Bechdel Test: How Women Are Really Presented in Film

Recently I was reading a chapter in film critic Mike McGranaghan’s book on Hollywood’s portrayal of women in films. One of the chapter’s main points is about recurring female characters in “chick flicks” whose ultimate life goal is marriage.

To a certain extent films are a product of culture rather than the other way around. For example, not long ago I had a conversation with a woman about a media personality who we both agreed is “an ass hat.” At the start of the conversation she asked, “I wonder what his wife is like?” as though this helped frame the conversation for her. Only then could we continue the conversation about this man being a dick. This is merely an anecdote, but what’s interesting is that the woman I had the conversation with doesn’t watch movies. Worrisome, even.

Then I saw this tweet from from Lisa Funnell (@CinemaOnFire):

She said:

Bechdel Test: Are there (i) 2 or more women [with names] in the film (ii) who talk to each other (iii) about something other then a man?

Followed up by:

An astonishing number of popular movies do not pass this simple test. It reflects how underrepresented women are in the film industry.

So I ran this test against the last five movies I saw in the theatres. Here were the results:

In Time

written by Andrew Niccol

Are there …

There is a scene where Will (Justin Timberlake) is introduced to Phillipe Weis’s family: his mother-in-law Clara (Sasha Pivovarova), his wife Michele (Bella Heathcote), and his daughter Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried). We never see Clara again; she seems mentioned only to demonstrate that each member of a family in this imagined future looks the same age. “Confusing times,” one character says. I’m fairly certain Michele and Slyvia never talk to each other even though they are mother and daughter. What is there to talk about? Phillipe is the only one with power. They talk to him.

Seyfried (as Slyvia) has the largest female role in the movie. We first see her character watching Will. She watches him, entices him, joins him, but instigates few changes in the plot. Any suggestions she has are to Will to make a change that will apply to the both of them.

The Thing

written by Eric Heisserer

Are there …

Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is the paleontologist that the research team invites to come from America to investigate “The Thing” in Antarctica. When Kate arrives to the base she is introduced to the team that is already there including Juliette (Kim Bubbs). There is a scene where everyone is celebrating in the common room. Juliette is sitting next to Kate and turns to and says something to the effect of “it’s not so bad here.” It’s not about men.

This passes the test, but demonstrates the level of meaningful exchanges these two women have.

The Ides of March

written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon

Are there …

The three main female roles in this film are Molly (Evan Rachel Wood) who works on the Morris campaign, Ida (Marisa Tomei) who is a reporter, and Cindy Morris (Jennifer Ehle) who is Morris’s husband. None of them ever need to talk to each other and don’t.

For a moment Ida influences a plot point with her powerful role in the press, but ultimately it is in the hands of men to decide how they will circumvent that power and control the outcome to their advantage. Women in this film are largely chess pieces who reveal information that men control.

Real Steel

written by John Gatins

Are there …

In one corner we have Bailey (Evangeline Lilly), our hero Charlie’s (Hugh Jackman) off again love interest. In another corner we have the Farra (Olga Fonda) who is the PR of the enemy robot. And in this corner we have Aunt Debra (Hope Davis) who represents another antagonistic force in the film as Max’s legal guardian. Once you give these three women names and titles (former flame, villain, secondary villain) you’ve covered who they are and what they do. Their personalities are largely inconsequential.

50/50

written by Will Reiser

Are there …

You need a judges ruling for this one. Technically when Adam’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) mother Diane (Anjelica Huston) asks him “Who is going to take care of you?” Adam and his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) share an awkward, prolonged look with each other before Rachel says, “I am.” But as soon as Rachael says that I’m not sure she even looks at the mother. You could call that general discussion. I would have taken away that second check mark on this merit.

However, later on Adam’s therapist Katherine (Anna Kendrick) bumps into Diane and Diane asks specifically about what her son said about her in therapy. So you could say they are talking about him. There’s also a female doctor who also makes a couple brief appearance when the mother is present, but they are talking about Adam the whole time.

What do you think about the results? What does your sister/mother/grandmother/friend/girlfriend/wife think? Ask them. Always a good time to start asking questions.

In a few years movies won’t be like this if the culture shifts. Just a few years ago (1995) the English translation of Sailor Moon changed “lesbian couple” into “cousins.” Think of how outraged people would be about that today.

I would like to see more popular movies with nuanced roles for women. I would like to see more nuanced roles for men too. When I suggested Chris Cooper for Captain America people were outraged. I don’t care what the man looks like. I care about his ability to make me believe what the character stands for. Isn’t that what any character or role, played by a man or woman, should be about?

Note: My friend Jim pointed out there’s a site that collects all these movies. You can visit it here: http://bechdeltest.com/. Thanks Jim!