DTWOF: The Blog : The Rule

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

The Rule

This is Cathy writing, not Alison, despite what the author tag says. Julie from Portland, OR, kindly emailed us to let us know that lefty blogs like Pandagon have been discussing the Mo Movie Measure a film-going concept that originated in an early DTWOF strip, circa 1985. We were excited to hear that someone still remembers this 20-year-old chestnut. But alas, the principle is misnamed. It appears in "The Rule," a strip found on page 22 of the original DTWOF collection. Mo actually doesn't appear in DTWOF until two years later. Her first strip can be found half-way through More DTWOF. Alison would also like to add that she can't claim credit for the actual "rule." She stole it from a friend, Liz Wallace, whose name is on the marquee in the comic strip, reprinted below.

# posted by Alison Bechdel @ 8/16/2005 01:37:00 PM

Comments:

I quote this strip often, actually. It's a great concept.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/16/2005 06:05:00 PM

I took the meme to college, where my friends now say, "That movie didn't pass the Alison Bechdel test." I guess we should change the name....

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/16/2005 06:55:00 PM

I've used this rule several times, including on the feminist film community I co-moderate on LiveJournal, where I just posted a link to this explanation. Thanks!

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/16/2005 07:07:00 PM

I use the idea all the time too... It works fairly well for books as well as movies.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/16/2005 11:31:00 PM

I've heard this one before, but haven't had the discipline to follow it. Inga Musico refers to this rule in Cunt too (though this may be where she got it from). I've seen some variations which are saying that the female characters in question must have names - that makes it even more difficult.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/17/2005 05:19:00 AM

Humor can teach us so many things. Sometimes it just doesn't seem to teach fast enough.

# posted by

Morgan : 8/18/2005 10:48:00 AM

Well, glad to see this here. It's too bad we can't call it the MMM anymore. We had a lot of fun with it over at Pandagon.

-- Karl the Idiot

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/18/2005 10:26:00 PM

I'm fairly sure they'll be able to see "Serenity" (the Firefly movie) when it comes on the end of September. There's four women in it, with lots to talk about besides men! :)

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/20/2005 12:49:00 AM

I haven't seen a film this year that meets that standard. The last one that did was probably a Miyazaki film.
--MC

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/25/2005 10:55:00 AM

Well, I remember enjoying this strip and it's still true. I can't think of many films that might pass the test even now?

By the way, it can't only be me who sees a strong resemblance of the protagonists to Lois and Ginger?

# posted by

Ian : 8/27/2005 10:34:00 AM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

# posted by

lafammedesfemmes : 8/30/2005 05:22:00 PM

I would have said Ginger and Mo, but yeah I see a resemblance.

# posted by

lafammedesfemmes : 8/30/2005 05:23:00 PM

Yes! Yes! Yes! I heard this quoted around the time it originally came out, and have started discussions with/about it many times, though I didn't know until recently that it was from a DTWoF strip.

My life is complete now. :-)

# posted by

Anonymous : 9/01/2005 11:05:00 PM

How do you apply the rule if you haven't already seen the movie?

# posted by

Anonymous : 9/02/2005 11:13:00 PM

I was thinking "That's definitely Ginger, but who's her date?"

# posted by

Anonymous : 9/04/2005 03:31:00 PM

I've used this rule since reading it. I have two kids now, and it's even harder to find kids movies that meet the test than to find qualifying big person movies. However, it's suprising that sometimes a movie that has all the frou-frou of an anti-feminist movie actually ends up meeting the test in spades (and being loved by my 5 year old daughter). If you watch movies without having heard this rule, you would be perpetually confused I think. j

# posted by

Anonymous : 9/06/2005 04:09:00 AM

I just got here via Alas, a blog. They are talking about Serenity - and this rule in particular (as well as many other interesting things). So then I came here - and here's this post! In other news, I [heart] DTWOF and have exchanged various favorites with my sisters for years. So HI! *wave*

mgan

# posted by

Anonymous : 10/17/2005 12:00:00 AM

Actually, though Serenity is often cited as a movie with strong female characters, I'm not sure it passes the MMM. Unlike the TV series, I can't think of a scene in the movie that featured the women talking to each other.

There's no banter at the dinner table. There's no Kaylee and River playing jacks. Zoe never talks to River or Kaylee. Oh, wait - River talks back to her nameless teacher. :-(

As to Anonymous who asked How do you apply the rule if you haven't already seen the movie?

Good question. Do the reviews mention more than one female character? Do the credits show more than one woman? Does more than one woman get listed on the poster? Does the trailer show more than one woman?

# posted by

Anonymous : 12/31/2005 01:43:00 AM

Sounds like what we need are feminist movie reviews. YEAH!

# posted by

Barbara Preuninger : 1/21/2006 10:18:00 PM

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.

# posted by

Anonymous : 7/04/2007 12:38:00 PM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

# posted by

Anonymous : 9/30/2007 01:55:00 PM

Alison: I mailed you a check to support DTWOF, last March 16, 2008, check hasn't been cashed yet.
Speedy

# posted by

Anonymous : 5/03/2008 01:40:00 PM

umm... Would Kill Bill pass this test? (Not suggesting it is a fem-friendly flick, of course.)

# posted by

Anonymous : 7/27/2008 07:31:00 AM

Sostenuto, I think so. Several of the Bride's antagonists talk about killing her, which I'm sure counts. That there are a couple of conversations about children (the first antagonist's child returning home from school, the Bride's pregnancy test) shouldn't count against it; the rule isn't exclusionary, I think.

# posted by

Anonymous : 7/28/2008 12:44:00 PM

Charlie Stross wrote a great article about The Rule. I had forgotten about The Rule... it's been far too long since I've read the DTWOF compilations. In any case, thanks for the memories.

# posted by

Unknown : 7/28/2008 10:48:00 PM

Am i the only one who realises that you have to see a film to work out whether or not it satisfies the rules?

# posted by

Anonymous : 8/02/2008 05:33:00 AM

I guess lots of chick flicks count. How LONG do they have to talk about something besides a man? Stuff like In Her Shoes would pass (I saw it on a plane, ok?!) All the other things I can think of that pass, the two women are talking about Family. Oh wait, Calamity Jane passes - Doris' Calamity and the other woman talk about Housework! Hoorah!

What if the monster is male? Then... you can't even see Alien!

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