I know that theoretically I should just be starting at
Season One, but I’ve been unpacking and this is the disc I found first (I’ll
get around to the first fourteen seasons at some point).
The Simpsons is one of the most iconic shows in television
history, and while Homer and Bart have long been the principle characters, of
the central family’s five members, three are female (though only two speak on a
regular basis). Lisa, Maggie, and Marge Simpson are regularly featured on the
show.
In addition to Lisa and Marge, while a strong majority of
the signature side characters are male, there are a great many female
characters that have taken up the Springfield universe through the years. Edna Krabappel, Agnes Skinner, Patty
Bouvier, Selma Bouvier, Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, and LuAnn van Houten are
amongst the many women through the years that have been featured prominently in
both lead and side storylines in the show.
With all of these female characters, my guess is that this
show will feature far more passes than our last installment of the Bechdel
Test, but we shall see. As a
reminder for the Bechdel Test on Many Rantings of John, you have to hit the
three below criteria:
- The show needs to have two named female characters
- The two characters need to talk to each other.
- The conversation needs to last thirty seconds and be about something other than a man.
The Treehouse of
Horror XIV (#15.1)
Nope-the only conversation between two women where both talk
to each other is about Bart (between Marge and Lisa). FAIL
My Mother the
Carjacker (#15.2)
Despite the story centering around Mona, and appearances by
Lisa and Marge, this episode doesn’t have any conversations between women,
though it does have women talking to each other (just none responding). FAIL
The President Wore
Pearls (#15.3)
We’ve got our first PASS,
with Marge, Lisa, and Edna all joining in in discussing Lisa’s tenure as
Student Body President. Overall
this is a fairly high-point from the goals of the Bechdel Test, considering that
Lisa beats Nelson to win the office, and we got a send-up of Eva Peron.
The Regina Monologues
(#15.4)
Questionable-the J.K. Rowling/Lisa conversation doesn’t last
long (and focuses on Rowling’s male main character), and Lisa and Marge, while
they occasionally talk to each other, aren’t really talking about things other
than Bart for long to count. My
vote is a FAIL, but feel free to
quibble in the comments.
The Fat and the
Furriest (#15.5)
Lisa, Patty, and Selma discuss Marge’s Mother’s Day present
and Patty/Selma’s experience on a game show. PASS!
Today I Am a Clown
(#15.6)
Despite some appearances by Patty, Marge, and Lisa, none of
them talk to each other in a conversation longer than thirty seconds, so we
have another FAIL.
Tis the Fifteenth
Season (#15.7)
Marge and Lisa, whom I believe appear in every episode of
the series, get their obligatory speaking parts, but never directed at each
other in an episode that is focused almost exclusively on Homer (no secondary
plot like a typical Simpsons), and so
we have a FAIL.
Marge Versus Singles,
Seniors, Childless Couples, and Teens and Gays (#15.8)
This is one of my favorite episodes of the fifteenth season,
if only because it’s one of the smarter political episodes of the series. The Bechdel Test is also an easy PASS here-with Marge and Lindsay Nagel
having a conversation about whether or not people should have children, and
Lisa and Marge discussing the vote results.
I, (Annoyed
Grunt)-Bot (#15.9)
Marge and Lisa discuss Lisa’s series of new cats multiple
times, so this is a PASS, though I
will say that overall this episode is a bit of a quality hit compared to the
previous episode, which was inspired.
Did we learn nothing from “The Principal and the Pauper” and redoing the
histories of our beloved characters?
Diatribe of a Mad
Housewife (#15.10)
Another easy PASS for
the series (three in a row-impressive), with Marge and Esme Delacroix (a
one-time only character, but definitely one with a name) discussing the writing
process. In addition, Mary Kate
and Ashley Olson (in guest appearances) read Marge’s book to each other.
Margical History Tour
(#15.11)
I’m giving this one a FAIL-Marge
and Lisa speak briefly about Sacajawea, but they quickly switch their
conversation to Lewis and Clark, and it doesn’t hit the thirty second mark.
Milhouse Doesn’t Live
Here Anymore (#15.12)
Despite Lisa, Marge, Edna, and LuAnn showing up with speaking
parts, none of them talk to each other, so it’s a FAIL. Isabel Sanford
gets a guest spot as herself, talking about television, making her possibly the
only African-American woman to talk so far in The Simpsons thus far this season. The show has never had a hugely diverse cast of black
characters on the show, and this is particularly true of women of color, with
Bernice Hibbert and Janey (Lisa’s friend) the only recurring African-American
women on the show.
Smart & Smarter
(#15.13)
An easy PASS for
the test, with Marge, Lisa, Maggie,
and Phillipa (a one-time character) all speaking, with the entire episode focused on Lisa
and Maggie, with Homer and Bart largely ancillary, not even getting a secondary
storyline (a rarity).
The Ziff Who Came to
Dinner (#15.14)
The only time that two women talk to each other for any
length is Patty and Selma, but they are discussing Artie Zimm, so this is a FAIL.
Co-Dependents’ Day
(#15.15)
Agnes and Marge have a drunken conversation talking about
drinking, as well as rapping grannies amongst other things, so this is a PASS, and features a pretty hilarious
riff on the prequel Star Wars films and
the psychotically loyal fans of the shows.
The Wandering Juvie
(#15.16)
Gina, Marge, and Lisa all have scenes together, and Marge
even talks to Gina, but there’s nothing that lasts thirty seconds, and most
everyone’s conversations are typically about Bart. FAIL
My Big Fat Geek
Wedding (#15.17)
One could make the argument that they don’t quite get there,
but I’m going with a PASS, as the
episode does include enough conversations between women at the bachelor party
(primarily Marge and Edna) to constitute thirty seconds that aren’t necessarily
about a man. This is one of the
only episodes that I don’t believe passes the reverse Bechdel as well, as
Principal Skinner and Homer talk almost exclusively about Edna.
Catch ‘Em If You Can
(#15.18)
This is a definite PASS
with Marge and Lisa having a prolonged conversation (full of Marge lying
about her vacation to Miami) about the weather in Dayton and the unfortunate
fate of her hotel.
Simple Simpson
(#15.19)
Proving that we cannot keep up a trend for very long, we FAIL this week, as Homer’s bouts with
being the Pie-Man don’t invite much conversation between female characters.
The Way We Weren’t
(#15.20)
Most of the episode is the men discussing Marge (through
flashback) and the women discussing Homer, but there is a long-enough sequence
between Cookie and Marge discussing their respective hair-do’s to qualify as a PASS.
Bart-Mangled Banner
(#15.21)
Trying another political episode out (probably more relevant
to the zeitgeist at the time, though not as cutting as “Marge Versus…”), the
show once again finds a PASS, with
Marge and Lisa discussing both the liberal prisoners with them in Alcatraz and
the cartoon defaming the Bill of Rights they are watching.
Fraudcast News
(#15.22)
And while the Bechdel Test was FAILed on our final outing, any episode that pairs Homer and Lisa
(my two favorite characters) is always a good time. Add in Mr. Burns, my favorite side character on the show,
and you’ve sealed the deal.
Final Scorecard
Bechdel Test:
11/22 (50%)
Bechdel Grade: F
Definitely an improvement on the New Girl run a few weeks ago, but still not that impressive. We’ll be taking on a few other animated
series this week, some of The Simpsons cartoon
peers (the works of MacFarlane and Stone/Parker), but what are your thoughts on
this? Are you surprised that The Simpsons, despite the strong
presence of Lisa and Marge, wasn’t a shoo-in for the Bechdel, or is this about
where you thought it would land?
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