In fact, there are entire genres actionadventure, for example that seem to fail the bechdel test, by and large. And for a test that seems so simple, weve all enjoyed films that fail it. Dec 07, 2009 the bechdel test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. Stream these movies on amazon prime that pass, and surpass. Bechdel theatre podcast is hosted by beth watson and pippa sa. Its a quiz developed in 1985 by graphic novelist alison.
Nov 14, 20 the bechdel test doesnt speak to a question of film form like this one, and so by following it to the letter, we would miss a good deal of cinemas political significance. Discussion about movies and if they pass the bechdel test. Nov 06, 20 the bechdel test was invented in the mid1980s when alison bechdel s comic strip dykes to watch out for featured a character who refused to watch a movie that didnt have at least two women who. To measure the extent to which women are includedor left out ofthe top films, the journal subjected the bestpicture nominees to the. The racial bechdel test has the same simple rules as the bechdel test, applied to people of color. The bechdel test and the television shows that pass entity. At least two of them must have a conversation thats not about a white person. We provide the tools to quantify bechdel scores for both genders, and we measure them in movie scripts and large datasets of dialogues between users of. We screen events throughout the year in and around london and guest curate for film festivals nationwide.
That said, the number of bechdel testpassing movies in the top 10 is encouraging. It has to have at least two women who talk to each other about something besides a man it comes from allison bechdel s comic strip dykes to watch out for. The bechdel test fest is an ongoing screening collective who present films with a positive representation for women in film. But the shows that dont pass the test are about men who already have established careers, and so. Bechdel credits the idea to her friend liz wallace, and says it was. Dec 09, 2016 thr recently gave the 25 topgrossing films of 2016 the bechdel wallace test.
In her 1985 comic dykes to watch out for, the cartoonist alison bechdel included a conversation between two women who are considering. Sep 02, 2009 the bechdel test 1985 says that a film is not worth watching unless it fulfils three conditions. Girl talk is a weekly look at women in film past, present, and future there are only three requirements for passing cartoonist alison bechdels eponymous test to determine how active and. Minajs anaconda doesnt pass this bechdel test but starships, featured here, does. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The bechdel test follows two ambitious young women through a pivotal turning point in their friendship. A movie that fails the bechdel test is not necessarily problematic andor sexist for having failed it, and vice versa. It was entered by grace lambertsmith on 20150924 21. In fact, of the top 20 movies, only four failed the bechdel test this year. The following parameters are relatively easy to meet, yet so few songs actually do. Cinderella 1 point cinderella has plenty of conversations with lady tremaine, anastasia, and drisella about different things, so this one passes the bechdel test without a flinch. But the shows that dont pass the test are about men who already have established careers, and so the relationships between women fall to the wayside. Its a quiz developed in 1985 by graphic novelist alison bechdel and her friend liz wallace that reveals. The thing about the bechdel test is that it doesnt require films to be even remotely femalefocused.
The bechdel test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. John ostrander shelved 1 time as bechdeltestfailed avg rating 3. With the media constantly growing, the fact that movies still do not pass the bechdel test suggests that feminism is still fighting for equal representation of women. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The bechdel test was invented in the mid1980s when alison bechdels comic strip dykes to watch out for featured a character who refused to watch a. Apr 16, 2015 broadway passes the bechdel test with fun home alison bechdel s bestselling graphic novel memoir about growing up gay with a closeted father doesnt seem like an obvious choice for a musical. The bechdel test follows two ambitious young women through a pivotal turning point in. The bechdel test also known as the bechdelwallace test, is a measure of the representation. Speculative fiction that passes the bechdel test, popsugar 2020 a book that passes the bechdel test, passing the bechdel test, bechdel wal. This page has a yearbyyear list of movies, along with their bechdel status. Currently, only the titles of the movies are searchable.
How the 2016 oscar nominees did on the bechdel test wsj. By lauren ocallaghan, zoe delahuntylight, sam loveridge, rachel weber, louise blain 07 march 2019 the best movies that pass the bechdel. Pronunciation of bechdel test with 1 audio pronunciation, 8 translations and more for bechdel test. We frequently host events inlcuding screenings and special guests, as well as a regularly updated blog. Popular bechdel test failed books showing 7 of 37 star wars. Additionally, passes the person of colour bechdel test juuust about as chiwetel ejiofor and donald glover talk about something, though im pretty sure its about saving matt damon.
Im personally giving it a pass because, like in man of steel, literally the whole of nasa the world is interested in this one guy and in the martian, their jobs. Sep 16, 2016 the test was named after alison bechdel, the american cartoonist and creator of the tony awardwinning musical fun home. Speculative fiction that passes the bechdel test, popsugar 2020 a book that passes the bechdel test, passing the bechdel test, bechdelwal. Feb 15, 2016 and for a test that seems so simple, weve all enjoyed films that fail it. However, the test illuminates the matter of representation in mainstream films and raises questions about women specifically. The bechdel test is named after cartoonist alison bechdel, whose 1985 dykes to watch out for comic strip criticized the way men dominated. The bechdel test also known as the bechdelwallace test, is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. The bechdel test was inspired by cartoonist alison bechdels 1985 tongueincheek comic strip the rule. Watch late night with seth meyers highlight alison bechdel on the origin of the bechdel test on. With colton apodaca, savannah gilmore, gabi van horn, chris wu. In 1985, cartoonist alison bechdel wrote in her comic strip dykes to watch out for, that one of the characters only went to a movie. Nov 11, 20 the bechdel test, if youre not familiar with it, is a benchmark for movies developed by alison bechdel in 1985. There are plenty of flaws with the bechdel test, but its a crude way to measure the inclusiveness of a film and we have 4,000 films rated on the metric. The bechdel test, if youre not familiar with it, is a benchmark for movies developed by alison bechdel in 1985.
What the bechdel test doesnt tell us about women on film. Broadway passes the bechdel test with fun home alison bechdels bestselling graphic novel memoir about growing up gay with a closeted father doesnt seem like. The bechdel test doesnt speak to a question of film form like this one, and so by following it to the letter, we would miss a good deal of cinemas political significance. Definition of bechdel test new word suggestion collins. The bechdel test, and other media representation tests. 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.
There is a strong gender imbalance in hollywood these days and throughout the history of film that has resulted in most studio films being very malecentric and featuring few if any female characters of substance. The bechdel test 1985 says that a film is not worth watching unless it fulfils three conditions it has to have at least two women who. Mar 17, 2015 minajs anaconda doesnt pass this bechdel test but starships, featured here, does. Passing the test does not insure gender equality, and it completely ignores racial or sexual diversity. Testing the bechdel test pdxscholar portland state university. It comes from allison bechdels comic strip dykes to watch out for. The bechdel test for bechdel tests overthinking it. Sweden has just started rating its films according to the bechdel test. Mar 06, 2017 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. The test is clear and objective, but importantly contains a strong latent normative sentiment, which is not captured by the bechdel test for bechdel tests.
Nov 12, 20 according to the bechdel test web page movies like elysium, red 2 and the wolverine pass the test but all the notes show that the conversations between women are token and in the case of red 2. No one is saying that vertigo is a shitty andor unimportant movie because it doesnt pass. The martian passes the bechdel and race test but does not pass the russo test. Why the bechdel test is more important than you realize. The bechdel test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in hollywood films and to judge just how wellrounded and complete those roles are.
The bechdel test is not meant to be an indicator of a films quality, plenty of good movies fail it and there are bad movies that pass it. Paper presented at the narrative and hypertext workshop, hypertext. The test was named after alison bechdel, the american cartoonist and creator of the tony awardwinning musical fun home. Nov 24, 2010 the bechdel test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in hollywood films and to judge just how wellrounded and complete those roles are. Im personally giving it a pass because, like in man of steel, literally the whole of nasathe world is interested in this one guy and in the martian, their jobs. Thr recently gave the 25 topgrossing films of 2016 the bechdelwallace test. The bechdel test, originally inspired by a 1985 installment of alison bechdels comic dykes to watch out for, features a character with three. The bechdel test and disney films there is a strong gender imbalance in hollywood these days and throughout the history of film that has resulted in most studio films being very malecentric and featuring few if any female characters of substance. The study done by fivethirtyeight last year found that movies that passed the bechdel test performed just as well at the box office as their failing counterparts. For a movie to pass the bechdel test, it must contain just one thing a scene. All conversations between the female characters are regarding mark watney, so the movie doesnt pass the bechdel test. If youre not familiar with test that was first penned by cartoonist alison bechdel, here are the requirements. It was entered by grace lambertsmith on 2015 0924 21. A movies has two characters of sixfoot height or taller, who have a conversation.
According to the bechdel test web page movies like elysium, red 2 and the wolverine pass the test but all the notes show that the conversations between women are token and in. Bechdel test definition in the cambridge english dictionary. What is the bechdelwallace test and why does it matter. In 20, failing the bechdel test was bad for your movies bottom line not all that glitters is gold. Almost half of 2015s top movies failed the bechdel test. Alison bechdel came up with the bechdel test in the panels of her comic dykes to watch out for in 1985, and it was just in the form of one woman explaining her rule about movies to another.
The fact that a filmmakers gender correlates with the test, we can stop arguing about the merits of the bechdel test and start discussing hollywoods diversity problem i. By lauren ocallaghan, zoe delahuntylight, sam loveridge, rachel weber, louise blain 07 march 2019 the best movies that pass the bechdel test are femalepositive and great watches in their own. She in turn got it from liz wallace at her karate class it can apply to any story but hollywood fails the test at a surprising. Watney does a log and reports that he is very much alive. In order to pass a movie must have 1 at least two named female characters who 2 talk to each other about 3 something other than a man its meant to point out how women arent really seen a central points to the action, and even in scenes between two or more women the object of their discussion is usually the male character at the center of the film.
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