The Bechdel Test

So today /Film (that's "slashfilm") posted this article on their blog, which describes something called The Bechdel Test, after comic strip illustrator Alison Bechdel.

In Bechdel's 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For she presents "The Rule," which shockingly illustrates the underrepresentation of women in Hollywood films. For a film to pass The Bechdel Test it must only pass three simple rules:

1. The film must have at least two female characters with names.
2. These two female characters must at some point during the movie talk to each other.
3. They have to talk about something besides a man.

Seems pretty easy, right? Actually, a staggering number of movies DO NOT pass this simple test.

The website www.bechdeltest.com keeps a running tally of movies that pass and fail The Bechdel Test. Here are some movies—both recent and older—that fail this basic test of female representation in film (Oh, and all of these movies were either nominated for or won an Oscar):

The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, Avatar, District 9, Up in the Air, The Fantasitc Mr. Fox, Star Trek, Up, The Dark Knight, Kung Fu Panda, The Wrestler, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Nemo, Ice Age, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, A Beautiful Mind, Shrek, Fight Club, Toy Story I and II

In fact, bechdeltest.com keeps track of which IMDB Top 250 films have been graded. Out of the 97 submitted to the site, only 25 have passed. Clearly this is a problem even in the very "best" of our movies (notice the quotes).

I wonder what this says about the state of Hollywood and how it represents our collective attitudes toward women. Why is it that women, who represent half of all moviegoers, are so much less likely to see themselves represented on the big screen?

I wonder what lessons we teach young girls (and boys) about themselves by overlooking women so blatantly at the cinema—which after all is one of our most powerful modern cultural authorities?

Please enjoy the original comic strip and show it to your friends.

Also, you can watch this great video about The Bechdel Test.