Take a moment to consider whether films you’ve seen recently fit these criteria:
- Does the movie contain two or more named female characters?
- Do those characters talk to each other?
- If so, do they discuss something other than a man?
Can you think of many? Probably not.
These questions form the Bechdel Test—named for the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who first proposed the rules as a measure of whether films demonstrate a baseline of representing women as real-ass people.
Bechdeltest.com lists hundreds according to these criteria (and in keeping with reports that Nordic countries are the most woman-friendly, movie theaters in Sweden have introduced a new rating system based on the test). Historically nearly seventy percent of Best Picture Oscar winners have failed.
Clearly these questions aren’t shooting for the stars, and it’s important to note many movies that don’t pass the test aren’t chauvinistic—but the fact that relatively few movies pass shows how male-centered the film industry is. Reverse the equation, and you’ll find that nearly every movie contains a conversation between two men that’s not about a woman.
So, let’s see how this year’s Best Picture nominees stack up.
Gravity — FAIL
Captain Phillips — FAIL
American Hustle — PASS (Ding!)
The Wolf of Wall Street — FAIL
12 Years a Slave — FAIL
Philomena — PASS (Ding!)
Dallas Buyers Club — PASS (Ding!)
Her — FAIL
Nebraska — PASS (Ding!)
That brings us to 5 fails out of 9: a simple majority. (And the two Golden Globe best picture nominees that didn’t receive Oscar nominations—Rush and Inside Llewyn Davis? Both failed.)
The fact that there is a financial incentive to make female-friendly movies—analysis of the top-grossing films of 2013 showed movies that pass the Bechdel test made more significantly money—makes this reality all the more ridiculous. Maybe we should move Hollywood to Sweden? (Image: commons.wikimedia.org)
