WEBVTT 00:00:02.183 --> 00:00:06.362 Feminist Frequency and bitch media 00:00:06.362 --> 00:00:09.423 Tropes vs. Women 00:00:09.423 --> 00:00:11.984 A trope is a common pattern in a story 00:00:11.984 --> 00:00:14.282 or a recognizable attribute in a character 00:00:14.282 --> 00:00:16.967 that conveys information to the audience. 00:00:16.967 --> 00:00:19.969 A trope becomes a cliche when it's overused. 00:00:19.969 --> 00:00:23.760 Sadly, some of these tropes often perpetuate offensive stereotypes. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.994 #3 Smurfette Principle 00:00:27.579 --> 00:00:29.417 What do Inception, the Transformers, 00:00:29.417 --> 00:00:31.563 and the Muppets all have in common? 00:00:31.563 --> 00:00:33.080 They all suffer from a trope called 00:00:33.080 --> 00:00:35.000 the Smurfette Principle. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:36.690 As defined by TVTropes: 00:00:36.866 --> 00:00:39.461 "The Smurfette Principle is the tendency for works of fiction" 00:00:39.461 --> 00:00:41.476 "to have only exactly one female amongst an" 00:00:41.476 --> 00:00:43.839 "ensemble of male characters, in spite of the fact that" 00:00:43.839 --> 00:00:46.245 "roughly half of the human race is female." 00:00:46.245 --> 00:00:49.637 "Unless a show is purposefully aimed at a female viewing audience," 00:00:49.637 --> 00:00:53.030 "the main characters will tend to be disproportionately male." - TV Tropes 00:00:53.030 --> 00:00:56.037 In 1991 Katha Pollitt, a feminist essayist 00:00:56.037 --> 00:00:58.168 wrote an article for the NY Times 00:00:58.168 --> 00:01:00.012 because she was disturbed by the lack of 00:01:00.012 --> 00:01:01.341 substantive female characters 00:01:01.341 --> 00:01:02.912 for her young daughter to watch. 00:01:03.014 --> 00:01:04.046 She found that most of the programming 00:01:04.046 --> 00:01:06.013 aimed at young people 00:01:06.013 --> 00:01:07.807 had a majority of male characters, 00:01:07.807 --> 00:01:10.065 with just one female included in the group, 00:01:10.065 --> 00:01:12.040 she called this The Smurfette Principle. 00:01:12.566 --> 00:01:14.065 You’ve probably guessed by now 00:01:14.065 --> 00:01:15.323 that this trope was named after 00:01:15.323 --> 00:01:17.577 the only female smurf in all of Smurfville. 00:01:18.020 --> 00:01:19.080 Once upon a time, 00:01:19.080 --> 00:01:21.015 the Smurfs were an harmonious 00:01:21.015 --> 00:01:24.015 all-dude miniature civilization comprised entirely 00:01:24.015 --> 00:01:26.056 of kind good natured little blue dudes 00:01:26.056 --> 00:01:29.060 living out their cooperative-dude existence 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:32.064 somewhere deep in their dude forest utopia. 00:01:32.064 --> 00:01:34.050 We’ve got Lazy, Grouchy, Jokey, 00:01:34.050 --> 00:01:37.075 Brainy, Baby, and Papa Smurf 00:01:37.075 --> 00:01:39.014 and all their Smurf buddies 00:01:39.014 --> 00:01:41.003 living out their smurfy existence 00:01:41.003 --> 00:01:43.052 free from any of those meddling, divisive, 00:01:43.052 --> 00:01:45.079 controlling, manipulative, mean women folk. 00:01:46.028 --> 00:01:48.048 But one day the evil wizard Gargamel 00:01:48.048 --> 00:01:51.047 decided on a devilish plan to sabotage smurfdom. 00:01:51.047 --> 00:01:53.019 And how will he do that? 00:01:53.019 --> 00:01:56.087 yes that’s right, by creating a female smurf! 00:01:56.087 --> 00:02:00.053 “That’s it, I’ll get them through their hearts,” 00:02:00.053 --> 00:02:03.055 “I will send them a Smurfette!” 00:02:03.055 --> 00:02:05.050 So Gargamel sent in Smurfette 00:02:05.050 --> 00:02:07.006 to cause divisions between 00:02:07.006 --> 00:02:09.018 the lovable blue creatures so he can capture 00:02:09.018 --> 00:02:10.544 and eat their tender blue flesh 00:02:10.544 --> 00:02:13.000 in a nice honey lemon sauce. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:14.053 Long story short, 00:02:14.053 --> 00:02:16.027 love and understanding won out 00:02:16.027 --> 00:02:18.011 when Papa Smurf worked some smurf magic and 00:02:18.011 --> 00:02:20.024 transformed Gargamel’s impostor 00:02:20.024 --> 00:02:22.069 into a real live smurf girl, 00:02:22.069 --> 00:02:25.051 “sexy” blond hair, high heels and all! 00:02:26.050 --> 00:02:27.098 Down in the 100 acre woods, 00:02:27.098 --> 00:02:29.051 we follow the adventures of 00:02:29.051 --> 00:02:32.032 Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl 00:02:32.032 --> 00:02:34.093 and Tigger – all dudes of course… 00:02:34.831 --> 00:02:37.045 in fact there’s only one female character, 00:02:37.045 --> 00:02:39.072 Kanga, who shows up occasionally 00:02:39.072 --> 00:02:41.058 as the mother of little roo. 00:02:41.058 --> 00:02:43.072 Even Jim Henson didn’t seem too keen on the women, 00:02:43.072 --> 00:02:46.707 along side Kermit, Gonzo, and Fozzie the Bear, 00:02:46.707 --> 00:02:49.031 Miss Piggy was the only female muppet. 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:52.045 We can even see the Smurfette Principle 00:02:52.045 --> 00:02:54.038 outside of programming aimed at young people. 00:02:54.038 --> 00:02:56.086 So for example you have George Lucas’ 00:02:56.086 --> 00:02:58.044 original Star Wars trilogy where 00:02:58.044 --> 00:03:01.037 Princess Leia is the only principle female character 00:03:01.037 --> 00:03:03.032 in the entire galactic empire. 00:03:03.390 --> 00:03:05.268 If you’re like me then you are probably thinking 00:03:05.268 --> 00:03:07.257 there’s got to be something wrong, I mean, 00:03:07.257 --> 00:03:09.059 Star Trek has had a female captain, 00:03:09.059 --> 00:03:12.049 Buffy has saved the world from a demon apocalypse 00:03:12.049 --> 00:03:14.030 at least half dozen times, 00:03:14.030 --> 00:03:17.009 this trope has gotta be a thing of the past right? 00:03:17.009 --> 00:03:20.057 Ellen Page gets Smurfette’d in Inception as her character 00:03:20.057 --> 00:03:22.087 is the only female dream team member. 00:03:22.087 --> 00:03:25.025 Big Bang Theory has a primary main cast of brainy 00:03:25.025 --> 00:03:27.051 men plus the smurfette that lives across the hall. 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:29.056 While there’ve been a small handful 00:03:29.056 --> 00:03:31.596 of female autobots in the Transformers universe, 00:03:31.596 --> 00:03:34.029 Arcee is the only regularly reoccurring 00:03:34.029 --> 00:03:36.089 female cast member and she only appeared in 00:03:36.089 --> 00:03:38.786 8 episodes out of the original series. 00:03:38.786 --> 00:03:40.513 She was set to appear in the 1st Transformers 00:03:40.513 --> 00:03:43.033 live action film but she was dropped and 00:03:43.033 --> 00:03:45.032 replaced with Ironhide. 00:03:45.032 --> 00:03:47.048 She did however appear in the second film 00:03:47.048 --> 00:03:49.006 Revenge of the Fallen 00:03:49.006 --> 00:03:51.046 which also happens to be one of the most sexist 00:03:51.046 --> 00:03:53.070 and racist films I’ve ever seen. 00:03:55.032 --> 00:03:57.086 This version of Arcee is either a hivemind 00:03:57.086 --> 00:04:00.007 with 3 different motorcycle components 00:04:00.007 --> 00:04:02.046 or the other two bikes are her sisters, 00:04:02.046 --> 00:04:04.035 it’s not exactly clear. 00:04:07.009 --> 00:04:09.033 But it doesn’t really matter anyway 00:04:09.033 --> 00:04:11.003 because they all get blown up at the end. 00:04:12.013 --> 00:04:14.021 Plus they only appear on screen 00:04:14.021 --> 00:04:16.095 for a grand total of exactly… 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:20.014 “Follow us to the pillars — AHHH!” 00:04:22.041 --> 00:04:24.010 39 seconds. 00:04:24.010 --> 00:04:25.093 Even in most seasons of Jon Stewart’s 00:04:25.093 --> 00:04:27.046 the Daily Show there has been 00:04:27.046 --> 00:04:29.062 only one female correspondent at a time. 00:04:29.324 --> 00:04:31.032 The Smurfette principle is especially 00:04:31.032 --> 00:04:32.321 important to remember now because 00:04:32.321 --> 00:04:36.013 Hollywood is currently trying to remake everything 00:04:36.013 --> 00:04:38.016 and anything that we even vaguely remember 00:04:38.016 --> 00:04:40.038 from the 80′s and 90′s in an attempt 00:04:40.038 --> 00:04:42.058 to cash in on our collective nostalgia, 00:04:42.335 --> 00:04:44.088 you know, instead of maybe taking a risk 00:04:44.088 --> 00:04:46.053 on things that are new and exciting. 00:04:46.284 --> 00:04:49.008 We even have a live action Smurfs movie coming out. 00:04:52.030 --> 00:04:54.077 We’ve had 2 big blockbuster movies based on 00:04:54.077 --> 00:04:56.072 the Transformers, and sadly 00:04:56.072 --> 00:04:58.061 there’s another one on its way. 00:04:58.371 --> 00:05:01.025 The 2009 Star Trek reboot by JJ Abrams 00:05:01.025 --> 00:05:03.092 had Uhura as the only female character 00:05:03.092 --> 00:05:05.034 in the main bridge crew. 00:05:05.034 --> 00:05:07.012 And just like Star Trek we can be sure 00:05:07.012 --> 00:05:08.094 that hollywood is not going to try to bring 00:05:08.094 --> 00:05:10.348 gender equality into these reboots 00:05:10.348 --> 00:05:12.699 but rather just stick with their Smurfettes. 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:14.511 The problem with narratives infused with 00:05:14.511 --> 00:05:17.004 the Smurfette Principle is not only the lack of women 00:05:17.004 --> 00:05:19.043 but as Katha Pollitt points out in her NY Times article: 00:05:19.562 --> 00:05:21.308 "Boys define the group," 00:05:21.308 --> 00:05:23.300 "its story and its code of values." 00:05:23.316 --> 00:05:26.046 "Girls exist only in relation to boys." - Katha Pollitt 00:05:26.046 --> 00:05:28.039 Basically this means that men are the default 00:05:28.039 --> 00:05:31.044 and women get to be sidekicks or sexy decorations. 00:05:31.761 --> 00:05:35.001 Even when there’s only one female primary cast member, 00:05:35.001 --> 00:05:37.006 as videoblogger Nostalgia Chick points out in her 00:05:37.006 --> 00:05:39.118 Smurfette Principle video, they are usually just 00:05:39.118 --> 00:05:42.047 “sexy” female duplicates of their male counterparts. 00:05:42.047 --> 00:05:44.005 “Disney was the one that kinda really started” 00:05:44.005 --> 00:05:46.006 “this interest in the whole default and” 00:05:46.006 --> 00:05:47.451 “deviation from default complex,” 00:05:47.451 --> 00:05:49.086 “basically this idea that men seem to want” 00:05:49.086 --> 00:05:51.050 “a vagina’d version of themselves.” 00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:52.588 That’s an excellent point, 00:05:52.588 --> 00:05:53.965 thank you Nostalgia Chick. 00:05:54.196 --> 00:05:56.328 The Smurfette Principle is an alternative name for 00:05:56.328 --> 00:05:58.789 Tokenism or the Token Minority which is 00:05:58.789 --> 00:06:00.802 the inclusion of one cast member 00:06:00.802 --> 00:06:02.633 from a marginalized group in an otherwise, 00:06:02.633 --> 00:06:06.015 white, straight male ensemble. 00:06:06.015 --> 00:06:07.408 We see this most often when writers include 00:06:07.408 --> 00:06:09.460 one person of colour and that character 00:06:09.460 --> 00:06:11.603 is usually painfully stereotyped. 00:06:11.865 --> 00:06:14.510 This is a little trick used by movie studios to pretend 00:06:14.510 --> 00:06:18.067 to appear “multicultural” and “diverse” when really 00:06:18.067 --> 00:06:20.062 they’re just upholding the status quo 00:06:20.062 --> 00:06:22.073 and not changing anything substantially. 00:06:22.719 --> 00:06:25.012 So here’s a tip for all you Hollywood writers 00:06:25.012 --> 00:06:27.019 out there, it is in fact possible to have 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:29.035 more than one woman in your script. 00:06:29.035 --> 00:06:31.048 Really, I swear it is. 00:06:31.048 --> 00:06:34.011 You could even have 2 or 3 women or even 00:06:34.011 --> 00:06:37.013 the majority of your cast be women. 00:06:37.013 --> 00:06:39.022 Here’s a simple test you can ask yourself 00:06:39.022 --> 00:06:40.332 when you’re writing your scripts: 00:06:40.332 --> 00:06:44.002 “Does my movie have more than one woman on the primary cast?” 00:06:45.021 --> 00:06:47.018 That’s it, that’s the whole test. 00:06:48.012 --> 00:06:50.032 If you answered “NO” then you need to 00:06:50.032 --> 00:06:51.367 go back to the drawing board. 00:06:51.367 --> 00:06:53.735 If you answered “YES” then we can proceed to 00:06:53.735 --> 00:06:55.019 the Bechdel Test. 00:06:55.019 --> 00:06:57.007 Once you’ve got two female characters 00:06:57.007 --> 00:06:59.046 who are talking to each other about things other then men, 00:06:59.046 --> 00:07:02.317 then we can talk about fully developed female characters. 00:07:03.014 --> 00:07:06.071 [Song] “la, la, la, la, sing a happy song,” 00:07:06.071 --> 99:59:59.000 [Song] “la, la, la, la, smurf the whole day long”