h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm writing an entry about The Bechdel Test, which states that, in order to pass the test, a film must:

1. have at least two women in it
2. who talk to each other
3. about something besides a man


I need to know which of these films pass, and which fail:

Alien

Aliens

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio or tv series or book

The Matrix

Aliens would pass, because it's got Newt in (does a little girl count as a woman?)

Otherwise, I think you're probably looking at failures there.

B

Two female characters irrespective of age

Does Ellen Ripley not talk to the other female character in Alien?

Hitchhikers books might* pass I think; I think mostly harmless springs to mind, with Trillian talking to random... but I maybe remembering onions soemthign wrong there
and of course in... err... one when the two trillians meet. I think but was taht only in the radio series? I onions forget

I'm sure that Ripley talks to Lambert about something other than a man in Alien! It's Lambert who wants to blow up the ship, also she probably was asking Ripley to let them in when they got back from the alien planet.

Aliens, apart from Newt Ripley talks to the female marine about the aliens 'all we need to know is where they are' think she dies later...

Can't think about the other films at the moment - I don't remember Trillian talking to another woman, but I didn't like her much so I ignored her most of the time!

I really don't recall Trillian having any dialogue with any female characters (were there any other female characters??) in the h2g2 film. If she did, I'm sure it'd be with that Vice President about Zaphod, so I'm fairly certain it fails.

How about Lord of the Rings? The book fails, but what about the films?

From memory, there are three main female characters; Arwen, Galadriel and Eowyn. I know none of them talk to each other, and I don't seem to remember them interacting with other female characters. Unfortunately I don't have 9 hours spare to check.

You mean you won't do my research for me?

There's Rosie too, Sam's wife, and Tom Bombadil's wife but I don't know if they're in the film (well I guess not Bombadil's wife given he isn't), or if they get to talk to any other women.

I thought maybe Galadriel and Arwen might have talked at some point once the King had returned.

I think if they did, it'd have been about Aragorn.

Trinity and Switch talk to each other in the Matrix I think.

About something other than Neo or Morpheus?

I don´t remember really. Get thee to Blockbuster woman.

I could probably manage watching The Matrix, but not Alien/s, and hell will freeze over before I watch LotR

Well LoTR could easily be ruled out, there´s hardly any women in the movies.

Alien would pass I reckon.

Ripley (Weaver) and Lambert (Cartwright) are both in it.

I'm fairly sure they share scenes together. (When the crew wake up and perform flight checks (they are both pilots), discuss union rights and where they are. When Kane wakes up Carwright helps Ripley and Ash search for the facehugger. The chestbuster scene has everyone in it, I think she is discussing the gadgets just before the cat get harry dean stanton killed and the scene when Parker and Lambert are both killed but Ripley is in radio contact with them would be my guesses for where they might actually converse and about something other than men.


Aliens might pass to. The dropship pilot Pharoah is female, and she is in the group that Ripley addresses with her 'motivational speech' before the mission, Although her lines might be with Sergeant Apone when he asks for the prep detail to be made ready.

Pahroah dies in the first attack wave (along with spunkmeier) and up until that point Ripley is more or less isolated from everyone and her predominant attachment is to Newt.

I'll deal with the h2g2 radio play first. The radio play has that bit in it with I think Rula Lenska voicing some sort of bird fanatic. I'm going on memory here and it's been a while but it's a scene that's only in the radio series and nowhere else in the various versions.

In the h2g2 movie, one of the pan-dimensional beings prior to becoming a mouse is a woman and she discusses with Deep Thought (also female) about nothing less than the answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything. As a mouse she also talks directly to Trillian when putting them to sleep before trying to extract Arthur's brain.

In the Matrix, doesn't Trinity speak to the blonde lady (Switch?) in the old antiques shop before Cypher removes the head plug and kills her and Apoch? and they definately have scenes together in the car where they extract the bug from Neo's stomach and I think Trinity commands switch to stop the car and pull over before she talks to Neo.

Thanks!

I've established that the lady selling raffle tickets in SLAT speaks to Fenchurch, but she doesn't say anything back. Does that count?

I've got a polaroid* memory for films I like.

Polariod - similar to photographic but with a bit more waiting and lots of flapping and eventually something useful appears.

Also you really should watch Alien and Aliens.

>>Does that count?<<

Sorry, no, they have to talk to each other.


Clive, I saw both Alien/s when they came out, and probably repeats after that too Have gone off horror movies since then though so not that keen on watching them now. You never know though.