It’s over three years since I posted my Competence Porn Viewing List. Time for an update, I think. 🙂 I’ve both added and dropped a few items.
As I mentioned in my original post, there is quite a bit of variance in the use of the term competence porn. Here, as a refresher, is what I mean by it:
- Typically has multiple competent, intelligent characters of different skills or areas of expertise working together, often towards a fairly big goal.
- Involves complex problem-solving. Can but need not include a heist.
- It helps if women are being awesome,
- and/or, it helps if the characters are learning to work together.
- It needs to be fun or rewarding on some level. (This is highly subjective. YMMV.)
I’ll first reveal my favorites and then give my reasoning why each of the works made it onto my listing.
In alphabetical order, here is my short viewing list:
- The Avengers / Avengers Assemble
- Black Panther
- Charlie’s Angels (2019)
- Elementary (2012-2019)
- Jurassic World: Dominion
- Leverage (2008-2012)
- The Martian
- Ocean’s Eight
- Passengers
- Rogue One
- Wonder Woman
And a back-up list with works that fulfill some criteria, fail others, but that I nevertheless like enough:
- Black Widow
- Captain Marvel
- Godzilla (2014, directed by Gareth Edwards)
- Miss Marple (the series with Joan Hickson)
- Murdoch Mysteries
- Oppenheimer
The Avengers / Avengers Assemble
(According to IMDB, Marvel has started to call this movie Avengers Assemble. Right then.)
Too few women getting too little screen time, otherwise a fantastic learning-to-work-together story. It also helps that the threat is mostly external (i.e., no infighting).
Black Panther
Like I said in our random thoughts post on Black Panther, it’s outright GLORIOUS to see that WOMEN ARE PEOPLE in their own right, with their own interior lives. And such a spread of different women, too, each doing their thing according to their interests and skills. So many intelligent people (on both sides of the law), with plenty of problems to solve.
Still remains the best, IMO, among the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. RIP, Mr. Boseman.
Charlie’s Angels
I find the protagonist Elena (played by Naomi Scott) very irritating; on the other hand, Jane and Sabina (Ella Balinska’s and Kristen Stewart’s characters) plus Boz and Bosley (Elizabeth Banks and Djimon Hounsou) are great. Stewart has a bad rep, I guess, and I guess primarily from the Twilight movies (the only things I have seen her in), but on the basis of her performance here I’d suggest she does have skills but was just badly directed in that series. Anyway, it’s a learning to work together story, which I like a lot, and all the women down to the side characters are awesome.
Elementary (2012-2019)
A modernized version of Sherlock Holmes set loose in New York City with a gender-flipper Watson. Both Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are fantastic as the detective duo, and the smart NYPD cast, Captain Gregson and Detective Bell (played by Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill), also contribute their fair share. The Ms. Hudson and Moriarty versions were also interesting, but all in all there are too few women. (Still half of the population, hello?) Nevertheless, the astounding cases, quality acting, and scenes of real NYC in all its glitter and grime continue to keep my interest despite some less successful story lines.
Jurassic World: Dominion
Finally a significant portion of women in a mixed cast! (And not everyone is glaringly white.) And everyone gets to be awesome—not to mention terrified of the dinos—regardless of what’s in their pants, as they should. So much working together. No heist, but escaping alive counts as problem-solving, too!
Leverage (2008-2012)
Yes, yes, yes—ticks all the boxes despite some unevenness in the writing. If only it didn’t have Nate nor the actor, Timothy Hutton; I’m so fed up with wallow-y man pain (and, whoo boy, does he wallow) with or without alcohol, but it’s infinitely worse with.
The three youngsters should’ve had a series of their own; THAT would’ve been great, and I would throw money at it!
The Martian
No heist, but: People working together? Check. Women being awesome? Check. Competent characters? A very big check. Extra bonus for wholesome spud nutrition. (The only minus comes from women amounting to about a third of the more significant roles. It’s better than 10 or 20 %, but come on.)
Ocean’s Eight
Yes, yes, YES! (Despite Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter, who all are far from favorites of mine.) Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, and Rihanna were fabulous. The heist is simply staggering, and it helps it’s also a learning to work together story in part.
Passengers
I resisted seeing Passengers for a long time (and probably would never have seen it if I hadn’t received the disc from a relative’s estate), because the marketing materials at the time of its release made it sound digustingly creepy, coercive, and unsafe. Turns out, they really did lie through their teeth.
The main protagonist’s behavior is creepy at one point, that is true, but he owns up to his actions and doesn’t get to escape the consequences, which makes a difference. The actual characters are all competent and intelligent (while the AI-driven ones aren’t even supposed to). They certainly end up working together towards a big goal, learning as they go. Complex issues are indeed at play. Beautiful space imagery and other visuals. So, there are enough rewarding features to include Passengers on my list for now.
Rogue One
Although in the beginning we only see a glimpse of Jyn Erso’s childhood and we hear little of how she lived afterwards, it’s clear that she can handle herself, backwards and blindfolded if needs be. I enjoy seeing just how the Rogue One group slowly comes together to run their desperate mission. It needs more women, though.
Rogue One is clearly the least fun of my six competence porn stories, which makes it really hard to put into words why it’s on my list. I just know that it is.
Wonder Woman
There are some plotholes and/or weaknesses I’d rather do without, but the learning to work together aspect of the story nevertheless makes the movie work for me. And—need I say it?—SO many awesome women. I could spend more time seeing Amazon action on Themyscira!
Images via IMDB: The Avengers. Black Panther. Charlie’s Angels. Elementary (s. 2, ep. 12, “The Diabolical Kind”). Leverage. The Martian. Ocean’s Eight. Passengers. Rogue One. Wonder Woman.
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