Wise Women

Just listened to a fabulous interview with Ellen Burstyn. At 81 she's lived through a lot and still keeps living and learning, just like all the wise women in my life. http://www.wnyc.org/story/how-ellen-burstyn-learned-survival/

I also read a great interview in Newsleek on the plane back from Joshua Tree about Jane Goodall who is also in her 80's and still touring and speaking almost daily to throngs of people, especially women, and girls who she inspires to become the next generation of scientists, or...whatever they want to be. check it out at http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/31/jane-goodalls-jungles-279259.html

Got me thinking about how grateful I am for all the wise women in my life, like my 2 aunties who visited this summer, and all the wild women in my mums circle and her most of all.

The Bechdel test - a reality check about the state of popular culture's gender bias and the invisibility of women's selves

I learnt about the Bechdel test a little while back. It asks whether a work of fiction (movie, book etc):

1) Has at least 2 women in it
2) The women talk to each other
3) The women talk to each other about something besides a man

That's it.

Despite this being a seemingly low bar to clear less than half of films do so, and many that do, do so marginally and talk instead about marriage or babies.

I recommend reading the wikipedia entry about this as it contains a lot of good info and surprising details, which I am just glossing over here.

Ugh.

Here is a list of 10 films from 2013 that passed the test. I'm interested in is the one staring Cate Blanchett directed by Woody Allen called Blue Jasmin, because Cate Blanchett has been "on fire" ever since.

Actually a bunch of them look pretty good. Maybe there is hope.

Oh and yes, the Hunger Games made it in too, hence the pic. I am a bit conflicted about this one. I like the concept of the Hunger Games, but it seems that as the series is progresses, at least in the books, the focus drifts more and more away from Katniss' own self preservation and towards Katniss' obsession with her love interest, which I found disappointing, along with the writing. Nuff said.