Hey movie buff Collegiettes, ever heard of the The Bechdel Test? It was created by Alison Bechdel in 1985 and is basically a test to see how women are represented in movies. The test has three major parts:
1. Are there two women in the film?
2. Do these two women talk to each other?
3. Do they talk to each other about something other than a man?
I’m not gonna lie, when I first heard about this test, I thought it sounded ridiculous. The test seemed really simple, how could a movie not pass it? But after a little while, I started to realize that this is actually a problem that is super relevant in today’s movie industry. There are an insane amount of movies that don’t pass this test (including many I considered to be my favorites), like Finding Nemo, The Hangover, (500) Days of Summer, Avatar, the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, 21 Jump Street, and Slumdog Millionaire, just to name a few. Having movies fail the Bechdel Test isn’t just some random trend in Hollywood, some suggest that writing women out of movies is something taught by professors in film schools.
But why is it so important? The movies are still interesting and fun to watch, so is there actually any harm done? The short answer is yes. The Bechdel Test raises really important questions about female representation. Alison Bechdel says herself that the test focuses on women being represented as subjects, not objects. When a movie passes The Bechdel Test, although it probably isn’t perfect (or even necessarily good at all), it is more likely to represent women as being more dynamic, interesting, complicated, and more than just tools that further the development of a man’s storyline. And while we aren’t always conscious of it, the media we consume has an effect on the way we perceive the world. It seems silly to think that we need movies portraying women as intricate and complicated for people to actually start treating us like that, but it definitely couldn’t hurt.
This doesn’t mean that movies that fail The Bechdel Test are bad or that we can’t like them; it just means that we should be looking at the way movies represent women and female relationships with a more critical lens. And although there are definitely a ton of popular movies that fail this test, there are a lot that pass too! Here are a couple of our favorite movies that do pass the test that are worth sharing.
1. Maleficent
Maleficent is really interesting because it actually fails a “reverse” Bechdel Test, meaning no two men in the movie talk about something that isn’t a woman.
2. The Princess Diaries
Alright, while I feel like a lot of people write this movie off as a silly chick flick, I personally think it has a ton of merit. The movie wouldn’t be what it is without Mia’s solid and often hilarious relationships with other women.
3. Pan’s Labyrinth
Incredibly beautiful, sad, and maybe a little creepy, Pan’s Labyrinth is a movie that has a fearless, complicated, and imaginative heroine whose purpose in the movie isn’t to further the plot for any of the male characters.
4. Spirited Away
At its core, Spirited Away is about Chihiro growing up and becoming and transforming into a better person. Her male counterpart, Haku, is there to help her grow as a character, not the other way around. (Important side note: No Face is incredibly adorable.)
5. The Help
The Help is all about women coming together to not only share their stories, but also control how these stories are told. If that doesn’t pass The Bechdel Test with flying colors, I don’t know what does.
So next time you’re watching something in the theaters or during a movie night, give it The Bechdel Test! You’ll be surprised how much it can actually change the way you watch movies.