Does your favorite movie pass the Bechdel test?

[cthulu2016]

Last edited Wed Nov 6, 2013, 07:12 PM - Edit history (2)

The Bechdel test of a film is that it must have (a) at least two named chracters who are women (b) who talk to each other (c) about something besides a man.

Sounds easy... or is it? (Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies are a total fail, for instance.)

Hell, even Thelma and Louise were usually talking about some man or another. (They also talked about other things and I have no doubt T&L passes the Bechdel test, but you see the point.)

Many of the most memorable female characters in film are women operating in male milieus and, when you think about it, never do talk to other women... and about men, when they do talk.

It's not a reliable mark of quality or even progressivity, of course, but the core observation is interesting and valid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test
http://bechdeltest.com/

[Walk away]

1. That's stunning! Even in "Nun" films the women are talking about J.C.

I can't even think of one film where the women don't spend most of their screen time talking about or reacting to men. Maybe one of those Susan Hayward "women in chains" movies.

[Dreamer Tatum]

2. Most porn movies pass that test. nt

[NuclearDem]

3. Aliens. Ripley and Newt.

[cthulu2016]

4. Mostly.

<joke>

Ripley may talk to Michelle Rodriguez, also. I don't recall.

[NuclearDem]

9. Since I've seen that movie so many times:

-The nurse in the hospital
-Company executive during the hearing
-Vasquez
-Newt

All the female characters Ripley spoke to.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. No.

Not really.

[Glorfindel]

6. No, but my favorite movies are mostly action/adventure

But "Steel Magnolias" comes to mind as one that qualifies, and I really like that movie.

[ancianita]

7. The Descent. Scariest movie I've ever seen.

One of my all-time favorites is My Neighbor Totoro. The two sisters are hysterically sweet and imaginative about the existence of spirits all around them.

[NightWatcher]

8. Not too many females on the boat in Apocalypse Now

There were playmates at one of the camps, but they had already lost their minds by the time they found them.

[Phentex]

10. I think the Muppet movies pass...

women and men and pigs and frogs and bears...

[Prophet 451]

11. Only one of my favourite movies qualifies

I get Alien but Casablanca fails and The Shawshank Redemption doesn't have any women in it at all.

[progressoid]

12. Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2098627/

[starroute]

13. Sweden is taking the Bechdel Test seriously

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/swedish-cinemas-bechdel-test-films-gender-bias

6 November 2013

You expect movie ratings to tell you whether a film contains nudity, sex, profanity or violence. Now cinemas in Sweden are introducing a new rating to highlight gender bias, or rather the absence of it.

To get an A rating, a movie must pass the so-called Bechdel test, which means it must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. . . .

Bio Rio is one of four Swedish cinemas that launched the new rating last month to draw attention to how few movies pass the Bechdel test. Most filmgoers have reacted positively to the initiative. "For some people it has been an eye-opener," said Tejle. . . .

The state-funded Swedish Film Institute supports the initiative, which is starting to catch on. Scandinavian cable TV channel Viasat Film says it will start using the ratings in its film reviews and has scheduled an A-rated "Super Sunday" on 17 November, when it will show only films that pass the test, such as The Hunger Games, The Iron Lady and Savages.

[frylock]

14. Fight Club had one female character..

so, no.