What Is the Bechdel Test? Women In Fiction • Filmmaking Lifestyle (2023)

The Bechdel Test is a test that asks if two named female characters talk to each other about something other than a man.

It was created by Alison Bechdel in 1985, and it has been used as an indicator of how women are portrayed in movies.

This blog post will discuss the history of the test, why it matters now more than ever before, and some Hollywood films that pass the test.

WHAT IS THE BECHDEL TEST

What Is the Bechdel Test?

The Bechdel Test is a low-barrier way to evaluate the representation of women in film.

The test was created by Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace in 1985.

Here are 3 rules for this test:

1. It has to have at least two (named) female characters;

2. who talk to each other about something besides a man, and

3. who both appear on screen together for more than one minute.

The Bechdel Test is a standard devised by Alison Bechdel in 1985 to see how well women are represented in cinema – it requires that at least two named female characters have conversations with one another about something besides men.

The purpose of this blog post is to explore what the goals behind passing or failing this test are,

In the past few decades, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of female superhero movies and TV shows.

The Bechdel Test For Women In Movies

The Bechdel test is used to measure the representation of women in media by looking at whether or not there are two named female characters that have a conversation about something other than men.

It’s also known as the Mo Movie Measure after cartoonist Alison Bechdel created it.

This blog post will explore how well women fare on this test when they’re represented in film and television – from iconic pop culture moments like When Harry Met Sally to more recent films like The Hunger Games.

The test was created as a way to show how Hollywood has an ingrained habit of portraying women in stereotypical and sexist ways.

The first step is that there must be at least two female characters that have names or are referred to by their character’s name.

Second, these two named female characters must talk to each other about something other than men.

Finally, the conversation between the two females must be longer than five words.

If all three of those things happen, then it qualifies as passing this gender litmus test for feminism and not being too sexist towards women in movies.

The movie Bridesmaids passes the Bechdel Test.

The Bechdel Test is a measure of the representation of women in film. To pass, films must have at least two (named) female characters who talk to each other about something other than men.

It was developed by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985 and has been widely used as an indicator of gender bias, or lack thereof, in various media since then.

The test can be applied to any form of fiction or non-fiction media and has been applied to video games and TV shows as well.

The Bechdel Test is also a valuable tool for examining how much time male characters spend on screen versus female characters.

Definition Of Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test is a measure of gender bias in movies. The test has three criteria:

1. the movie must have at least two female characters,

What Is the Bechdel Test? Women In Fiction • Filmmaking Lifestyle (4)

2. who talk to each other about something other than a man, and

3. for more than one minute of screen time.

The movie “Hidden Figures” was nominated for an Oscar because it passes this test with flying colors. In addition to that film, there are many others that pass the Bechdel Test as well including “Divergent” and “Get Out.”

The Bechdel Test is a test to see whether a movie or any story really, passes the basic feminist requirements.

The test states that in order for it to pass, there must be at least two women who talk to each other about something besides men.

It’s not perfect but it does raise plenty of questions and challenges us as viewers/readers in how we consume media.

The Bechdel Test is a test that was created by graphic artist, Alison Bechdel. The test asks three simple questions to see if the movie or work of fiction in question is respectful and inclusive of women:

What Is the Bechdel Test? Women In Fiction • Filmmaking Lifestyle (6)

are there more than two female characters with names? Do they talk to each other at any point during the story? If so, do they discuss anything other than men?

The purpose of this blog post is to inform readers about what the Bechdel Test is and how it can be used as an indicator of whether or not a work of fiction has gender bias.

I will also provide examples from movies that pass or fail the Bechdel Test.

The Bechdel Test was made in 1985 by Alison Bechdel, an American cartoonist.

The test is a quick way to gauge the level of sexism in films and has three criteria:

1. There are at least two female characters;

2. They interact with each other;

3. They talk about something besides a man.

If these three things happen then the film passes and is deemed as not sexist or misogynistic.

The test’s name comes from its creator, Alison Bechdel (from which we can see that her last name rhymes with “deckle”).

For A Film To Pass The Bechdel Test, The Movie Must Simply Have The Following

The point behind this test was to see how well women are represented in cinema/media within society’s gender bias perspective. In order for a movie/show etc…to pass this “test” they must meet

The Bechdel Test is a test that films must pass to be considered feminist. The film must have at least two female characters, who talk to each other about something besides a man.

The Bechdel Test is one of many tests used in feminism criticism and there are many different types of feminism criticism including social justice theory, post-structuralism, psychoanalytic theory, and Marxism.

First Known Use Of Bechdel Test

The first known use of the Bechdel Test was in 1985 when Alison Bechdel published an article called “The Rule” in her comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, featuring a character called Liz discussing with another character named Jacki about going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Surprising Films That Pass The Bechdel Test

Regardless of your personal views on what makes a good film, it is indisputable that the Bechdel Test has been one of the most influential tools in modern film analysis.

Surprisingly enough, there are many films that meet these criteria–though they may not be widely known or well-received for their quality.

The idea of a “test” for films to see if they passed or failed is an interesting one. It’s not just about the film being watched, but also who is watching it and why.

There are some surprising films that pass this test (with flying colors) such as Frozen and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story!

Since its inception in 1985, many popular movies that would never be considered feminist by their trailers have passed this simple test.

Here are some examples:

  • The Hangover (2009)
  • Twilight (2008)
  • Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
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