Season 1, Episode 3, BoJack Horseman: Prickly-Muffin

 

Bechdel Test: Pass or Fail and why

  • Are there at least TWO women?
    • Sarah-Lynn (Sabrina/Prickly-Muffin)
    • Sextina Aquafina (the person media targeted after the downfall of Sarah-Lynn)
    • Princess Carolyn
    • Diane
  • Do they talk to each other?
    • YES, THEY DO!
  • Do they talk about something other than men? 
    • There is a scene 11 minutes and 45 seconds in where Princess Carolyn sneaks into a party so she can talk to Sarah-Lynn. When Princess Carolyn sits next to her, they start talking about a little bit of everything. They touch on how they both are single and living crazy lives, and then they transition to talking about each other’s agencies! They also trash talk a little bit about one random extra’s agent.

Other themes noticed: 

  • Sarah-Lynn is interviewing with a Ryan Seacrest look alike on the news, and her whole interview was about how she “wasn’t a little girl anymore and was ready for sex.” She debuted her new pop album while she was live on the air, and it was IMMENSELY sexualized. It was all about how her “prickly muffin is ready to be stuffed” (gross), and the music video that came with it definitely wasn’t child-appropriate. Another thing that she kept going on and on about is how she is going to be “sexy forever” (2:45 Episode 3)
  • Twelve years flash passed and all of a sudden, Sarah-Lynn is starting to look like Lindsay Lohan back in 2016!! However, as for the Ryan Seacrest look-alike, he didn’t age a second! He also kept going on and on about how “nobody cares for Sarah-Lynn anymore” now that she is 30 and not good-looking. Just goes to show how the media cherishes and values the super young, pretty, and rich females. As soon as they get older and less attractive, they move on to the next.
  • When Andrew Garfield broke up with Sarah-Lynn, she literally stabbed herself in the gut with a rusty bayonet. I have seen themes in shows and movies before of the “overdramatic female” (when the female says something like “I’m going to hurt myself if you break up with me!”) and I think this is just another example of it. 
  • 12 minutes and 41 seconds in, Diane mentioned how women are so immensely sexualized and objectified that a lot of women are used to being subjected by the male gaze. Just like we were talking about in class!

Shared by: Will Kepes
Image Credit: https://bojackhorseman.fandom.com/wiki/Prickly-Muffin