RE: Nolan and fridging - I've only seen Inception, Batman Begins, and Dark Knight. That said, as far as I can tell, the author makes some good points. I was very frustrated, for example, with the way Rachel Dawes was underutilized and ultimately, well, you know, in The Dark Knight. As gifted as Nolan is, he could stand to take a look at the story he's telling, again and again. Of course it's not just him - everyone does it - and that's the problem.

Sometimes I think accusations of fridging reach a point similar to one where black people can no longer give good advice or use magic.

It's not all equivalent. Just because a woman dies and a man gets upset doesn't make it fridging. Dark Knight qualifies, Memento qualifies, but I don't think it overshadows his whole oeuvre.

As I was telling smonster, my Inception obsession has reached a new high (low?) point: all I want in life is an Arthur Barbie. Not an action figure with one molded-on outfit, but an actual Arthur Barbie, with little three-piece suits that I can change him into. (OMG, tiny cufflinks! Tiny PASIV machine! Tiny guns! TINY SERIOUS FACE!)

I need so much help. But if I can't confess my secret shame to you people, then I have no one.

At least you're not admitting to wanting an Eames Real Doll. It can always be worse.

TINY SERIOUS FACE!

Does it make it better that now I want one, too?

Uh, I don't want an Eames Real Doll, for the record. It was just an idea from nowhere. Absolutely nowhere.

::raises eyebrow::

Mmm hmm.

No, I get what you're saying. OTOH, it's more than the fridging. Who are the female characters, what role do they play, do they have a name, etc? I appreciate that she broke it down by the numbers for the women, but would really like to have seen a similar rundown for the men.

I go back and forth on Mal. I mean, for all that we only see Cobb's projections and memories of her, she's actually one of the most compelling characters, IMHO. Part of that is probably due to Marion Cotillard's skill.

I am trying to think of examples where men died and other men were severely damaged by it that aren't Brokeback or war movies. I think one reason "fridging" in the large sense is such a common occurance is that 1) It dramatically ups the emotional stakes 2) Men are supposed to protect their girlfriends/wives so it's an intrinsic failure of that role and let's not forget 3) Men are the main characters in most of these stories.

I'm not sure how one would clearly delineate criteria to distinguish "fridging." I think it has to do with the complexity of the female character and the gratuitousness of the death, but I haven't fully thought it all out.

I would posit that 99% of the viewing public doesn't even consciously notice this kind of thing, and much of the screenwriters/directors likely don't either. So I think they are valuable questions to ask, and if every so often a pattern gets stretched to the breaking point, it doesn't mean that it's not a valuable examination.

Mmm hmm.

Dude, real thing or bust.

Batman's father was fridged, way over and above anything Rachel Dawes will ever have suffered, over and above his mother. However, one can argue that Nolan didn't make that choice, that he only chose to kill Rachel.

And, like you say--in stories where men love men the most, and men are supposed to protect men the most, then men are more likely to be killed to generate angst. I don't think it's sexist that most movies don't tell that story.

However, give me a well-rounded female character with agency and complexity and I'm much less likely to call it anything of the sort. Rachel? Had potential. But it was clearly set up that Batman's failure to save her was a turning point emotionally for him.

Tom Hardy is probably the Celebrity Most Likely to advocate for a Real Doll of a character he played.

Does it make it better that now I want one, too?

YES.