The Bechdel Test is something that I learned about in my junior year of high school while taking a Women in Film and Media. If you don’t know what the Bechdel Test is, it is a series of three rules that are used to measure the representation of women and feminism in films. In order to pass this test, the film must feature at least two women with names, they must talk to each other, and their conversation must be about something other than a man. Seems easy, right? You’d be surprised at how many films do not follow these three simple rules and I thought that it would be interesting to see if some of my favorite movies pass or not. Let’s start with five films that do pass.
In the movie Coraline, there are several female characters, including Coraline herself, Other Mother, Coraline’s Mother (Mrs. Jones), Mrs. Spink, Mrs. Forcible, and more. Throughout the film, Coraline and her Other Mother have several conversations regarding Coraline escaping this “other” universe and going back to her regular home. Also, Coraline and her mother talk about Coraline going to a new school, as well as some difficulties that she’s facing with moving.
I honestly wasn’t sure when I first researched this movie. Though, there are three, named female characters: Annie, Charlie, and Joan. At one point in the film, Annie and Charlie talk to each other about the death of Annie’s mother and the effect that this had. Later in the film, we see an important conversation between Annie and Joan. These two characters discuss grief and loss together.
Tangled is one of, if not my favorite animated films of all time. In this movie, there is a slight lack when it comes to representation of women. The only female characters we see are Mother Gothel and Rapunzel. Nonetheless, there are a couple of instances where they both have a conversation. They end up talking to each other about Rapunzel staying in the tower and what life outside would be like if she left.
I absolutely adore this movie. There are numerous female characters in this movie that are important to the development of the story. We have Baby Houseman, Penny Johnson, Lisa Houseman, and Marjorie Houseman, just to name a few. A bit into the movie, we watch a conversation between Penny and Baby while they discuss pregnancy and the abortion that is going to take place.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Another movie that I wholeheartedly love. The female characters showcased in this one are Kat Stratford, Bianca Stratford, and Chastity, along with a few more. Throughout the film, Kat and Bianca have many verbal altercations about various topics as well as a conversation about their mother and their necklace from her. We also see Bianca and Chastity discuss fashion, along with a conversation between Kat and Mandella regarding the discussion of prom and their dresses.
And now for the films that, unfortunately, do not pass the Bechdel Test:
Though this movie does contain two female characters with names, Beverly Marsh and Gretta, and they do have a conversation, it does not pass. The discussion that they had was about Beverly’s perceived promiscuity with the boys at her school. However, a lot of people don’t agree with this, as it is argued that that topic should be disregarded because Gretta and Beverly discuss Beverly’s reputation as a whole.
Once again, this movie does have two women, both with names–Teresa and Ava Paige. Regardless of this, the two never meet and therefore never converse with one another.
This film is a classic and one of my favorites. It has the female characters Wendy Torrance and a Doctor. Now, this could be argued because the doctor technically doesn’t have a name. However, she was important to the development of the story. The two do have a conversation at the beginning of the movie, but unfortunately, the evaluation doesn’t advance any further. Though they do converse, their topic only consists of Jack and Danny.
This movie has several female characters, including Lorraine Baines, Jennifer Parker, Linda McFly, and more. However, Jennifer only appears twice during the movie and when she does, she only talks to/about Marty. Now, we do see Lorraine and Linda speak to each other, but only about Marty, Uncle Joey, and George. Throughout the film, there are other small conversations that can be heard but seem to center around Marty.
Toy Story has predominantly male characters, though we do have a few women such as Bo Peep, Mrs. Potato Head, Molly, and a few more. Despite this, none of these characters ever converse. This movie is pretty heavily argued, as there was a brief scene where Molly and her mom exchange two or three sentences, which some view as a “conversation”. Though, this interaction was quickly shut down by her mother after she got distracted by something else in the scene, implying that she was never truly paying attention to Molly and what she was saying, creating the argument that this doesn’t truly count as a conversation. Not to mention, it is discussed that Andy’s mom doesn’t have a real name, which would also make the conversation invalid.
There are so many more films that I could list. Not to mention, the arguments that some people hold regarding the passing/failing of some of these tests are very intriguing. I encourage anyone to look into their favorite films and see if any of them pass the Bechdel Test.