
Which Movies of 2015 Passed The Bechdel Test?
For those invalids who are unaware of the Bechdel Test, let me give a brief overview. Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist, best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and her graphic memoir, Fun Home, (now a Tony Award winning musical, hunni!) Bechdel is also a 2014 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award. So basically, she’s a boss bitch. Who unintentionally created a simple three part test to serve as an indicator of gender bias in works of fiction (usually movies and TV). A movie only passes the test if it can answer affirmatively to these three questions:
Does the movie have at least two women in it?
Do they talk to each other…?
…About anything besides a man?
That’s it. Originally meant as "a little lesbian joke in an alternative feminist newspaper", according to Bechdel, the test moved into mainstream criticism in the 2010s and has been described as "the standard by which feminist critics judge television, movies, books, and other media”. Let’s see which movies of 2015 passed the Bechdel Test, along with direct quotes from movie goers about why/why not. Are you scared? Because same.
Ant-Man: NOPE “Cassie and Maggie talk about the toy Scott brought Cassie at her party before talking about Scott. If a girl of 6 is classified as a woman it passes?”
The Age of Adeline: YEP “Adaline talks with several named women characters - her daughter Flemming (about elder care/housing), her blind piano-playing friend Cora, and Ellis' mom and sister (Kikki and Kathy) during trivial pursuit.”
Papertowns: Nada. “This movie is absolutely driven by the idea that the boy has to find the love of his life who has "ran away." There are minor female characters and one "main" character. The female characters have insignificant lines to the plot and when they do talk, it's about the males they are with.”
Chappie: Nein. “There are only two women in the film, both in supporting roles: The 'mommy' of Chappie and the CEO of the weapons company. They never speak to each other.”
The Overnight: Yes! “Emily and Charlotte do talk about men a lot, but they also talk about other things like going on a booze run.”
Tangerine: YAYA! “The two primary characters are transgender women working as sex workers in LA. Most of their conversations are about everyday life or Alexandra's performance that night or tracking down a cisgender woman who is sleeping with Sindee's boyfriend.”
Ex-Machina: Lol. Nooooooo. “Ava and Kyoko aren't women, they're idealistic versions of women created by a man. And basically only created to further his fame and/or have sex with them.”
Trainwreck: Yuuuuuup “Amy talks with Dianna, her boss about work stuff like promotions and story ideas. She also talks with her sister Kim about all kinds of things not related to men, like their father and mother, Kim's family, and their feelings about life and grief. “
San Andreas: Kinda? “Having just seen the movie I wouldn't have thought the movie would pass the test. Although it passes, the conversations were both minor and not plot significant. In fact the reason for the meeting was because Emma was moving in with Susan's brother so technically the conversation was about a man.”
Southpaw: It’s gonna be no from me dog. “There are six female characters: the protagonist's wife, his daughter, a random crackhead (???), a judge, a babysitter, and a children's social worker. The only conversation between two females, the mother and daughter, is about the protagonist. But to be fair, so are all of the male character's conversations.”
You’re probably thinking, “Huh, not too bad. About half of them passed.” To which I say: CAN’T WE DO BETTER? This is a test that every single movie should pass. Because HEY, women are three-dimensional, I’m talking to you men who tell ladies “You’re not like other girls”. Women have basic human thoughts. Women have conversations when men aren’t around. Women do not solely exist to support men’s emotional ~journeys~. We’re here to fuck shit up. I’ve had a plethora of conversations with other women this week alone that pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors, including: my hangover, potato consistency of fries, how high heels work, the late “WB” network, the superiority of everything bagels, post-grad depression etc. In summation, i don’t need to talk about the penises or the lack of penises in my life. Women have way more important work to do and Hollywood overlooking that blatant fact shows ignorance, deep-seated sexism and a SEVERE lack of creativity. So, get your shit together.