. Banks, Katie Nanna, the Cook, Ellen, and of course Mary Poppins herself. Jane and Mary talk to each other many times. Katie Nanna and Mrs. Banks discuss talk briefly about the children, with Katie demanding Mrs. Banks work out her wages. And before this, Cook, Mrs. Banks and Ellen sing together about women's rights (while poor Katie Nanna is trying to get a word in edgewise).
Mrs. Banks, in fact, is a Sister Suffragette, actively fighting for the right of women to vote.
I lol'ed at this line : "Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid..."
One thing, though, that I always found strange is how Mrs. Banks is so very submissive to George, her husband, despite being an active Suffragette. And another odd thing I only discovered now: Mrs. Banks and Mary Poppins don't speak a word to each other throughout the entire film ... o.O
Anyway... All in all, it's a magical movie, and a perfect entry for this contest =) Thank you, Lily, for coming up with this interesting idea... I'm looking forward to seeing the other entries!
To end off, I'd like to share this link. It's a list of movies that all pass the Mako Mori test, with many of them passing the Bechdel as well.
Thank you for your upvote 💖
I appreciate it more than can be expressed in one line at the end of a post.
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