new multifandom video: You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down
You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down
Multifandom music video celebrating women who may no longer be young, but are more awesome than ever.
Performed by Cyndee Peters.
Thanks to: bookelfe and roseveare for the beta - bookelfe in particular was subjected to so many drafts I'm surprised she's still talking to me.
Source material from: Doctor Who, Billy Elliot, The Others, Judging Amy, Being Human, Anne of Green Gables, Steel Magnolias, Carnivale, Playing by Heart, Lilo &Stitch, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Station Agent, Dead Like Me, Moonstruck, Smiles of a Summer Night, Primary Colors, Road to Avonlea, Addams Family Values, Death Becomes Her, Volvér, Roseanne, Inkheart, Marple, Press Gang, The Golden Girls, House MD, Star Trek: The Next Generation, SeaQuest DSV, Jake 2.0, Jekyll, Heroes, Fame, Boston Public, I Claudius, Rome, Ugly Betty, Äppelkriget, Gilmore Girls, Dharma & Greg, Archer's Goon, Psych, Discworld: Wyrd Sisters, Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Fanny och Alexander, Cinderella, Shakespeare in Love, Gösta Berlings saga, Lost in Austen, Reuter & Skoog, Absolutely Fabulous, Svea Hund, Cactus Flower, My So-Called Life, Sister Act, Mamma Mia!, The West Wing, 90210, Leverage, Better Than Chocolate, Shirley Valentine, The African Queen, Dolores Claiborne, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Dead Man Walking, Vicar of Dibley, Mysterious Ways, Supernatural, Star Trek: Voyager, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Ronja Rövardotter, The Sarah Jane Adventures, The 4400, Mulán, Joan of Arcadia, Lois & Clark.
Size: 3.39 minutes, 35.7 mb wmv.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on iMeem
Download wmv (right click and save)
One of the first things that struck me when I started making this video was how many middle-aged to older women there are in films and television. Their absence is so often bemoaned that I would have expected it to be hard to think of any, but quite the contrary - I kept thinking of more and more, and there are several women who'd fit the bill who didn't make it into the video for whatever reason. (If you have any favourites who didn't make it in, feel free to mention their names and fandoms in comments, so that I and others can be encouraged to watch them.)
Another thing that struck me is that the same actresses kept returning in different combinations. (I have only used every actress once, though, except for Olympia Dukakis, who appears in two shots but not alone in either one of them.) If there was one woman of the right age in the film or show, there was usually more than just the one. And there'd be younger women too; a lot of these fandoms are very woman-centric.
Now, I've often been a tad embarrassed about the fact that for the most part, I don't like action babes. But making this vid, I realized just how many more kinds of female characters there are out there. I have detectives (ranging from Miss Marple to Miranda in Jekyll) and murderers, blue-collars and snobs, mothers, grandmothers, spinsters and lovers (where the clips of actual sex - discreet as they are - focus on the woman's pleasure rather than whether she's pleasing), heroes and villains, Christians and Muslims, bosses and housewives, from the past and the future, of various shapes and ethnicities - and so often having important relationships with other women. And I realized that many of them were also written or directed by women, which made me wonder how much of a difference that made.
So I made the table. It has three rows: whether or not the sources pass the Bechdel test, whether or not the woman in the video is the only middle-aged/old woman, and whether or not a woman was involved in the writing and/or directing. The yellow background is used both for ”?”, where I'm not sure of the answer, and ”/”, where the answer is neither yes or no. ”/” for the Bechdel test means that it happens very occasionally, or that most of the conversations are about a man but not quite all of them. ”/” for characters means that the second character is either not very prominent, or on the youngish side to quite count. ”/” on writers/directors means that there's at least one woman involved, but not in a major position. (It should be noted that the "Y" doesn't mean that there are NO men involved in the writing or direction, just that at least one of the main creators is a woman.)
The results showed that an overwhelming majority of the fandoms involved several older women, at least peripherally, and that women (of any age) did indeed talk to each other about a number of things. A majority of the fandoms still had only or mostly men at the helm, though. And looking at the table, it does make a difference. Several of the male creators had women talking to each other, but all the female creators did so. In fact, even having a woman in a subordinate writing/directing position made a difference - all the fandoms that flat-out flunked the Bechdel test were helmed by men only, and the numbers are similar, if less definite for the number of older female characters.
Of course, it's important to notice two things. One is that these fandoms aren't representative for anything on a larger scale - they're simply my very biased choices of fandoms for this video. The other is that, regardless of whether or not these women have other women to talk to, they're all freaking awesome, and don't you forget it. :-)
Show/film
Passes
the Bechdel test
More
than one middle-aged/older
female character
Woman as writer
and/or director
Doctor Who
/
Y
/
Billy Elliot
/
N
N
The Others
Y
N
N
Judging Amy
Y
Y
Y
Being Human
N
N
N
Anne of Green Gables
Y
Y
Y
Steel Magnolias
Y
Y
N
Carnivale
Y
Y
/
Playing by Heart
N
Y
N
Lilo & Stitch
Y
N
N
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
N
N
N
The Station Agent
N
N
N
Dead Like Me
Y
Y
/
Moonstruck
/
Y
N
Smiles of a Summer Night
N
Y
N
Primary Colors
Y
Y
Y
Road to Avonlea
Y
Y
Y
Addams Family Values
Y
Y
N
Death Becomes Her
Y
Y
N
Volvér
Y
Y
N
Roseanne
Y
Y
Y
Inkheart
Y
Y
Y
Marple
Y
Y
Y
Press Gang
Y
N
N
The Golden Girls
Y
Y
Y
House, M.D.
/
/
/
Star Trek: The Next Generation
/
/
/
SeaQuest
Y
N
N
Jake 2.0
/
N
/
Jekyll
/
Y
N
Heroes
Y
Y
/
Fame
Y
Y
/
Boston Public
Y
/
/
I, Claudius
?
Y
N
Rome
Y
Y
N
Ugly Betty
Y
Y
/
Äppelkriget
Y
/
N
Gilmore Girls
Y
Y
Y
Dharma & Greg
Y
Y
Y
Archer's Goon
Y
Y
Y
Psych
Y
Y
/
Discworld: Wyrd Sisters
Y
Y
Y
Sleeping Beauty
Y
Y
N
A Midsummer Night's Dream
N
N
N
Twelfth Night
/
N
N
Fanny och Alexander
?
Y
N
Cinderella
Y
Y
N
Shakespeare in Love
Y
Y
N
Gösta Berlings saga
?
Y
Y
Lost in Austen
Y
Y
/
Reuter & Skoog
Y
Y
Y
Absolutely Fabulous
Y
Y
Y
Svea Hund
Y
?
N
Cactus Flower
/
/
N
My So-Called Life
Y
Y
Y
Sister Act
Y
Y
N
Mamma Mia!
Y
Y
Y
The West Wing
Y
Y
/
90210
Y
Y
/
Leverage
Y
/
/
Better Than Chocolate
Y
Y
Y
Shirley Valentine
Y
Y
N
The African Queen
N
N
N
Dolores Claiborne
Y
Y
N
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Y
Y
Y
Dead Man Walking
?
Y
Y
Vicar of Dibley
Y
N
N
Mysterious Ways
Y
N
/
Supernatural
/
/
/
Star Trek: Voyager
Y
/
/
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
N
Y
N
Ronja Rövardotter
Y
Y
Y
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Y
Y
N
The 4400
Y
Y
/
MulánYY/
Joan of Arcadia
Y
Y
Y
Lois & Clark
/
/
Y
(of the total 77)54/15/853/10/1423/20/34
Multifandom music video celebrating women who may no longer be young, but are more awesome than ever.
Performed by Cyndee Peters.
Thanks to: bookelfe and roseveare for the beta - bookelfe in particular was subjected to so many drafts I'm surprised she's still talking to me.
Source material from: Doctor Who, Billy Elliot, The Others, Judging Amy, Being Human, Anne of Green Gables, Steel Magnolias, Carnivale, Playing by Heart, Lilo &Stitch, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Station Agent, Dead Like Me, Moonstruck, Smiles of a Summer Night, Primary Colors, Road to Avonlea, Addams Family Values, Death Becomes Her, Volvér, Roseanne, Inkheart, Marple, Press Gang, The Golden Girls, House MD, Star Trek: The Next Generation, SeaQuest DSV, Jake 2.0, Jekyll, Heroes, Fame, Boston Public, I Claudius, Rome, Ugly Betty, Äppelkriget, Gilmore Girls, Dharma & Greg, Archer's Goon, Psych, Discworld: Wyrd Sisters, Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Fanny och Alexander, Cinderella, Shakespeare in Love, Gösta Berlings saga, Lost in Austen, Reuter & Skoog, Absolutely Fabulous, Svea Hund, Cactus Flower, My So-Called Life, Sister Act, Mamma Mia!, The West Wing, 90210, Leverage, Better Than Chocolate, Shirley Valentine, The African Queen, Dolores Claiborne, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Dead Man Walking, Vicar of Dibley, Mysterious Ways, Supernatural, Star Trek: Voyager, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Ronja Rövardotter, The Sarah Jane Adventures, The 4400, Mulán, Joan of Arcadia, Lois & Clark.
Size: 3.39 minutes, 35.7 mb wmv.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on iMeem
Download wmv (right click and save)
One of the first things that struck me when I started making this video was how many middle-aged to older women there are in films and television. Their absence is so often bemoaned that I would have expected it to be hard to think of any, but quite the contrary - I kept thinking of more and more, and there are several women who'd fit the bill who didn't make it into the video for whatever reason. (If you have any favourites who didn't make it in, feel free to mention their names and fandoms in comments, so that I and others can be encouraged to watch them.)
Another thing that struck me is that the same actresses kept returning in different combinations. (I have only used every actress once, though, except for Olympia Dukakis, who appears in two shots but not alone in either one of them.) If there was one woman of the right age in the film or show, there was usually more than just the one. And there'd be younger women too; a lot of these fandoms are very woman-centric.
Now, I've often been a tad embarrassed about the fact that for the most part, I don't like action babes. But making this vid, I realized just how many more kinds of female characters there are out there. I have detectives (ranging from Miss Marple to Miranda in Jekyll) and murderers, blue-collars and snobs, mothers, grandmothers, spinsters and lovers (where the clips of actual sex - discreet as they are - focus on the woman's pleasure rather than whether she's pleasing), heroes and villains, Christians and Muslims, bosses and housewives, from the past and the future, of various shapes and ethnicities - and so often having important relationships with other women. And I realized that many of them were also written or directed by women, which made me wonder how much of a difference that made.
So I made the table. It has three rows: whether or not the sources pass the Bechdel test, whether or not the woman in the video is the only middle-aged/old woman, and whether or not a woman was involved in the writing and/or directing. The yellow background is used both for ”?”, where I'm not sure of the answer, and ”/”, where the answer is neither yes or no. ”/” for the Bechdel test means that it happens very occasionally, or that most of the conversations are about a man but not quite all of them. ”/” for characters means that the second character is either not very prominent, or on the youngish side to quite count. ”/” on writers/directors means that there's at least one woman involved, but not in a major position. (It should be noted that the "Y" doesn't mean that there are NO men involved in the writing or direction, just that at least one of the main creators is a woman.)
The results showed that an overwhelming majority of the fandoms involved several older women, at least peripherally, and that women (of any age) did indeed talk to each other about a number of things. A majority of the fandoms still had only or mostly men at the helm, though. And looking at the table, it does make a difference. Several of the male creators had women talking to each other, but all the female creators did so. In fact, even having a woman in a subordinate writing/directing position made a difference - all the fandoms that flat-out flunked the Bechdel test were helmed by men only, and the numbers are similar, if less definite for the number of older female characters.
Of course, it's important to notice two things. One is that these fandoms aren't representative for anything on a larger scale - they're simply my very biased choices of fandoms for this video. The other is that, regardless of whether or not these women have other women to talk to, they're all freaking awesome, and don't you forget it. :-)
Show/film
Passes
the Bechdel test
More
than one middle-aged/older
female character
Woman as writer
and/or director
Doctor Who
/
Y
/
Billy Elliot
/
N
N
The Others
Y
N
N
Judging Amy
Y
Y
Y
Being Human
N
N
N
Anne of Green Gables
Y
Y
Y
Steel Magnolias
Y
Y
N
Carnivale
Y
Y
/
Playing by Heart
N
Y
N
Lilo & Stitch
Y
N
N
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
N
N
N
The Station Agent
N
N
N
Dead Like Me
Y
Y
/
Moonstruck
/
Y
N
Smiles of a Summer Night
N
Y
N
Primary Colors
Y
Y
Y
Road to Avonlea
Y
Y
Y
Addams Family Values
Y
Y
N
Death Becomes Her
Y
Y
N
Volvér
Y
Y
N
Roseanne
Y
Y
Y
Inkheart
Y
Y
Y
Marple
Y
Y
Y
Press Gang
Y
N
N
The Golden Girls
Y
Y
Y
House, M.D.
/
/
/
Star Trek: The Next Generation
/
/
/
SeaQuest
Y
N
N
Jake 2.0
/
N
/
Jekyll
/
Y
N
Heroes
Y
Y
/
Fame
Y
Y
/
Boston Public
Y
/
/
I, Claudius
?
Y
N
Rome
Y
Y
N
Ugly Betty
Y
Y
/
Äppelkriget
Y
/
N
Gilmore Girls
Y
Y
Y
Dharma & Greg
Y
Y
Y
Archer's Goon
Y
Y
Y
Psych
Y
Y
/
Discworld: Wyrd Sisters
Y
Y
Y
Sleeping Beauty
Y
Y
N
A Midsummer Night's Dream
N
N
N
Twelfth Night
/
N
N
Fanny och Alexander
?
Y
N
Cinderella
Y
Y
N
Shakespeare in Love
Y
Y
N
Gösta Berlings saga
?
Y
Y
Lost in Austen
Y
Y
/
Reuter & Skoog
Y
Y
Y
Absolutely Fabulous
Y
Y
Y
Svea Hund
Y
?
N
Cactus Flower
/
/
N
My So-Called Life
Y
Y
Y
Sister Act
Y
Y
N
Mamma Mia!
Y
Y
Y
The West Wing
Y
Y
/
90210
Y
Y
/
Leverage
Y
/
/
Better Than Chocolate
Y
Y
Y
Shirley Valentine
Y
Y
N
The African Queen
N
N
N
Dolores Claiborne
Y
Y
N
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Y
Y
Y
Dead Man Walking
?
Y
Y
Vicar of Dibley
Y
N
N
Mysterious Ways
Y
N
/
Supernatural
/
/
/
Star Trek: Voyager
Y
/
/
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
N
Y
N
Ronja Rövardotter
Y
Y
Y
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Y
Y
N
The 4400
Y
Y
/
MulánYY/
Joan of Arcadia
Y
Y
Y
Lois & Clark
/
/
Y
(of the total 77)54/15/853/10/1423/20/34