(Though it should be called the Bechdel-Wallace test, according to the lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who helped create it.) Theres a 99% chance youve seen at least one episode of Broad City. According to the . Seinfeld, Frasier, and The Office have more male than female main characters, so inevitably there are many more male-male than female-female conversations. So, love them or hate them, you can probably relate to at least one of them. The Bechdel Test is a simple test to see if a work of fiction passes the feminist [] The movie: Jess loves football, but she comes from an orthodox Sikh background, which means her traditional parents want her to give up playing and go to university, become a doctor, and marry a nice Indian boy. To pass the Test, the movie must include at least two women, who have names in the film, and that have a conversation with each other about something other than a man. How it passes: Dont let the name fool you, Children of Men (opens in new tab) passes the Bechdel Test with flying colours. Another Best Picture Oscar winner that despite being groundbreaking in its representation of a gay black man, fails to have two women with names having one single teeny-tiny conversation about anything. While there are two female characters, Snow White and the Evil Queen, the latter is not given a name in the film. Avatar (2009) James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster movie does have strong feminist themes but fails the Test in one key aspect: its strong female leads Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Dr. Grace Augustine . In 1985, American cartoonist Alison Bechdel included the idea for the Bechdel test (also known as the BechdelWallace test) in a comic strip called The Rule. posts, comments and submissions available. Although they spend a good portion of the film apart they still manage to have a many conversations about important things like their love for each other and saving their Kingdom from a perpetual winter. Atomic BlondeYes, please give us more Charlize Theron! Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley. So viewers would expect it to pass the Bechdel test with flying colors - and it does. I have compiled my ten movies and tv shows that have crushed the Bechdel test. Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. Couldn't have used all that time to write in a conversation between two female characters that wasn't Neytiri and her mother discussing Jake, about, I don't know - like the fact that their whole planet was under threat of being destroyed? The test asks whether a film features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man. Finally, the mother/daughter scenes have nothing to do with Bill and everything to do with The Bride realising that the reason for her revenge - her dead child - has actually been alive all this time. On the list of TV shows I regularly watch, the only one I can . The information needed to compute the BT for every scene and episode can be obtained from these transcripts with only a little further work. Girls TripGirls Trip is everything. Some of the most popular films of all time fail The Bechdel Test, and often for reasons you may have never considered. Rise Together is key to creating greater opportunity by providing you with the support, knowledge, and community to break through barriers. The Flight AttendantWe arent Big Bang Theory people, so we didnt have much of a frame of reference for Kaley Cuoco, but wow does she and her castmates do a spectacular job. Fox Searchlight Pictures Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. There must be two female characters in the scene. Pixar's record in general is pretty poor. 4. Honestly, if you dont know this, then I hope that 35-year coma was really peaceful andlovely. The WitcherAnd our second fantasy series is The Witcher, which, despite a lot of male energy (wayy more um, cleavage, in this one), does indeed pass the Bechdel test a few times Yennefer and Tissaias complicated relationship, as well as Ciri and Eithns short time together, and honestly probably more but were still working our way through this story (hey, we still have pandemic time to watch!). Women are not always these well-dressed, confident, and successful creatures; sometimes were just uncomfortable in our own skin. Washington Post, many films and TV shows fail the Bechdel Test (Rosenberg, 2015). In order to pass, a film must feature at least two women on screen talking to each other about. There's only two named female characters in the whole of the 2008 Oscar winner of Best Picture: Jamal's mother (who dies early on), and Jamal's love interest. TV shows tend to run far longer than movies and thus, most of them end up passing the Bechdel Test. The meaning of BECHDEL TEST is a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters. Rachel Weber is the US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Lauren OCallaghan. The percentage of women working as directors on the top 100 films retreated from 16% in 2020 to 12% in 2021. Toy Story is such a beloved film to so many, but it unfortunately doesn't pass the test. The best movies that pass the Bechdel Test are female-positive and great watches in their own right. Its much more about familial love and, you know, surviving. I assume Yeoman Rand and Sulu dont count. Another rule, that is sometimes included, is . Because representation matters, and many of the people writing, directing, and producing are still majority men. But, even though this movie passes the Bechdel Test, it doesn't pass the Dangerous Bear Trope Test. Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Votes: 13,610 | Gross: $1.60M. Red flags that you're dealing with a man-child. But alas, many Marvel movies do not actually pass the Bechdel Test. Aaron Sorkin, the films writer, actually commented on the lack of three-dimensional female characters in an interview with Stephen Colbert, saying that the women are prizes. She+ Geeks Out was originally founded on land that is the traditional territory of the Massachusett and Pawtucket tribes, and which is still home to descendants of these peoples. Next on the list is the 2010 biographical drama movie The Social Network which also doesn't pass the Bechdel test. . But times are changing and there are a handful of incredible examples of ladies crushing mainstream media. It has a lot of well written three dimensional women, but theyre spread far apart from each other. By role, women accounted for 17% of writers (even with 17% in 2020), 26% of executive producers (up from 21% in 2020), 32% of producers (up from 30% in 2020), 22% of editors (even with 22% in 2020), and 6% of cinematographers (even with 6% in 2020).. Sadness, joy, frustration, bittersweetness. Kristine Kochanski was a major character in seasons 7 and 8, but Holly had changed back to a male appearance by that point so I dont think Kochanski ever spoke to the female-looking version of Holly. About something other than a man. Lauren OCallaghan. Love and hate, fear and obsession, joy and anger, are all represented in their dance. They exchange quips a few times, such as when Mrs. Weasley utters the iconic line of "Not my daughter, you bitch" to Bellatix as she protects Ginny. Marvel Studios. Next up, consideration of film beyond this basic test. To pass the test, a film must have: 1) Two female characters (some variations of the test say that they must have names, which is fair I think) 2) Who talk to each other. pic.twitter.com/rW4NDxMObf Seamus Ryan (@meanderingtripe) March 1, 2021 While Enid occupies herself with finding him a girlfriend, she and Becky grow further apart. The Bechdel Test asks three key questions about a movie's female characters. The Bechdel test was designed to point out how infrequently women in Hollywood movies are presented as characters in their own right, as opposed to adjuncts or even accessories to the male characters. Neither speak to each other or ever meet. The Bechdel Test is a test for whether a movie contains: Its commonly used as a commentary about the lack of female representation in Hollywood. Shes not like those other girls because shes basically one of the guys. Despite being a children's animation company, only 25% of the characters in it are female, only 4 out of 14 Pixar films pass the Bechdel test, and Brave is the only movie to have a female protagonist. 6) Encanto. 2. Who talk to each other. Marvel Studios TH3 RUNDOWN. A hobbit gets caught up in a huge war when he has to take a magic ring right to the bad guys front door. We love this list and think many of them go farther than just passing the Bechdel test. The measure sometimes is enhanced by adding that the two female characters be named in the film. CONTACT. The comic strip that popularized the test was titled "The Rule," and it says that to pass the test the movie must have three things. Definition Of Bechdel Test. We encourage you to, Nine Recent TV Shows and Movies That Pass the Bechdel Test, have a look at this article to see who sits behind the camera, Ghostbusters (The one with all the women), How to measure the impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training, Understanding Social Identities in the Workplace. How it passes: Although we dont hear The Brides real name until about halfway through the second movie, her codename is enough to set her apart as a named character. The world has changed since the Bechdel-Wallace Test was created Hulu When The Bechdel-Wallace Test first appeared in 1985, the world was an entirely different place. Journal Media does not control and is not responsible The Bechdel test has three stipulations: two named women characters need to have a conversation about something other than a man. So if you want to watch a TV show that passes the Bechdel test and shows the full picture of what it means to be a woman, try turning on one of these TV shows about female friendship below. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: PartII. But what makes this show pass the Bechdel test so handily is her relationship with her manager played by the brilliant Alex Borstein (she is everything). Ghostbusters (The one with all the women)We loved the 2016 Ghostbusters. She quips that the last film she was able to go see was Alien in 1979. If there were ever a female landing party member and a love interest for Kirk in the same episodethey usually just glared at each other. Oh and hey, Meryl Streep is going to be in Season 2. It covers domestic violence, marriage hardships, and the misconception of perfection. News images provided by Press Association TV shows tend to run far longer than movies and thus, most of them end up passing the Bechdel Test. Here are ten television shows today that pass the Bechdel Test. I dont think its really within the spirit of the test to count a brief conversation in a single episode of a TV series that ran for years as a pass. An extra big kick in the nuts to Star Wars fans: The prequel trilogy actually passes the test (partially). Lauren OCallaghan. This movie about the pressures and pleasures of family-life, will have you teary . ), and there werent as many scenes that passed the Bechdel test in this season as there were in its first, but its absolutely still worth mentioning. The Good FightWe were fans of The Good Wife, and when The Good Fight aired, we were excited to see some of our favorite characters back and connecting with each other in fascinating and exciting ways. Sam Loveridge. In a film about violence and mafiosos, Karen ( Lorraine Bracco) and Rosie ( Illeana Douglas) manage to squeeze in a Bechdel Test pass with a conversation about Florida. And, apparently, successfully robbing banks is one of the things they can accomplish together. Stay tuned by signing up for our newsletter! She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the critically-acclaimed reboot of the beloved 80s animated series, is a shining example of how to pass the Bechdel test. Beyond that, it paved the way for 2018's reboot, which does pass the Bechdel test, as star Alicia Vikander told Metro in 2016. It's a quiz developed in 1985 by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace that reveals just how sexist (or not) any given work of fiction might be. 101 Dalmatians (rated G): The original 1961 animated version squeaks . Hidden FiguresThis top box office earner deserves every bit of its acclaim, and easily passes the Bechdel test. The Bechdel Test is a way of evaluating the representation of women in film. (Episodes with scene breaks not properly detected are excluded from the step 1 calculation; this applies to all The Office episodes, so no step 1 point is drawn.).