More. Ted LassoWhile it may be a mans name in the title, this might be one of our favorite TV shows that passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. This was probably intended to refer to a one-on-one conversation, but in sitcoms often a larger group of characters are present in a scene. del test/n. Pixar's record in general is pretty poor. When Ive seen people discussing the Bechdel test with regard to television, theyre usually talking about individual episodes and not the series as a whole. This site uses cookies. We are now operating in a virtual space, but we can still honor and name the physical spaces we all inhabit. To search the database, enter a search term below. So, what is the Bechdel Test? Her pregnancy is discussed with the surprisingly sympathetic assassin Karen Kim, plus her last talk with O-Ren Ishii in the snow in particular is touching as they gradually admit their respect for each other. This test attempts to acknowledge the disparity between female and male characters in media. Entertainment News. They might as well be talking to themselves (or, more likely, the audience). Rebecca Nicholson. REVIEWS. While reading a critical review of a popular show which noted that it didn't pass the Bechdel Test, it occurred to me, a long time fan of Hannibal The readers of Dykes to Watch Out For (where the test originated) probably love this show. For fun, how about shows that not only regularly pass the normal test but fail the reverse Bechdel Test? Directed by Amy Poehler, Moxie is an overt rebellion against the toxic patriarchal systems that are rife in youth culture. Ghostbusters (The one with all the women)We loved the 2016 Ghostbusters. Movies with female directors have higher Bechdel scores. They discuss many different topics through the film, including the trajectory of their lives after graduating high school, but rarely men. The three women talk about their work launching Project Mercury into space (ranging from aerospace engineering, to analytical geometry, to calculating trajectories, to phenomenally advanced maths), as well as about the professional obstacles in their way due to the prejudiced attitudes of their male, white co-workers. top of page. The Wheel of TimeIn a rare turn of events, we have one of two fantasy series on the list! 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. Sex and drugs are a large part of the show, but so are friendships, as Rue, Jules, Lexi, Kat, Cassie, and Maddy dominate the series. Yes, theres boy drama and girl drama (Kat identifies as bisexual), but the show isnt about romantic relationshipsits about friendships. The measure sometimes is enhanced by adding that the two female characters be named in the film. None of the women in the movie ever talk to each other. Example: A woman has only one minor female friend, all other characters are male. Disney Plus. Most of them fail, even ones full of female characters. Some deviations from reality were for humor; some were for drama. Its pass rate drops dramatically at steps 2 and 3. Alison Brie's Ruth . 10 Films and TV Shows that pass Bechdel's Test. First, the film must have at least two female characters. Pipers boyfriend talks to his dad, but usually about Piper. Its 2019, high time to get all underrepresented groups in significant numbers behind and in front of the camera! All the Charlize Theron. advertising. Toy Story is such a beloved film to so many, but it unfortunately doesn't pass the test. Holdo a total, er, force (RIP). The dramedy follows Issa, her best friend Molly, and their other girlfriends as they navigate life in Los Angeles. 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. Kate McKinnon was everything. Paramount Pictures. The trilogy is over 10 hours long but Arwen (Liv Tyler), Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), all strong female characters, do not meet even once. Her best friend and coworkers are there for her, even at her lowest. 20th Century Fox. Seriously? The test has three criteria: 1. the movie must have at least two female characters, 2. who talk to each other about something other than a man, and. The Bechdel Test explained like you're five It is as simple as that, and you will do this for every scene in the script. Here's 10 from the past 25 year that may surprise you. The Bechdel Test, Bechdel-Wallace Test, or the Mo Movie Measure [1], is a sort of litmus test for female presence in movies and TV. Did you see that fight scene where there was no music and she was just fighting and it was painful and awful and brilliant? Content copyright Journal Media Ltd. 2023 Registered in Dublin, registration number: Hm, Red Dwarf probably cuts it, too, with only one main character even arguably female, and very few appearances by any character not in the main cast. 101 Dalmatians (rated G): The original 1961 animated version squeaks . The titular named Lara is the only named female in this movie. Did it miss the mark on some topics? Mary Berry Cooks / Headline Publishing Group / Headline Publishing Group. But seriously, I cant remember two female characters even talking to each other. Big Little Lies was produced by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, two women who were sick of seeing women portrayed in a one-dimensional way. Fox Searchlight Pictures. While Enid occupies herself with finding him a girlfriend, she and Becky grow further apart. Dobby and Sophie have several conversations with each other for example and theres multiple other examples. They recently soft-launched their take on the Bechdel test, called the Riz test, which aims to cast a light on how Muslims are represented on film and TV shows. Anything, even if its something stereotypically feminine, like shopping or shoes. Rise Together is key to creating greater opportunity by providing you with the support, knowledge, and community to break through barriers. Black Widow, the two characters never interact to have a conversation. Miramax Films There must be two female characters in the scene. 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. TH3 RUNDOWN. The Bechdel test has three stipulations: two named women characters need to have a conversation about something other than a man. During the comic relief French Lesson scene (Act 3, Scene 4) Alice teaches Katherine how to speak French and there is no mention of men whatsoever. 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. Yes, but her relationship with French agent Lasalle is significantly more interesting. One of the biggest movies of the 21st century features no dialogue between two named female characters. For example, the archive has almost 120 films passing for 2019 out of those couple hundred that were added. This method probably fails to catch some cases where the topic of conversation was, broadly speaking, a male character, but a three-line sequence occurred without mentioning him by name or pronoun; but it seems too harsh to throw away the whole scene if a male is mentioned anywhere in the scene, since often scenes can involve multiple conversations between different groups of characters. Enter the Bechdel Test, which was created in 1985 by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in a now-famous comic strip.Essentially, the Bechdel Test is a metric which determines whether a movie or TV series pays ample attention to its women characters. There are only three named female characters in the original trilogy with speaking roles Princess Leia, Aunt Beru, and Mon Mothma, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance. That doesnt mean its not funny, though! 5. Alison Bechdel Has Amended the Bechdel Test Just for Fire Island The cartoonist chimed in on the fiery Twitter debate spurred by one user's claim that the gay rom-com Fire Island did not. 2. Who talk to each other. Next on the list is the 2010 biographical drama movie The Social Network which also doesn't 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. This special show gives us hope, makes us feel good, and reminds us that aging doesnt have to be awful (despite all those anti-aging ads). How about Girls? YAS! EEEP! Overall, women accounted for 25% of those working in key behind-the-scenes roles (directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, cinematographers) on the top 250 grossing films in 2021, up from 23% in 2020. Henry V. Surprisingly enough, this classic Shakespearean History passes the Bechdel Test. Friends performs the best on the BT, and passes the full test in almost every episode. 20th Century Fox But its still surprising to find out that some of the most popular films of all time fail the test, and often for reasons you may have never considered. The rise in the overall number is due to increases in the percentages of women working as executive producers and producers. 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. The twentysomething BFFs navigate life in New York City while getting into the most bizarre yet weirdly relatable situations. About something besides a man Movie list 2023 (5 movies) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Infinity Pool Missing Pathaan Reflect 2022 (153 movies) The 355 A Fada do Lar A Man Called Otto The Adam Project All the old knives Big Little Lies was produced by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, two women who were sick of seeing women portrayed in a one-dimensional way. The Bechdel Test is a metric used for measuring how women are represented in a given film. The actor describes Harry Styles as "a very kind guy.". The movie: Following the careers of the human computers Katherine Goble, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn, Hidden Figures explores the rampant racism (and sexism) the three figureheads endured during their time working at NASA during the space race. Thank you for subscribing to ENTITY. It has to have at least two [named] women in it 2. Who talk to each other 3. Creators, writers, and stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle portray versions of themselves in the year 2000. You can see most of the code used for this and the previous post here. It has a lot of well written three dimensional women, but theyre spread far apart from each other. New Line Cinema Where this show shines with regard to the Bechdel test is her relationship with her first captain Philippa Georgiou, and then further on with Captain Tilly. for the content of external websites. But, even though this movie passes the Bechdel Test, it doesn't pass the Dangerous Bear Trope Test. The series begins with the three of them working at Scarlett magazine (inspired by Cosmopolitan), and four seasons later, theyre still best friends and bonafide badasses. Enter search term: Or, you can show the list for one or more years: Definitely not. The Bechdel test, Also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test, is a test used for works of fiction (usually movies), named after the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Its about a group of young gay men in San Francisco and the only named female character is Doris. submissions or preferences. But it easily passed the Bechdel test, focusing on their badass careers saving an entire CITY and their friendships. Okay, so, right, Atomic Blonde stars Theron as an MI6 agent who travels to Berlin as the wall is about to fall in order to retrieve a priceless dossier to take down an espionage ring. This is a function of the number of main characters of each gender available to take part in storylines: in the extreme case of Will and Grace, if the characters were split into two pairs, the only combination that allows same-gender conversations is Will-Jack and Grace-Karen, whereas as the other two possible pairings involve different-gender conversations. Failing the test doesnt mean the movies evil or anti-woman, or that passing makes it some sort of strongly feminist movie. Each of the 12 districts must send one boy and one girl into the fight, and our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, actually volunteers to be the female tribute for Sector 12, in place of her younger sister. Popularized by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in a 1985 strip called Dykes to Watch Out For and inspired by Virginia Woolf, the test measures the representation of women in film, television, books . How it passes: The two leads, and indeed the majority of the cast, are women and the only time they really talk about men is when they briefly explain their crimes or discuss trying to get Geres Billy Flynn to represent them. And it definitely passes the Bechdel test, with a diverse cast of women focusing on their careers and friendships. Despite all the bitchy girl-on-girl crime that goes on though, at its heart this film is about female friendships and how complicated they can be. Honestly, if you dont know this, then I hope that 35-year coma was really peaceful andlovely. This test is otherwise known as the Bechdel/Wallace test or the Bechdel Rule or Mo Movie Measure and is marked as a measure of gender depiction in the films. While theres been some improvement, much work is left to do. They confront him, defeat him, age weirdly, and everyone lives happily everafter. While the show is problematic in a few important ways, it does move the needle, but frankly its just nice to watch fantasy with less cleavage for a change. The Bechdel test is one of the most common ways that a movie or TV show's female representation can be judged. A lot of episodes do pass, but not as many as youd think, and only barely. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, who made it known to the world with this strip. About something besides a man. The TV shows that have captivated audiences in lockdown include Unorthodox, Normal People, Killing Eve and I May Destroy You. Like Harry Potter, there are a few brief moments where female characters say a single line at each other, but they dont actually hold a conversationexcept in one scene, where Neytiri and her mother have a drawn out discussion. In 1985, American cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Its a must watch! Wikipedia says that Ms. Bechdel prefers the name "Bechdel-Wallace test". Toy Story 1 & 2. Swedish cinemas take aim at gender bias with Bechdel test rating Movies need to pass test that gauges the active presence of women on screen in bid to promote gender equality Jennifer. The Bechdel Test (BT), which checks for a rudimentary level of female-centricity in media, has elsewhere been covered thoroughly for movies, with a crowd-sourced manual approach, but not, to my knowledge, for television, except at a high level or in very selected cases. 3) About something other than a man. And here are ten that dont pass the test. Since an episode passing the test is usually achieved by one pair of speakers only, the results are sensitive to plot arcs in each season that affect who is present in the scenes and who the female regulars spend more time with, as indicated in the figure for the more recognisable cases. When they do interact its usually to talk about their place in society with regards to the men and their plans. Although nearly the entire show involves interactions strictly between men. The movie, which tells the story of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, features a few female characters, but they never talk to each other. Rate. City Lights (1931) G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance 8.5 Rate 99 Metascore We all play a part in creating a more equitable and just workplace and world. How it passes: This ones obvious. Having acquired hundreds of sitcom episode transcripts, I can apply the test programmatically to each episode of these . But even then, she doesnt really speak. Most of the cast is female. As well as showing that they kicked ass at the lab at the same time. In fact it can be pretty spectacular, especially when youre hanging out with other women! The Bechdel Test (BT), which checks for a rudimentary level of female-centricity in media, has elsewhere been covered thoroughly for movies, with a crowd-sourced manual approach, but not, to my knowledge, for television, except at a high level or in very selected cases. Women are not always these well-dressed, confident, and successful creatures; sometimes were just uncomfortable in our own skin. Literally, it can be about anything but a man! Sam Loveridge. Well, surprisingly hard to manage it seems, with up to 50% of films failing the test. And its been surprisingly challenging for movies and TV shows to pass this basic test, even in our current golden age of media consumption. Atomic BlondeYes, please give us more Charlize Theron! You will have a very real assessment of how much screen time this element has. "Glitch" is a drama that has earned its rightful place in any discussion about feminist science-fiction. Its a good thing that she has good friends to help her do it. In 10 hours, not one interaction? They each have their own baggage which we learn about over time (and theres definitely more to unpack). Have you ever had someone comfort you after a break up by saying "There's plenty more fish in the sea?". Answer (1 of 3): Disclaimer: I love Firefly. Her character, Cassie, is a fun-loving flight attendant who gets into a huge problem. If so, then the very first episode aired passes. It shows what women can do when theyre on the same side with the same goal. 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. 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