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Can Your Movie Pass the Test?

If you love movies like I do, you may have heard of the Bechdel Test. It originated from a comic by Alison Bechdel and created guidelines that can be used to evaluate women’s roles and representation in films. In order to pass the test, a movie must include two women who discuss something other than a man. Sometimes there is another requirement, that the women are named. This test is extremely basic and it is dismaying although not shocking that many mainstream films do not pass.

While the number of movies passing the Bechdel Test has been increasing as time goes on, a ridiculous amount of movies fail to have two named women talking about something other than a man. Something as basic as that is overlooked in Hollywood.

Solo: A Star Wars Story, Deadpool 2, Love, Simon.

None of these movies passed. This is why movies like Ocean’s 8 and the new Ghostbusters are so important. Every girl knows the feeling of watching these movies and being amazed by the talented female cast on screen being funny, being smart, being women!

Women in Hollywood face many challenges including sexism, having less opportunities, and being paid less than male counterparts. Of the top 100 grossing films of last year, women represented only 8% of directors, 10% of writers, 2% of cinematographers, 24% of producers, and 14% of editors. In the movies of 2017, only 24% of protagonists were women.

A simple step would be including more female characters in movies, to open doors for women in the business and inspire girls and women watching everywhere. Hollywood needs to create more female characters, and audiences must demand more. The Bechdel Test should not be the standard, let’s pick the bar up off the floor.

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