TV Tropes defines the Bechdel Test as "a sort of litmus test for female presence in movies and TV; in order to pass, the fictional work must show at least two women having at least one conversation about something other than a man or men." While it is not necessarily indicative of the overall level of feminism, it is nonetheless an important indicator of how society perceives women in relation to men.
Lately I've been applying Bechdel to everything I read and watch. It's been a fascinating and illuminating experience. With Sports Night, it can be downright infuriating. I want so much to love it, because it's an Aaron Sorkin show and The West Wing is my all-time favorite. But most Sports Night episodes fail the Bechdel Test so hard. In some ways, the odds are stacked against it from the beginning. Only two of the regulars are women, and it's a show about a sports show, which is definitely a male-dominated field. It's just really annoying, though, when you realize that you can practically count on one hand the number of conversations Dana and Natalie have that aren't about men. Goodness gracious.
I'm also find the attitudes most of the men on the show have toward women to be very grating. I really do like Sorkin as a writer, but so many of his male characters are incredibly patronizing to women, even women they supposedly respect enough to want to date. Apparently his idea of romantic is to have a man ask a woman out repeatedly, only for her to be ~charmed~ by his persistence and graciously accept his offer at the end. Excuse me, no. This approach rubbed me the wrong way when Sorkin used it with Bradley Whitford's character on Studio 60, and it's annoying me now with Dan and Rebecca on Sports Night. Then there's the current drama, in which Casey, who is supposedly in love with Dana, sleeps with a woman she hates, Sally, and then later finds out that Dana's fiance is also sleeping with this woman. Casey then calls Dana's fiance out on his behavior but doesn't bother to tell Dana about the affair, because that would mean admitting he's seeing Sally. I'm not finished with the season yet, so maybe I'm just getting peeved off for nothing, but as it is I get the impression that Sorkin wants to present Casey's actions as commendable. That is such a ridiculous double standard to me. I want to like the characters, I really do. For the most part, I do like Jeremy, Natalie, and Isaac. I just wish they would stop perpetuating stupid, sexist attitudes.
I should note, however, that while Sorkin's portrayal of women can be flawed, he has created some genuinely awesome and feminist female characters. C.J. Cregg and Abbey Bartlet are both amazing role models. I also love Donna Moss, although I will admit her role is a bit more problematic. I'm a big fan of the Josh/Donna relationship, for example, but at least for the first five seasons Donna's position is inherently dependent on and subservient to Josh's. She's younger, and a college drop-out. Josh is clearly presented as the superior in almost all aspects. While I think I would have enjoyed seeing them get together during the Sorkin years, I'm glad that when they finally did hook up in season seven, Donna was no longer Josh's assistant, and she actually made sure that when she got a job in the new administration, she wasn't working directly for Josh. Anyway, C.J. and Abbey are great characters and I commend Sorkin for doing a relatively good job with them.
I'll continue to apply the Bechdel Test as I work through the show. Hopefully things improve; I really do want to see more from Natalie and Dana, who have the potential to be awesome when they aren't so hung up on relationships.
