Grrrlpower.

[elisi]

St Trinian's was on TV this evening. And you know what? It's the anti-Twilight.

In a nutshell it's a heist movie starring a bunch of school girls dressed like Britney Spears in '...Baby One More Time' - yet it passes the Bechdel Test without a flicker of its smugly raised (and perfectly pencilled) eyebrow. As a matter of fact, the male of the species is seen mostly as a means to an end, easily felled by a little deviousness (men get silly around pretty girls... *insert teenage girl eyeroll*) and then left behind when no longer useful. A sparklepire (especially one as earnest and straight-laced as Edward) would be laughed out of the room. Although they might undress him first if he was pretty... And maybe con him out of some money too.

Oh, and it has Rupert Everett as the Headmistress. It's worth watching just for that. *g*

Comments

[promethia_tenk]

Interesting.

I read a review of Twilight the other day that I found unexpectedly insightful. It basically pointed out that the Twilight franchise was the female equivalent of all those nerdy boy wish fulfillment movies where Michael Cera is basically insecure, uninteresting, and unaccomplished, totally unremarkable in any way, and yet he ends up being the obsession and fulfillment of some fantastic, hot, perfect female idol character. And now suddenly I kinda support the existence of Twilight, in the same way that I support male characters taking of their shirts for no good reason.

[elisi]

Oh yes, I've read that too. Well that POV, and there's certainly something in it. Edward is the Perfect Boy - he's polite and doesn't want sex and smells amazing (a very important point considering teenage boys in general) and drives a Sensible Car and SPARKLES! I mean, he's basically gay...

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

and doesn't want sex

No no no, hang on. You're missing the one nuance I'm willing to grant Twilight--and this still places it firmly in the realm of female fantasy: Edward *does* want sex, rather desperately, but he respects the girl too much to push the issue. That's not something we've seen much of in popular fiction for a few decades, and clearly there's a craving for that idea.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the movie, but from how you describe it, it sounds like men are objectified and/or portrayed as dumb. Why is that good? Isn't that what we object to in treatment of female characters?

[elisi]

It's a very, very, very, very, VERY silly film. The characters are paper thin. The plot is a cliche. The humour is daft.

Mostly I was just surprised to find something positive about it...

ETA: Actually, the main thing was the way this is a whole film featuring women Not Talking About Men. Like, at all. (Unless absolutely necessary for the plot.) The contrast with Bella (her life literally goes BLANK without her man) is quite astonishing.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

Oh, okay. That makes more sense. :)

[diebirchen.livejournal.com]

I love the movie from the mid-50s, The Belles of St. Trinian's. I've not seen the new film, but it would have to work overtime and then some to match up to the pleasure of the original. I do like Rupert Everett, but come oooooooon -- Alastair Sim! What a guy!

[elisi]

I have not seen the original, and I am pretty sure that it is MILES better. However, I wasn't expecting to enjoy a bubblegum film as much as I did, and I wanted to work out why. *g*

[diebirchen.livejournal.com]

Gotta see the original, sweetie!

[elisi]

Yes, that does tend to be the golden rule. :)

[diebirchen.livejournal.com]

Above and beyond the rule, sweetie, you'll thank me!
Pinky swear,
Me

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I must put in a plug for D.E.B.S., which also passes the Bechdel Test like whoa, and features girls/young women in tiny plaid skirts, but is so much fun, ridiculous, and empowering. (Also, the secret love is totally the cute lesbian version of Buffy and Spike, so I am powerless to resist.)

Recommended for the kids, too. Sort of. Depends on your parenting style. I suspect if St. Trinian's was okay, it will be more than fine.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Heh. I was just about to post that the same friend who got me hooked on D.E.B.S. got me to watch St Trinian's too. In both cases, we were drunk and laughed our asses off. Though in retrospect, D.E.B.S. is probably more "real" fun than St Trinian's, which honestly isn't a very good movie at all, but of course mileage will vary...

I think the bit that sold me on D.E.B.S. once and for all was the scene where the lesbian!Spike (love that comparison) breaks into lesbian!Buffy's house. PLAID FORCEFIELDS. And The Cure.

"Crime is easy. Love is hard."

[elisi]

Though in retrospect, D.E.B.S. is probably more "real" fun than St Trinian's, which honestly isn't a very good movie at all, but of course mileage will vary...
Oh it'd be an overstatement to say that the plot/characters were paper thin. It's a popcorn movie through and through, but one with lots of women not moping about pretty boys. I liked that. :)

Will look out for D.E.B.S though.

[elisi]

Oooh thank you. Will look out for that. :)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

That sounds like fun. Might have to track it down!

[elisi]

It's stupid and silly. But worth watching if you stumble across it. :)

[cinderbella333.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. Though, I'm usually not fond of pieces that empower women while demeaning men. It's entirely possible that that isn't what's happening here. After all, I haven't seen it. I could just be misreading your description. But it does sound a bit to me as if men are portrayed a little bit that way by the description. Still, I'd be interested in seeing it. Even if just to discuss its strengths and weaknesses re: gender politics. Thank you for your recommendation.

[elisi]

Though, I'm usually not fond of pieces that empower women while demeaning men. It's entirely possible that that isn't what's happening here. After all, I haven't seen it. I could just be misreading your description.
Hmmm. It's not so much *demeaning* men, as just rendering them mostly irrelevant. Which I found to be a nice contrast to Bella's complete and utter focus on Edward (her life goes literally blank when he leaves her). It's all 'Sisters Doing It For Themselves'.

It's not a particularly *good* film, mind you, but it's perfectly entertaining, and I rather enjoyed it. :)

[rothas-writing.livejournal.com]

Any enemy of Twilight's is a friend of mine. Was that not a book series?

[elisi]

Any enemy of Twilight's is a friend of mine.
My attitude precisely. :) And yes, it's a book series. Which I've never read...