Many movies apparently don’t pass the test…
What a copout editorialism.
What's the demographic of neatorama? A lot of those posters seem to take a lot of umbrage at the premise of the test. It's really only looking for the one conversation in an entire work. It's not complicated, and one doesn't have to boycott a movie because it doesn't pass.
Of the past three movies I've seen in the theatre, only one passes, and it was a romantic comedy. Even those might not pass, because the women may always be discussing the romantic target. But I'm pretty sure
Just Wright
had female conversations about the protagonist's wellbeing in general.
The Losers
and
Iron Man 2
pretty much fail right out of the gate, but hey, I enjoyed them anyway and I'm not turning in a feminist card over it.
Yeah, I'm not sure what to think about that. Does that make movies like
The Great Escape,
for instance, not worth watching? I don't think so.
Wasn't there a scene in IM2 where Pepper and Natasha talk business? For about three seconds before RDJ comes in?
I think the Bechdel test is a useful way to demonstrate how little there is for women to do in most Hollywood movies. I don't think it's the only way (or even a good way) to determine if a movie is worth watching.
Not to mention that The Women doesn't necessarily pass that test. I can't think of any conversation that isn't about men, living with men, staying beautiful to catch or keep men, etc.
I think there should be more movies up there that pass it (it's not a difficult test, honestly, but when the protagonist-antagonist pair are male, it does tend to happen that all discussions involve one or both of them, in person or as a topic), but I've seen more people bothered with it that think it's a boycott-or-else rule, than people who run movies through that filter regularly.
people who run movies through that filter regularl
Yeah, I do this. But it's only after I've seen the movie, so clearly I'm not boycotting the movies that fail. (Does LotR pass? I doubt it.)
I think what the test is good for is demonstrating that most movies are about men, even movies with a lot of female characters. It's a starting point for a longer conversation about gender on film.
It may help to see it in the original context, where the test is clearly bitterly hilarious. [link]
Agreed.
There are movies I watch knowing going in that they don't pass this "test." That's okay. I wish there were more movies out there that I know going in do pass the test.
I'm stoked for "Inception" but I bet that doesn't pass the test.
My favorite Bechdel reference is probably this Wondermark:
[link]
(See mouseover alt text)
I think what the test is good for is demonstrating that most movies are about men, even movies with a lot of female characters. It's a starting point for a longer conversation about gender on film.
This, this, this, with a side of this sauce. You don't need to boycott non-passing movies to find the test useful as an eye-opener on just
how
invisible and useless women have become in a huge chunk of mainstream movie culture. (And how segregated by genre: leaving aside the "not about a man" proviso, there aren't a hell of a lot of non-rom-coms that have two women characters at all.)
