The Mako Mori Test

[davidgillon]

Fairly sure I forgot to mention this when I came across it a couple of weeks ago. It's discussed here, though I first came across it in a piece by Foz Meadows.

It's a parallel to the Bechdel Test, but covers some areas it misses:

Does the story include
a) at least one female character;
b) who gets her own narrative arc;
c) that is not about supporting a man’s story.

Mako Mori is a character in Pacific Rim, which fails the Bechdel test as she's the only significant female speaking role,  but she does have a full narrative arc of her own (and gets to beat up the male lead). She's played by Rinko Kikuchi, the actress everyone was pointing to as the obvious choice to play Major Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell when Hollywood claimed no Asian actress could carry off the part a few weeks ago.

I don't think it completely supplants the Bechdel Test, but it's definitely got a point WRT character agency.

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I think Bechdel and Mori are supposed to work together. Not one supplant the other.

[davidgillon]

Agreed, didn't make that as clear as I might have.

[rachelmanija]

I think the Bechdel works better for films as a statistical mass (so many percent pass, etc) and the Mori test works better for individual movies.

[davidgillon]

I think I'm more they both can be used either way. 'So many action movies are Bechdel fails, but Fury Road shows it can be done.' 'So many action movies fail the Mori test and don't allow the female characters agency independent of the male character, but Pacific Rim shows it can be done'

[legionseagle]

One of my problems with the "narrative arc" issue is that it's so subjective. For example, does Elizabeth Bennet have her own narrative arc?

[davidgillon]

That's a fair point, I think there's even a problem with whether Mako Mori's arc passes the Mori test. She's focused on becoming a Jaeger pilot, which she achieves, but because she joins the experienced Raleigh (even if Raleigh hasn't fought in years), she's very much the junior partner and her arc is really subservient to his.