How it passes: Ghost World (opens in new tab) is basically all about the friendship between super sarcastic teen Enid and her best friend Becky. Miramax Films At this point in time, the SGO team is fully remote, and we are located across the United States. 483623. Married With Children went in the other direction. Spoiler alert: Her secret doesnt stay a secret, and when her real age is revealed, she has to figure out how to repair broken relationships. Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley. The test and its rules were first mentioned in Bechdel's 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and has three (and later added four) simple rules: A movie is typically no more than 2-3 hours long, while the complete run of a successful TV series could add up to over 100 hours. 4. (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 a method used to determine the representation of women in film. 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. pic.twitter.com/rW4NDxMObf Seamus Ryan (@meanderingtripe) March 1, 2021 Friends performs the best on the BT, and passes the full test in almost every episode. But seriously, I cant remember two female characters even talking to each other. 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. 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. They might as well be talking to themselves (or, more likely, the audience). This is straightforward, as the transcripts contain scene indicators, usually. Scandal: Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) spends her time cleaning up the scandals that could wrack Washington D.C. and its political elite. Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. Example: A woman has only one minor female friend, all other characters are male. Registered office: 3rd floor, Latin Hall, Golden Lane, Dublin 8. Leia and Rey have more agency than weve seen women have in previous movies, and one of our favorite scenes is when Laura Derns character (Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo) and other female soldiers were discussing their next military move. About something besides a man. To pass this step I looked for a three-line sequence. How it passes: The Hunger Games (opens in new tab) actually passes the Bechdel Test in the very first scene. To pass the Bechdel test, a work of fiction must fulfil the above criteria at least once. Probably because, well, just have a look at this article to see who sits behind the camera. 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. Get the best gaming deals, reviews, product advice, competitions, unmissable gaming news and more! It has a lot of well written three dimensional women, but theyre spread far apart from each other. 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. Its pass rate drops dramatically at steps 2 and 3. Your home for data science. The movies follow The Bride as she kills her way through the list of assassins who targeted her, working her way up to Bill - their boss and her former lover. Sounds simple, right? Especially the last season, with its female villain. 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. Have we missed anything? How to use Bechdel Test in a sentence. While Im pretty sure their husbands/boyfriends back home, and the 4077s doctors did come up, it was mostly about Margaret. 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. Alex and Bradley, newly brought together co-anchors for The Morning Show, have a complicated relationship. The single episode with the most Nurse/Nurse interaction, they were basically spending the episode bitching about Maj. Hoolihan. News images provided by Press Association Big Little LiesSpeaking of Laura Dern, lets talk about television for a moment. Law & Order in the early seasons wouldnt have, with no starring female cast members. That doesnt mean its not funny, though! Or if they did have semi-important male characters, but the only topics of conversation they had were about the women in their lives? 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. Take Game of Thrones for example. Im trying to remember any women on McHales Navy. The View from the Window by Carina Paredes-Rivera. Why? ** Okay the first pilot actually has two women speak to each other. Literally, it can be about anything but a man! Advertisement How to. #ForeverAlone. 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. Seriously, in the entire 10-hour trilogy, no two female characters ever actually speak to each other. Absolutely. 91 Metascore. Of course, people watch movies for the simple pleasure that the story brings. (Wikimedia) Virginia. 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. Lauren OCallaghan. 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. It originated in a comic strip by Bechdel in 1985. But the Internet commenters can still find things to get upset about - go ahead, get angry! *WaitShore Leave has two women on the planet at the same time. Rise Together is key to creating greater opportunity by providing you with the support, knowledge, and community to break through barriers. 11 The Imitation Game Based on the 1982 biography Alan Turning:. 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? When you finish the breakdown, you will have a full measure of the quality of the female presence. 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. 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. While theres been some improvement, much work is left to do. It also crushed the Golden Globes in 2017. Im not completely certain, but possibly the original Star Trek? and indemnify Journal Media in relation to such content and their ability to make such content, A lot of Hollywood films fail this test miserably and portray women in a sexist and unfair way. We are now operating in a virtual space, but we can still honor and name the physical spaces we all inhabit. 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).. 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). Id think similar reasoning would apply to the Sopranos, the Wire, The Shield, etc. If you have a mixed ensemble cast its not unusual for it fail both the Bechdel test and the reverse Bechdel test because its rare for only the men or the women to have a conversation without talking about the opposite sex. And to be clear, passing doesnt mean the movies good or bad. It has to have at least two [named] women in it 2. Who talk to each other 3. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, But it easily passed the Bechdel test, focusing on their badass careers saving an entire CITY and their friendships. Not only are the relationships between the female characters strong and loving (see: Rebecca and Keeley, Nora, Noras mom Sassy, and the powerful moments between Rebecca and her mother), one might argue that Teds lack of patriarchal bullshit is what makes him a part of the feminist society ideal that many of us wish for. The movie: This dystopian movie paints a bleak picture of a future where humanity has lost the ability to reproduce. As the first woman to become pregnant in years, she carries an extremely precious cargo and faces danger on all sides. 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. People tend to have strong feelings about the Lena Dunham-created comedy. Most are finally passing the Bechdel test, aka a test that analyzes a scene where two or more women talk about anything else other than men. 10 Films and TV Shows that pass Bechdel's Test. 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. Definition Of Bechdel Test. Its won all the awards, and for good reason. Director and Producer James Cameron first wrote the script in 1994 and it took a whole 15 years before the film was made and released. Fail. Do those bacta tanks grow babies,too? 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. The twentysomething BFFs navigate life in New York City while getting into the most bizarre yet weirdly relatable situations. services and 3) About something other than a man. The readers of Dykes to Watch Out For (where the test originated) probably love this show. It also crushed the Golden Globes in 2017. The Wheel of TimeIn a rare turn of events, we have one of two fantasy series on the list! Then again, its possible that the nurses exchanged at least a few lines complaining about their living conditions, talking about the war, etc., and a conversation about treating a patient who happens to be a man is arguably not really a conversation about a man. Cinderella. The Bechdel (pronounced beck-dell) Test was first created in 1985 by cartoonist Allison Bechdel. 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. Its just to get people thinking about gender and how its presented in film. 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. top of page. 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. There is no clear correlation between the budget or revenue of a movie and its Bechdel score. Seriously? The best movies that pass the Bechdel Test are the ones that really, truly, pass with all the flying colors. The data Im using are the same as introduced in this previous post: episodes transcripts for most episodes of seven major sitcoms from the last 30 years. Heres an excerpt on research conducted on film and gender in 2021: After reaching historic highs in 2020, the percentages of women directing top grossing films declined in 2021. Then it might be kinda shocking to find out that out of 2,500 movies, only about half pass the test. TV shows tend to run far longer than movies and thus, most of them end up passing the Bechdel Test. They discuss many different topics through the film, including the trajectory of their lives after graduating high school, but rarely men. Its not always pretty, but its a true representation of female relationships. 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. Women make up more than half of the population, but it seems that theres still a problem with representation in films and on television. A lot of episodes do pass, but not as many as youd think, and only barely. Imagine how tedious it would be if half of all of the films you watched never had any men who were important enough to be named in them? Its about a group of young gay men in San Francisco and the only named female character is Doris. TV shows tend to run far longer than movies and thus, most of them end up passing the Bechdel Test. This test attempts to acknowledge the disparity between female and male characters in media. Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. Shes got a bit of a grudge. The Bechdel test has three stipulations: two named women characters need to have a conversation about something other than a man. Despite having three strong female characters in Arwen, Eowyn, and Galadriel, theyre all in completely different parts of Middle Earth and they never even meet, much less talk to each other. Her best friend and coworkers are there for her, even at her lowest. Its a good thing that she has good friends to help her do it. How is that hard to write? We all play a part in creating a more equitable and just workplace and world. The Bechdel test is too incomplete to be effective. The series based on Robert Jordans epic series begins with the premise of a world ruled by women who have to deal with a lot of very bad men. And it definitely passes the Bechdel test, with a diverse cast of women focusing on their careers and friendships. Washington Post, many films and TV shows fail the Bechdel Test (Rosenberg, 2015). City Lights (1931) G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance 8.5 Rate 99 Metascore Its a must watch! So, what is the Bechdel Test? How it passes: Dont let the name fool you, Children of Men (opens in new tab) passes the Bechdel Test with flying colours. 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. Paramount Pictures In fact it can be pretty spectacular, especially when youre hanging out with other women! ), 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. First, the film must have at least two female characters. And its been surprisingly challenging for movies and TV shows to pass this basic test, even in our current golden age of media consumption. Um, no. The squads a little more preoccupied with ghost bustin than affairs of the heart, and casually saving the world from an evil menace. (Though it should be called the Bechdel-Wallace test, according to the lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who helped create it.) The Bechdel test is the most popular tool for assessing female representation in film. While there are two female characters, Snow White and the Evil Queen, the latter is not given a name in the film. And so are five other '90s tattoo styles. Land acknowledgements are a way for us to reflect upon the duality of our work while we work within our team, our community, and our client organizations to promote greater inclusivity and abolish inequities, we ourselves still perpetuate and contribute to various forms of historical and present oppression. Disney Movies That Don't Pass the Bechdel Test Pinnochio Dumbo Bambi Lady and the Tramp The Sword in the Stone The Jungle Book The Fox and the Hound The Great Mouse Detective Oliver & Company Aladdin The Lion King A Goofy Movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame Users are reminded that they are fully responsible for their own SuperJail, unless JailBot is female. Will and Grace also scores highly, through Grace-Karen and to a lesser extent Karen-Rosario conversations. Killing EveVillanelle and Eve are the two stars of this thriller series and have a relationship like weve never seen before. Does she have an interesting relationship with McAvoy? Growing up, TV was mostly used as a way to entertain oneself. 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. Wrong. 6) Encanto. When they do interact its usually to talk about their place in society with regards to the men and their plans. Needless to say, a lot of superhero movies fail the 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. 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. 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. RELATED: 10 Best 2019 Movies That Passed The Bechdel Test, Ranked After witnessing a series of inappropriate events at school - none of which are taken seriously by the staff - Vivian . Summit Entertainment Eat Sleep Die (2012) And its been surprisingly challenging for movies and TV shows to pass this basic test. Lauren OCallaghan. But if females are in the story, theres no reason cant they be involved in at least one conversation with each other. It covers domestic violence, marriage hardships, and the misconception of perfection. Friends, Will and Grace, and Married With Children had more conversations between different gender characters than same gender. 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. As the title lets on, Dead to Me isnt a light-hearted show. When Issa speaks to herself in the mirror. If you need a reminder of how strong women are, then turn on Glow. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). We can look at the results for each show, broken down by test step. Thats what makes it unique. Pen15 might give you flashbacks to being a preteen. That means having at least two, named, female characters in the movie, who talk to each other about something other than men. There are also a handful of episodes that do not pass either test (grey). We encourage you to, Ten Recent TV Shows That Pass the Bechdel Test, TV shows and movies that pass the Bechdel test, research conducted on film and gender in 2021, How to measure the impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training, Understanding Social Identities in the Workplace. Here's 10 from the past 25 year that may surprise you. InsecureThe real love between Issa and Molly gives us all the feels like all of them. Definitely not. It doesn't hurt that Rapunzel gets to do her fair share of saving the day. 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. In one installment of her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, one character informs the other that she will only go to see films in theaters that have adequate female representation. Are there any TV shows you can think of though that fail the Bechdel Test? Third, that conversation must be about something other than a man. This test, put forth by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in a comic strip from 1985, posits . The sparkling, progressive dialogue pretty much consists of, He doesnt need you, he has me., And Andrea the android talks to Nurse Chapel about a man in What Are Little Girls made of. 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. Sam Loveridge. unless otherwise stated. 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. created content and their own posts, comments and submissions and fully and effectively warrant The Bechdel Test, if youre not familiar with it, is a benchmark for movies developed by Alison Bechdel in 1985. Mark Zuckerberg and his buddies spend two hours screwing over each other and everyone else around them in pursuit of Facebook billions, apparently in an attempt to prove that nerds cant havefriends. The only problem is, theres another bridesmaid trying to muscle in on her territory. Fantasies are notoriously male-dominated (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, we see you!). In some cases, my processing couldnt pick up the scene breaks, or the transcripts didnt contain any; these episodes are each treated as one long scene, which makes it easier to pass this first step, but only slightly easier to pass the other steps than when scenes are properly detected. If you havent, then youre missing out on the creative genius that is Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. Star Trek: DiscoveryThe latest addition to the Star Trek universe is soooo goooooood. Content copyright Journal Media Ltd. 2023 Registered in Dublin, registration number: 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 . The titular named Lara is the only named female in this movie. 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. These movies also happen to be very female-positive overall too. Thank you for subscribing to ENTITY. Next up, consideration of film beyond this basic test. She works closely with Abbey Whalen (Darby Stanchfield), and has numerous confrontations with First Lady (Bellamy Young). 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. Please know that these are only a portion of the new television series passing the test. Then again, its possible that the nurses exchanged at least a few lines complaining about their living conditions, talking about the war, etc., and a conversation about treating a patient who happens to be a man is arguably not really a conversation about a man. Should it be dismissed entirely? Hidden FiguresThis top box office earner deserves every bit of its acclaim, and easily passes the Bechdel test. Some Western animated shows would fail a reverse. Please note that uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide Besides Friends, Will and Grace, and Married With Children, the other shows have a lopsided number of male characters, so are unlikely to be left without a male-male storyline. The Bechdel test was designed by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in 1985. Having acquired hundreds of sitcom episode transcripts, I can apply the test programmatically to each episode of these . None of the women in the movie ever talk to each other. Most of the cast is female. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Starring Jeon YeoBeen (as Hong JiHyo) and Afterschool's NaNa (as Huh BoRa), "Glitch" is a dazzling celebration of female friendships and WLW relationships, and the theme is brought out with the utmost grace and delicate nuance. Did it miss the mark on some topics? To pass the Bechdel Test, two female characters who have names must have a conversation with each other about something other than a man. Mary Berry Cooks / Headline Publishing Group / Headline Publishing Group. Next on the list is the 2010 biographical drama movie The Social Network which also doesn't pass the Bechdel test. supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Zoe Delahunty-Light. Tangled (rated PG): Rapunzel and Mother Gothel have enough interaction to help Tangled easily pass the test. Why are youhere? It's commonly used as a commentary about the lack of female representation in Hollywood. Were there any women on F-Troop aside from Wrangler Jane? In order to pass, a film must feature at least two women on screen talking to each other about. Its exciting to see them roll up with their emotional Away bags and yet be really nervous to unpack them in front of each other. In a world where superhero movies reign supreme, it's hard to imagine any of them not passing the Bechdel Test. The TV shows that have captivated audiences in lockdown include Unorthodox, Normal People, Killing Eve and I May Destroy You. It shows what women can do when theyre on the same side with the same goal. And here are ten that dont pass the test. 1. Yes, but her relationship with French agent Lasalle is significantly more interesting. 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. Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc 79 titles 1. HelloGiggles.com is part of the Dotdash Meredith Beauty & Style Group. The label of his particular examination is taken after a caricature artist, Alison Bechdel. It uses the same lines identified above as part of a back-and-forth between two characters, and sums these by the gender of the pair of characters involved: female-female, male-male, or male-female. Some deviations from reality were for humor; some were for drama. All the Charlize Theron. Enter search term: Or, you can show the list for one or more years: Why? Often, the two women must be named, prominent characters to meet the criteria. American supervillain. The Bechdel Test is a metric used for measuring how women are represented in a given film. 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.