Most of the cast is female. So if you want to watch a TV show that passes the Bechdel test and shows the full picture of what it means to be a woman, try turning on one of these TV shows about female friendship below. The Bechdel Test, also known as Mo Movie Measure and The Bechdel-Wallace Test, is a method used in media criticism to gauge the degree of representation and development of female characters within a work of fiction, and therefore, any gender bias against women that may be present in it. Most any military-based show. We are now operating in a virtual space, but we can still honor and name the physical spaces we all inhabit. The test has gained traction in recent years, but there's still some big-name films that don't meet the criteria. 1. On June 30th, 2008, Jennifer Kesler . None of the female characters in the film actually have a conversation. They exchange quips a few times, such as when Mrs. Weasley utters the iconic line of "Not my daughter, you bitch" to Bellatix as she protects Ginny. Whether related to law, business, or politics, Diane, Lucca, Marissa, and Liz in particular had stunning moments of grace, confidence, and jaw dropping cool that we simply loved watching. The only problem is that the conversation is about Jake, who, you probably noticed, is a man. As well as showing that they kicked ass at the lab at the same time. The WitcherAnd our second fantasy series is The Witcher, which, despite a lot of male energy (wayy more um, cleavage, in this one), does indeed pass the Bechdel test a few times Yennefer and Tissaias complicated relationship, as well as Ciri and Eithns short time together, and honestly probably more but were still working our way through this story (hey, we still have pandemic time to watch!). There are a couple guys on the prison staff, but they tend to talk about the prisoners or their boss Fig, who is a woman. The 25 best movies that pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors By Lauren O'Callaghan, Louise Blain, Zoe Delahunty-Light, Rachel Weber, Sam Loveridge last updated 6 May 2022 The best movies. Fox Searchlight Pictures. for the content of external websites. Im trying to remember any women on McHales Navy. Despite all the bitchy girl-on-girl crime that goes on though, at its heart this film is about female friendships and how complicated they can be. Friends, Will and Grace, and Married With Children had more conversations between different gender characters than same gender. Directed by Amy Poehler, Moxie is an overt rebellion against the toxic patriarchal systems that are rife in youth culture. This evil stepmother figure in Disneys 1998 remake is finally receiving the appreciation she always deserved. And as a sidenote, can we just say, basically anything that Laura Dern does is freaking gold. Lers kick things off with a choice that surely wont disappoint. The Bechdel Test, if you're not familiar with it, is a benchmark for movies developed by Alison Bechdel in 1985. Broad City created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson super modern and funny. Aaron Sorkin, the films writer, actually commented on the lack of three-dimensional female characters in an interview with Stephen Colbert, saying that the women are prizes. To pass the Test, the movie must include at least two women, who have names in the film, and that have a conversation with each other about something other than a man. Here are ten television shows today that pass the Bechdel Test. Shes brilliant and weird and is really really good at choosing great roles. TL;DR: Some episodes do, some d. We think its time to go beyond it. Some deviations from reality were for humor; some were for drama. The singer reveals how grueling life was on the road. SuperJail, unless JailBot is female. At the time, hardly any films could pass it, and many forms of media still struggle to pass it today. Scandal: Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) spends her time cleaning up the scandals that could wrack Washington D.C. and its political elite. "Glitch". Each step was calculated by scene and aggregated to episode level. Her character, Cassie, is a fun-loving flight attendant who gets into a huge problem. Women make up more than half of the population, but it seems that theres still a problem with representation in films and on television. The test and its rules were first mentioned in Bechdel's 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and has three (and later added four) simple rules: Sadness, joy, frustration, bittersweetness. Younger is a marathon-worthy series about a fortysomething who pretends to be in her twenties in order to break back into publishing. The movie: Annies best friend is getting married so naturally shes Maid of Honor. Remember the test was originally invented to help lesbians find movies theyd like. Failing the test doesnt mean the movies evil or anti-woman, or that passing makes it some sort of strongly feminist movie. Law & Order in the early seasons wouldnt have, with no starring female cast members. For fun, how about shows that not only regularly pass the normal test but fail the reverse Bechdel Test? To identify female characters, I manually selected names from the list of all speaking characters in the dataset, including both major and minor characters, but excluding unnamed characters like Waitress. Kristine Kochanski was a major character in seasons 7 and 8, but Holly had changed back to a male appearance by that point so I dont think Kochanski ever spoke to the female-looking version of Holly. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Theyre the kind of friends you can share all your embarrassing moments with because theyve seen (and done) it all. You can change your settings or, 10 surprising films that fail the feminist Bechdel test, Mary Berry Cooks / Headline Publishing Group, These women have a conversation with each other. I havent sat down to do a critical analysis or anything, but I bet 95% of Breaking Bad episodes would fail the test. Spoiler alert: Her secret doesnt stay a secret, and when her real age is revealed, she has to figure out how to repair broken relationships. The test asks whether a film features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man. They recently soft-launched their take on the Bechdel test, called the Riz test, which aims to cast a light on how Muslims are represented on film and TV shows. Summit Entertainment A movie is typically no more than 2-3 hours long, while the complete run of a successful TV series could add up to over 100 hours. Irish sport images provided by Inpho Photography This site uses cookies. Some of the most popular films of all time fail The Bechdel Test, and often for reasons you may have never considered. Fail. Amongst civil unrest and economic collapse, Theo unwittingly becomes responsible for a young pregnant refugee, Kee, who he must protect against all odds. As the first woman to become pregnant in years, she carries an extremely precious cargo and faces danger on all sides. The movie: The all-singing, all-dancing movie adaptation of the stage musical Chicago (opens in new tab) sees Rene Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere sing their hearts out as two female jazz stars/murderesses and the amoral lawyer trying to get them off. Second, the women must talk to each other. Sam Loveridge. When they do interact its usually to talk about their place in society with regards to the men and their plans. It's a quiz developed in 1985 by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace that reveals just how sexist (or not) any given work of fiction might be. No females speak to each other in thatone.). REVIEWS. None of the women in the movie ever talk to each other. This test is otherwise known as the Bechdel/Wallace test or the Bechdel Rule or Mo Movie Measure and is marked as a measure of gender depiction in the films. Movies with female directors have higher Bechdel scores. TH3 RUNDOWN. The movie also includes Jess sister Pinky and a whole host of other named women on the football team, and besides that, the basic message of the movie is that women can do anything even become professional footballers. The Bechdel is a good test to show general representation of women in film/tv, and should not be used to critique the value or lack thereof, of any specific film/tv. We've managed to find 25 of the best movies that pass the Bechdel Test. New Line Cinema. And, apparently, successfully robbing banks is one of the things they can accomplish together. Id think similar reasoning would apply to the Sopranos, the Wire, The Shield, etc. The Good FightWe were fans of The Good Wife, and when The Good Fight aired, we were excited to see some of our favorite characters back and connecting with each other in fascinating and exciting ways. Do those bacta tanks grow babies,too? How it passes: The Hunger Games (opens in new tab) actually passes the Bechdel Test in the very first scene. A hobbit gets caught up in a huge war when he has to take a magic ring right to the bad guys front door. Its 2019, high time to get all underrepresented groups in significant numbers behind and in front of the camera! Wire service provided by AFP and Press Association. But seriously, I cant remember two female characters even talking to each other. PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1890 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie. The Bechdel test is a simple test to evaluate films (and other media) for portrayals of women. 1. For a movie to pass The Bechdel Test, it must contain just one thing a scene in which two or more named female characters have a conversation (that is, back and forth dialogue) about anything at all besides men. Wrong. The Marvelous Mrs. MaiselYou must have been living under a rock if you havent heard of this one. I remember Skyler and Marie in early seasons arguing about Maries shop lifting. To pass this step I looked for a three-line sequence. On the list of TV shows I regularly watch, the only one I can point to that definitively fails is HBOs Looking. There must be two female characters in the scene. Registered office: 3rd floor, Latin Hall, Golden Lane, Dublin 8. But the show is very, very real. Honestly, if you dont know this, then I hope that 35-year coma was really peaceful andlovely. 20th Century Fox During the comic relief French Lesson scene (Act 3, Scene 4) Alice teaches Katherine how to speak French and there is no mention of men whatsoever. The women definitely rule the show and its no surprise that women are also behind the scenes as well here. A paraplegic dude gets his brothers hand-me-down remote control alien, falls in love with another alien, fights off a bunch of humans, and decides he likes being an alien more, because apparently he thinks living on a planet full of terrifying animals and waiting for the humans to come back sounds like a goodtime. With Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne going head-to-head in this hilarious bridesmaid-off, expect a lot of laughs and plenty of super awkward moments. She talks to her father, her boyfriend, the security guard at her fathers bankand not a single woman. Data scientist and former climate physicist, with special interest in politics and sports analytics, Having acquired hundreds of sitcom episode transcripts. In order to pass, the film or show must meet the following criteria: It includes at least two women, note who have at least one conversation, note about something other than a man or men. If you ever wondered what it would be like if thirtysomething women pretended to be middle school-aged girls, well, you dont need to wonder anymore! Next up, consideration of film beyond this basic test. It gets uncomfortable at times, but their stellar performances keep us glued. Have we missed anything? Cartoonist and graphic novelistAlison Bechdel came up with a test when she was younger that a movie had to have: For her to see the movie, it had to pass these three standards, and this test was first featured in her 1985 column Dykes to Watch Out For.. But the shows that dont pass the test are about men who already have established careers, and so the relationships between women fall to the wayside. But while the entertainment industry still has a lot of work to do, there seems to be a positive shift happening when it comes to female-led shows. We all play a part in creating a more equitable and just workplace and world. I dont think its really within the spirit of the test to count a brief conversation in a single episode of a TV series that ran for years as a pass. Don't get too bogged down in the requirements of the Bechdel Test test though because even if you're not sure what it means, every film on this list is a great movie in its own right, so you won't be disappointed. Women are not always these well-dressed, confident, and successful creatures; sometimes were just uncomfortable in our own skin. 5. It doesnt matter what age you are or if you have kids or not, because its that good. Lauren OCallaghan. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, del test/n. The label of his particular examination is taken after a caricature artist, Alison Bechdel. They confront him, defeat him, age weirdly, and everyone lives happily everafter. Ghostbusters (The one with all the women)We loved the 2016 Ghostbusters. Its a must watch! supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press New Line Cinema Theyre primarily white and primarily male and it makes sense that those who control the stories, will ensure they reflect their own world views. When she meets Jules, a fellow female footballer, she cant help but join the local womens football team, but this causes major problems for her home life and Jess finds herself torn between what she wants and her familys expectations. The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin . Although they spend a good portion of the film apart they still manage to have a many conversations about important things like their love for each other and saving their Kingdom from a perpetual winter. And this is despite the fact that Cate Blanchett is Liv Tyler's grandmother in the film, so it would have been completely possible for them to schedule some sort of visit together to say goodbye in case Middle Earth went down in flames! and TV shows. Pen15 might give you flashbacks to being a preteen. Alright, now were heading into the darker category. After a chat of what The Hunger Games actually means, Katniss comforts her sister Primrose, whos had a bad dream. Were trying to be conscious of not just meeting this bar. How it passes: Its true that Frozen (opens in new tab) only has two named female characters, but the movie is literally about them and their relationship to each other. note Additionally. And its been surprisingly challenging for movies and TV shows to pass this basic test. top of page. The Bechdel test was designed by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in 1985. 6) Encanto. It's worth noting though that this is in a series that shows women's asses at every opportunity & had gold-painted dancing girls earlier. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, who made it known to the world with this strip. All rights reserved. To pass the Bechdel Test, two female characters who have names must have a conversation with each other about something other than a man. About something other than a man. #ForeverAlone. BA1 1UA. The Duchess of York casts "no judgment" toward her nephew. The squads a little more preoccupied with ghost bustin than affairs of the heart, and casually saving the world from an evil menace. Here are our favorites! Have you ever had someone comfort you after a break up by saying "There's plenty more fish in the sea?".