Somewhere down the line of your existence you were told that romantic comedies and chick flicks were a source of embarrassment. That watching “You’ve Got mail” one hundred times was considered a guilty pleasure, yet being a connoisseur of Star Wars was completely acceptable and revered. Somewhere amidst the sea of Kate Hudson starring movies with formulaic plots, you started to believe that rom coms were mindless fluff and wrote off the whole boy meets girl formula as completely anti-feminist, anti-empowerment, anti-women.
I don’t blame you.
There are a lot of terrible misrepresentations of romantic heroines in movies as vapid, one dimensional character with not a lot to offer besides a pretty face. But for every movie that fails to portray women as anything but a love interest, there’s a movie that shows well-educated, witty, feminist women finding love as well. The clearest and most simple assessment of the level of feminism in a movie is the Bechdel test, which follows three simple rules:
1. It must have at least two named women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man
Her Campus Broward applied these rules to our favorite rom coms and here are our results (Spoiler Alert):
Easy A
Emma Stone’s lament about wishing her life was like an 80’s movie? Totally relatable. Her journey to overcome slut shaming and refusal to have her worth dictated by her sexuality? Inspiring. There are many instances in the film where Emma Stone’s character talks to another named female – her best friend, arch nemesis, mother, that have to do with something other than with men.
This movie gets and easy A on the Bechdel test.
Lala Land
This cinematic masterpiece has got us all feeling romantic and nostalgic this award season, but do the female relationships measure up to its other accolades? One of the main characters, Mia, talks with her roommates (Tracy, Alexis, and Caitlin) about going to a party, her audition, and clothes. Mia also meets with a female casting director, Amy Brandt, about a role. This is a certifiable pass. Another notable feminist move is the fact that Mia put her career before a man, which, as bittersweet as the ending maybe, is a rare outcome in Hollywood plots.
This film passes with flying colors as vibrant as its cinematography.
50 Shades of Grey
Let’s just cut to the chase and tell you that 50 shades DID pass the bechdel test, but only because Anastasia and her roommate briefly talked about sandwiches. Outstanding.
The reality that 50 shades could technically be considered feminist according to the test hurt more than a leather braided whip to the derriere (and not in a good way), so we went a step further and added a 60 second rule to all the movies to ensure that the conversations the girls were having were substantial. 50 shades was the only movie that didn’t pass after the rule was applied, so we’re kind of on the fence.
Let’s call it a pass/fail just like Christian Grey’s action border between a Fetish/abuse.
13 Going on 30
Although the classic thriller scene and Pat Benatar soundtrack inspire multiple throwbacks to the 80’s, this film is extremely progressive compared to other rom coms made in 2004. Navigating the strange ways of grown men is a large component of the main character, Jenna’s, conflict. However, she has many discussions with named females at her workplace and apartment building, that focus on the hardships of growing up, establishing a career and maintaining female friendships. If those aren’t the realest struggles us college women currently face, then I don’t know what is.
This film gets a pass and a shout out for the 2nd best flash mob scene in cinematic history.
500 Days of Summer
This is the quintessential indie film. The mainstream hipster movie that takes the boy meets girl formula and then rips out your heart to make a point, and an important one at that – you can’t fall in love with the idea of someone and expect it to work out.
The story is told from the main character, Tom’s, point of view on his infatuation and falling out with his love interest, Summer. However, it turns out that Tom’s idealization of Summer makes her a prop in his story rather than an actual human being. When she’s with him, she’s the “dream girl” and when they break up, she’s the “evil ex”. Nowhere in the film does Tom reflect of any of Summer’s aspirations unrelated to him. Not cool Tom. Not cool.
This Film gets a 500 days of failure (yes really) and a shout out for the flash mob scene that narrowly beat out 13 going on 30’s.
So, let’s recap what we learned today.
Can rom coms totally demean and misrepresent the complex character that is the modern-day woman? Hell yes. Can rom coms totally get it right and create a 3 dimensional, flawed, yet empowered heroine? Hell Yes.
As with any other genre, you are going to find bad and good, but never let the fact that something labelled as a chick flick or geared towards typical female interests has somehow less value.
Be critical. Be open minded. And remember that a penchant for rom coms never minimizes one’s intellect.
You can find a database of all movies that have undergone the Bechdel test at http://bechdeltest.com/