Option 2 Blog 6

The movie, Bridesmaids is a 2011 comedy that tells the story of two best friends and their journey to the bride’s wedding day. The movie does not fail to satisfy comical cravings. In Hollywood there are a variety of film tests used to grade movies. One of which is the Representation.

The first category on the score sheet has to do with women. The first subcategory is whether or not the protagonist is a woman and in this film she is. The second point is if the protagonist is of color. In this film the protagonist is not of color; however her best friend (a major role) is. The third point asks if the film “Includes one or more women of color, in speaking roles who are not reduced to racial stereotypes”.  There is only one colored female speaking role, as stated previously and she is not reduced as such so the film checks out on this point. The fifth point asks,” Does the film represent women as more than “objects for the male gaze?” In the opening of the movie, the protagonist is shown having sex with her ex boyfriend who then proceeds to kick her out. She is presented as his “slam piece” so to speak: He has no respect for her whatsoever. As the movie unfolds, the protagonist falls in love with another man who treats her like a princess. Thus, while at the beginning the movie presents women as “objects for male gaze,” by the end that idea is cast out and degraded. The fifth point has to do with including, “ Women in speaking roles with diverse body types.” There is one scene in the movie in which the bridesmaids go to a bridal shop to try on bridesmaids’ dresses.

This scene accentuates the diverse body types, as there are bodacious and thin characters all trying on dresses that flatter their body type. The movie does not meet the seventh criteria for the protagonist being a woman of an age of 45; however she is pretty close. The eighth component to this first category is passing the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel test has three parts: there must be at least two female characters, the females must talk to each other, and they must talk to each other about something other than guys. Bridesmaids does an outstanding job in passing the Bechdel Test as the cast is predominately made up of women and the conversations between them consist of a variety of topics, not just men. In the category of women, the movie receives five out of seven points.

The second category covers male characters in the movie. The first point is achieved by the movie as it avoids glorifying violent men. In fact, the movie degrades the ex boyfriend. The movie also fits the second point, as it does not perpetuate an extreme and unhealthy body ideal for men. The man that the protagonist’s best friend marries is not a hefty fellow who is by no means ripped Unfortunately the film does not meet the next criteria that calls for inclusion of one or more men of color. And finally in this category, “Does the film include men in non-stereotypical roles?” Yes. The man that falls in love with the protagonist is a loving, gentle spirited guy that strives to please her throughout the movie. In the male category, the movie receives three out of four points as the movies does not contain and male characters of color with speaking roles.

The third category is race, ethnicity and culture. The first point under this category is avoiding celebration of offensive racial and cultural stereotypes. To an extent the film does avoid this; however there is a brother sister couple that the protagonist lives with at the beginning of the movie who are British. The movie stereotypes them as being incestual and fifthly, so in this aspect the movie does not meet this criterion.  The fourth category is LGBT people. The film does not fit either of the criteria in this category as the protagonist is not lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender no is anyone else in the movie. The film also does not fit the fifth category: People with disabilities, as there is no one in the film with a disability. Thus the film receives zero points in the race, LGBT, and disabilities categories.

Bonus points include being written or directed by: a woman, a person of color, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or a person with disabilities. Thus, because two women wrote the screenplay, the film receives one bonus point. All together the film receives eight points. In the scoring scale and A is eleven plus points, a B is seven to ten points, a C is four to six points, a D is one to three points and an F is zero points. Based off of the scale in correlation with the points tallied, the movie received a B, and in turn three slurpees.