Were trying to be conscious of not just meeting this bar. Its authentic to life, and theyre all trying to make their way in New York. Seems simple enough, right? When you finish the breakdown, you will have a full measure of the quality of the female presence. 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. Or if they did have semi-important male characters, but the only topics of conversation they had were about the women in their lives? 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. Aw, Sorkin, you charmer,you. HelloGiggles.com is part of the Dotdash Meredith Beauty & Style Group. Killing EveVillanelle and Eve are the two stars of this thriller series and have a relationship like weve never seen before. Creators, writers, and stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle portray versions of themselves in the year 2000. 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. 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. Its a good thing that she has good friends to help her do it. Some deviations from reality were for humor; some were for drama. Neither speak to each other or ever meet. And it definitely passes the Bechdel test, with a diverse cast of women focusing on their careers and friendships. Another rule, that is sometimes included, is . Bath Some Western animated shows would fail a reverse. top of page. 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. although I'm pretty sure Megillat Esther does not pass the Bechdel Test), the . The Bechdel (pronounced beck-dell) Test was first created in 1985 by cartoonist Allison Bechdel. Its about a group of young gay men in San Francisco and the only named female character is Doris. GLOWThis Netflix series on its second season features a fictionalized account of how GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) came to be a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s. It has a lot of well written three dimensional women, but theyre spread far apart from each other. Theyre the kind of friends you can share all your embarrassing moments with because theyve seen (and done) it all. Definitely not. 1. Yes, Good Girls is about three women who find themselves caught in an organized crime ringyet its not that dark (except for a few scenes). Frasier performs similarly badly; although it had two female characters in the main cast, Roz and Daphne interacted relatively rarely (this pairs conversations passed the BT in only 14% of episodes). Why are youhere? How it passes: Its true that Frozen (opens in new tab) only has two named female characters, but the movie is literally about them and their relationship to each other. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The movie: When Princesses Elsa and Annas parents die, Elsa must become Queen, but during her coronation party everyone finds out that shes been secretly hiding powers (which she can use to freeze anything) all this time. But while the entertainment industry still has a lot of work to do, there seems to be a positive shift happening when it comes to female-led shows. In 1985, American cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Congratulations to Fast & Furious 7: Furious 7 for becoming the fifth movie in Big Stupid Movie Month to pass the Bechdel test. 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. City Lights (1931) G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance 8.5 Rate 99 Metascore 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. You were so very close, JamesCameron. 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. Don't get too bogged down in the requirements of the Bechdel Test test though because even if you're not sure what it means, every film on this list is a great movie in its own right, so you won't be disappointed. #ForeverAlone. The movie also includes Jess sister Pinky and a whole host of other named women on the football team, and besides that, the basic message of the movie is that women can do anything even become professional footballers. Rise Together is key to creating greater opportunity by providing you with the support, knowledge, and community to break through barriers. That doesnt mean its not funny, though! Do those bacta tanks grow babies,too? Mary Berry Cooks / Headline Publishing Group Failing the test doesnt mean the movies evil or anti-woman, or that passing makes it some sort of strongly feminist movie. Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. There arent enough shows that embrace female insecurities. American supervillain. In fact it can be pretty spectacular, especially when youre hanging out with other women! The Duchess of York casts "no judgment" toward her nephew. The test is named after and . Growing up, TV was mostly used as a way to entertain oneself. The movie: The Bride is hellbent on - surprise surprise - killing Bill because he and his assassins tried to kill her and her unborn child many years ago. Marvel Studios In fact, no two female characters actually even speak to each other. The female characters must talk to each other. Example: A woman has only one minor female friend, all other characters are male. The information needed to compute the BT for every scene and episode can be obtained from these transcripts with only a little further work. 95 percent of the characters are female, and they communicate with each other constantly throughout the series about non-male-centric topics. The Bechdel Test asks three key questions about a movie's female characters. Love and hate, fear and obsession, joy and anger, are all represented in their dance. However, its not the case that these shows were full of male-male conversations without female involvement: as seen by the fact that no show lies below 0.8 on the y-axis, these shows had as many, or almost as many, male-female conversations, as male-male conversations. 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. People tend to have strong feelings about the Lena Dunham-created comedy. Books? Toy Story 1 & 2. 3. for more than one minute of screen time. Needless to say, a lot of superhero movies fail the test. For a movie to pass The Bechdel Test, it must contain just one thing - a. 1. We are now operating in a virtual space, but we can still honor and name the physical spaces we all inhabit. TV Show Recaps; TV Reviews; TV Lists; TV News & Trailers; TV Features; The L Word; The L Word: Generation Q; . Here are ten television shows today that pass the Bechdel Test. Yes, but her relationship with French agent Lasalle is significantly more interesting. They discuss many different topics through the film, including the trajectory of their lives after graduating high school, but rarely men. men. The next plot explores further how male and female characters interacted in each shows episodes. Most people probably werent as mindful of the cringe-worthy storylines, one-dimensional characters, and lack of diversity that was, unfortunately, part of the norm before the early 2000s. (Episode III does still fail, though. None of the women in the movie ever talk to each other. You can change your settings or, 10 surprising films that fail the feminist Bechdel test, Mary Berry Cooks / Headline Publishing Group, These women have a conversation with each other. On the list of TV shows I regularly watch, the only one I can point to that definitively fails is HBOs Looking. At the time, hardly any films could pass it, and many forms of media still struggle to pass it today. Seriously, George, why is the whole galaxy a sausage fest? Its 2019, high time to get all underrepresented groups in significant numbers behind and in front of the camera! This test is passed much more frequently: almost every episode of each show passes (blue plus purple, below): However, Friends, Will and Grace, and Married With Children do show some episodes that pass the BT but not the male version (orange). New York? Despite having an array of fierce and funny female characters, the last movie of the Harry Potter installments disappointingly doesn't feature a single conversation between the women. If youre behind on this one, too, then Im honestly kinda surprised you even know what movies are. Have you ever had someone comfort you after a break up by saying "There's plenty more fish in the sea?". In fact, the example Bechdel gave as a film that passed the test was Alien, simply because Ripley and Lambert have a brief conversation about the alien. PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1890 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie. Despite having two kickass female characters who are named, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) a.k.a. Thats what makes it unique. 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. Most of them fail, even ones full of female characters. Often, the two women must be named, prominent characters to meet the criteria. Considering the fact that the entire population of New Zealand is in these movies, it kinda seems statistically impossible. I remember Skyler and Marie in early seasons arguing about Maries shop lifting. Friends, Will and Grace, and Married With Children had more conversations between different gender characters than same gender. About something other than a man. Hilary Duff? US cartoonist Alison Bechdel came up with the test in a 1985 comic strip: to pass, a film must have two female characters who speak about something other than a man. In order to pass, a film must feature at least two women on screen talking to each other about. One difference between what we found in our broader sample of 1,794 films released between 1970 and 2013 and the analysis at BechdelTest.com of about 5,000 films is that BechdelTest.com shows 56. and TV shows. The percentage of women working as directors on the top 100 films retreated from 16% in 2020 to 12% in 2021. Are there any TV shows you can think of though that fail the Bechdel Test? 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 . Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. No females speak to each other in thatone.). *WaitShore Leave has two women on the planet at the same time. 6 'The Social Network'. Remember the test was originally invented to help lesbians find movies theyd like. Easily passing the Bechdel test, Dead to Me brings together two women with completely different ways of being in the world together to deal with some wild bananas weird stuff. But not dwelling on that, the show quite obviously passes the Bechdel Test, with a strong . 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. It could be about dog poo. 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. 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. 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. If you need a reminder of how strong women are, then turn on Glow. 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. 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. And you know when else Insecure passes the Bechdel test? Yes, please. 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. As explained above, this can happen when the storylines pair characters of different gender together. It doesnt matter what age you are or if you have kids or not, because its that good. Users are reminded that they are fully responsible for their own 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. Padme speaks to Shmi Skywalker in Episode I and to her handmaidens at various points in Episode II, and in both cases, they discuss things other than men. A scene fails this step if any of the three lines in the back-and-forth mention any of the main male characters by name, a male pronoun like he or his, or any of a short list of other male identifiers, such as men, boyfriend, dad, or mr. Washington Post, many films and TV shows fail the Bechdel Test (Rosenberg, 2015). Black Widow, the two characters never interact to have a conversation. 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. Anyone else feel like going for a little drive? There are also a handful of episodes that do not pass either test (grey). Its won all the awards, and for good reason. And by god, is she an unforgettable one. Especially the last season, with its female villain. The 25 best movies that pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors By Lauren O'Callaghan, Louise Blain, Zoe Delahunty-Light, Rachel Weber, Sam Loveridge last updated May 06, 2022 The best movies. Let us know! The label of his particular examination is taken after a caricature artist, Alison Bechdel. Why? The rise in the overall number is due to increases in the percentages of women working as executive producers and producers. 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. Toy Story is such a beloved film to so many, but it unfortunately doesn't pass the test. Movies that fail the Bechdel test tend to have higher IMDB ratings. 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. 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. Well, surprisingly hard to manage it seems, with up to 50% of films failing the test. For the most part, the shows that pass the Bechdel Test are shows about women who are devoted to their careers, Leslie Knope, Olivia Pope, Alicia Florrick. On the list of TV shows I regularly watch, the only one I can . Star Wars: The Last JediWhile Carrie Fisher has always been a strong female presence in the Star Wars series, The Last Jedi takes female interaction to a whole new level. As with previous Ghostbusters movies, the busters are tracking down some ghosts who are wreaking havoc in New York. 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. 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. The titular named Lara is the only named female in this movie. Rebecca Nicholson. To pass the Bechdel test, a work of fiction must fulfil the above criteria at least once. The show is set in the world of 80s womens wrestling and follows an out-of-work actress who decides to achieve fame by wrestling. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: PartII. As well as showing that they kicked ass at the lab at the same time. The only problem is that the conversation is about Jake, who, you probably noticed, is a man. How about Girls? 91 Metascore. The Bechdel test is a method used to determine the representation of women in film. First, the film must have at least two female characters. If you ever wondered what it would be like if thirtysomething women pretended to be middle school-aged girls, well, you dont need to wonder anymore! and RollingNews.ie unless otherwise stated. For example, the archive has almost 120 films passing for 2019 out of those couple hundred that were added. Rise Together is key to creating greater opportunity by providing you with the support, knowledge, and community to break through barriers. Thankfully, by Toy Story 3 Pixar had included a conversation between female characters that involved something other than men. 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. Its a must watch! Now its up to Elsa to find her and help her get control of her powers so she can unfreeze their home. This test attempts to acknowledge the disparity between female and male characters in media. It made history, being the first all-Black starring cast to cross the $100 million threshold at the box office. The Bechdel Test is a metric used for measuring how women are represented in a given film. It originated in a comic strip by Bechdel in 1985. Entertainment News. And as a sidenote, can we just say, basically anything that Laura Dern does is freaking gold. If you were ever looking for a film that could pass the Bechdel Test, this would be it. Advertisement How to. In three films, none of them says a word to each other. Rachel Weber is the US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Fox Searchlight Pictures Her struggle with alcohol comes to a head and it was powerful to see how her friends supported her without enabling her. 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An extra big kick in the nuts to Star Wars fans: The prequel trilogy actually passes the test (partially). (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.). The Bechdel test is one of the most common ways that a movie or TV show's female representation can be judged. 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). Star Trek: DiscoveryThe latest addition to the Star Trek universe is soooo goooooood. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. And its been surprisingly challenging for movies and TV shows to pass this basic test, even in our current golden age of media consumption. Does she have an interesting relationship with McAvoy? The View from the Window by Carina Paredes-Rivera. Second, the women must talk to each other. The Legend of Korra might regularly fail both because of the ensemble, but later seasons have a majority female cast. The movie: Annies best friend is getting married so naturally shes Maid of Honor. 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 LiesSpeaking of Laura Dern, lets talk about television for a moment. They trade quips a few times, like when Prof. McGonagall makes a comment about always wanting to use that spell to Mrs. Weasley when she brings the stone statues to life, or when Mrs. Weasley calls Bellatrix a bitchbut no one actually responds and, yknow, talks. TL;DR: Some episodes do, some d. 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. 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. Thankfully, by Toy Story 3 Pixar had included a conversation between female . Scared her people will turn on her, she runs away and loses emotional control plunging the Kingdom into an eternal winter. 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. A kid on a distant planet finds out about a magical force from an old man and he learns to be a Jedi and they fight against the Empire and yada yada. Theyre flawed, complicated, and sometimes make horrible decisions. Were ready for Season 6! Absolutely. 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. 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 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. While they both grapple with these feelings, we get to see how gorgeously complicated the human experience is through the lens of this intense and beautifully acted series. advertising. 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. 10 Films and TV Shows that pass Bechdel's Test. Whether related to law, business, or politics, Diane, Lucca, Marissa, and Liz in particular had stunning moments of grace, confidence, and jaw dropping cool that we simply loved watching. By providing the information below you will receive early-bird invitations to our events, exclusive musings tailored to your interests, and access to our curated mentorship program. G LOW, Netflix's new series about a troupe of female wrestlers in the 80s, opens with a dig at the lack of roles for women in the entertainment business. Having acquired hundreds of sitcom episode transcripts, I can apply the test programmatically to each episode of these sitcoms, to compare the shows and track changes over the course of their runs. The Bechdel Test -- created by Alison Bechdel in her 1985 comic, "Dykes to Watch Out For" -- is a well-known measurement of gender bias in movies. 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. For fun, how about shows that not only regularly pass the normal test but fail the reverse Bechdel Test? Proving that women . At a time when toxic masculinity is still very much alive and well, this entire show is a breath of fresh air. TH3 RUNDOWN. There were several recurring nurse characters who had names, but when they talked to each other then IIRC it was usually about the male characters. 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. In order to pass the test, a film must feature at least two women who speak to each other on a subject that does not revolve around men. There's a third named female character, Agent Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders), but she only directs orders to her staff and there's no dialogue.