1) Two named female characters 2) who talk to each other 3) about something other than a man
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| Alison Bechdel |
Let's see how the 2013 nominees for Best Picture measure up.
Amour: Pass. Eva speaks to her mother Ann in a few scenes.
Argo: Pass-ish. There are two named female characters, and they speak to one another to plan an escape from the embassy. However, these characters are basically glorified extras who only have names because they're based on real people.
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Pass. Miss Bathsheba asks Hushpuppy if she needs a ride home.
Django Unchained: Fail. There are only two named female characters, but they never converse.
Les Misérables: Pass. The women in the factory talk to Fantine about her daughter, Fantine talks to a hallucinated Cosette, and Mrs. Thénardier talks to Cosette about chores.
Life of Pi: Fail. There's only two characters in this movie, though, and one is a CGI tiger, so I'm willing to forgive it.
Lincoln: Fail. Mary Todd Lincoln has one brief conversation with Elizabeth Keckley, but it's about Rep. Stevens's speech, so it fails the third prong.
Silver Linings Playbook: Pass. Tiffany and Veronica speak to one another over dinner about Tiffany's desire to leave before dinner was finished.
Zero Dark Thirty: Fail-ish. Surprisingly, this movie starring two females and directed by a female fails the Bechdel Test because nearly all their conversations are about Osama Bin Laden, a man. They also discuss strategy, but it still revolves around a man.
Of the ten films nominated, only half pass the Bechdel Test. Even if you add up all of the conversations among women in these five films, they only account for a few minutes of dialogue. Hollywood has a long way to go when it comes to the portrayal of women in movies.
"There's only two characters in this movie, though, and one is a CGI tiger, so I'm willing to forgive it." This made me laugh. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting way to judge movies though! I'd never thought about it like this. Also I am way behind, because of the movies on this list, I've still only seen Les Mis.
I've only seen Les Mis and Silver Linings Playbook. shhh Don't tell anyone! haha
DeleteI have never even heard of this! So interesting, and eye opening!
ReplyDeleteI saw Lincoln, and while I felt the acting was good, the movie was drawn out and boring. I loved Argo! Great film! I just read the book though and found it much more interesting. The movie version of events is "too hollywood." I think Zero Dark Thirty would be a great pick for the win. The only other one that I saw was Djano, and I fell asleep. Just not my cup of tea, I guess.
Man, you're good! I don't see a lot of movies. In fact, when the nominations came out, I hadn't seen any of the movies nominated! I do really want to see Argo, though.
DeleteWhat an interesting concept. I doubt it will stop me from watching such movies, but it will help me think about these issues more.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like such a low bar, but it really is shocking how many movies fall short.
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