[quote] [quote]It refers to a personal ability or mode of behavior that pushes you through hardship, physical or mental. Usually expressed as “you have sisu/it was done with sisu”.Some people might give more specific definitions, but those might not be commonly agreed on. Some people like to pretend sisu is something Finns are especially good at, or something foreigners cannot understand.[/quote]

I’m fascinated by the words in different languages that relate to their cultural identity (eg, virtus in Latin, sophrosyne in ancient Greek). American English has no such word that I know of. Because we have no culture.[/quote]

Another Finn here, I think “vigour” is a good translation for “sisu”:

Good, did you actually SEE Kill Bill? The women in the film don’t actually spend all of their time talking about Bill.

Here’s the screenplay:

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Kill-Bill-Volume-1-&-2.html

Yes, I saw Kill Bill. No, I have never given the movie the Bechdel test and I have never combed through the screenplay. Likewise, I never said that the women in the film spend all of their time talking about Bill.

I pointed out a movie that “clearly” passes the Bechdel test and compared it to movies that don’t clearly pass the test (though they may pass the test with a closer look) and pointed out something common between those that don’t, that being the presence of female protagonists dealing with male antagonists.

The film passes the Bechdel test by the second scene in which the main character and one of her female enemies stop fighting to talk to the woman’s daughter. Bill comes up later in the conversation, but the two women have a history of their own that they talk about.

Ok, thanks for the info.

Interesting selective memory on your part

What “selective memory” are you talking about? If I stated that certain movies don’t pass the test and one actually does, then that would mean that I was in error.

I don’t understand the snide response. Nothing I have stated here is in opposition to anyone else. I contributed a point of view to the discussion. Someone below asked why there are not more female antagonists in movies and my answer would be “good question”. Maybe society is more comfortable with portraying men as evil. I don’t know.

Ew, unfun, katz. Where in Texas?

Ah, yeah. I lived about half an hour north of Dallas for a year. I have no desire to ever return.

Yeah, poor Donald. Dude couldn’t soak damage worth a DAMN. (And I don’t actually have a favorite villain. I’m not really a villain kinda guy.)

@LBT, I had the same thought about how the second criterion (the men are not expected to overcome adversity) of the Vintermann test would put the men on the sidelines of any conflict or drama. Though maybe Mr. Vintermann likes his movies entirely adversity-free; just two hours of Middle Class Joe going to his cushy, well-paying job and being served dinner by his obedient wife and going on the occasional uneventful resort vacation.