Whenever I scroll through my queue of shows to watch on Amazon Prime or Netflix, I tend to observe an unfortunate trend. This trend is the most common and least talked about pattern in media throughout the history of storytelling. Most of our favorite stories have something in common, a lack of female relationships. A cartoonist by the name of Alison Bechdel observed this and became known for her cartoons and a little something called the Bechdel Test. While this simple test shows which stories have a certain amount of female representation, it creates a very low standard for what passes as a female relationship in mass media.
Now, in most cases, fictional stories do not pass this test, especially older ones. Even some of the classic stories fail to pass this excruciatingly low bar. Some of the newer films that may pass for feminist at first glance, take Wonder Woman for example, may just barely pass this test. Wonder Woman, a very female empowering film, has primarily female on male interaction. In Lord of the Rings, while we may have three main female characters, who are amazing, they never interact with each other, a trend that follows into The Hobbit, Harry Potter (the series as a whole), and Star Wars.
However, there is one major genre of media that does not seem to have a lack in female relationships, Period Dramas! This genre is full of aesthetically pleasing Retro and Antique costuming, themes, relationships and snarky women. My list of favorites does not disappoint when it comes to those wonderful female relationships. Even shows as cheesy as The Adventures of Merlin have strong, snarky women who interact with each other on a regular basis.
A more recent series of Period Dramas are the ones focusing on the conflicts surrounding the Tudor Families who are in constant warfare over who gets to be King, on Starz. The White Queen, The White Princess and The Spanish Princess are all full of interactions between snarky, powerful and intelligent women. The Spanish Princess, which just came out with season two, follows the historical figure Catherine of Aragon, Henry the VIII’s first wife.
Catherine of Aragon has a strong relationship with her two maids in waiting who came with her from Spain, the three of them spend a majority of their time together and all three of them find love not only in each other but men they meet in England. While it is true that the two women who are primarily found at Catherine’s side are technically maids, the relationship the three of them have is inseparable, their strong bond is something to behold.
This particular show also has relationships between women in other parts of the castle, particularly the older character Margaret Beaufort, who heavily interferes in the relationship between Catherine and Harry (Henry VIII) trying to prevent a marriage that she believes could ruin the family. Her dynamic character is one of my favorites in the show, especially when we first meet this fascinating woman in the earlier set but related dramas The White Queen and The White Princess.
This series of shows as a whole is something I highly recommend not only for the relationships but also the fascinating drama surrounding such a powerful and famous family.
Theme Week: Female Relationships