tv shows that pass the bechdel test

The Bechdel Test is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. (will pass the test, but female characters are still underrepresented) Most of them fail, even ones full of female characters. But times are changing and there are a handful of incredible examples of ladies crushing mainstream media. It originated in a comic strip by Bechdel in 1985. The Bechdel Test is a measure of gender bias in movies. G LOW, Netflix's new series about a troupe of female wrestlers in the 80s, opens with a dig at the lack of roles for women in the entertainment business. The Bechdel test, Also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test, is a test used for works of fiction (usually movies), named after the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel. and indemnify Journal Media in relation to such content and their ability to make such content, TV Show Recaps; TV Reviews; TV Lists; TV News & Trailers; TV Features; The L Word; The L Word: Generation Q; . Others such as Bridgerton, The Nevers, and Yellowjackets make the list, too. The show is set in the world of 80s womens wrestling and follows an out-of-work actress who decides to achieve fame by wrestling. This Canadian-made comedy about friends navigating motherhood will have you laughing out loud. Sam Loveridge. Toy Story 1 & 2. I remember Skyler and Marie in early seasons arguing about Maries shop lifting. After a chat of what The Hunger Games actually means, Katniss comforts her sister Primrose, whos had a bad dream. Shes also right pretty much all of the time and her male captains need to listen to her more often. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, adapted from Margaret Atwood's critically acclaimed novel of the same name, does justice to the book which cannot be said about most TV/film adaptations out there. But what makes this show pass the Bechdel test so handily is her relationship with her manager played by the brilliant Alex Borstein (she is everything). Grace and Frankie Bath Omit "The" from search term for best results. If you have a mixed ensemble cast its not unusual for it fail both the Bechdel test and the reverse Bechdel test because its rare for only the men or the women to have a conversation without talking about the opposite sex. Starring the super brilliant Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnam, she was raised by Vulcans, though is human, so shes a fascinating character to watch. Heres how it works. The movie: Jess loves football, but she comes from an orthodox Sikh background, which means her traditional parents want her to give up playing and go to university, become a doctor, and marry a nice Indian boy. These movies also happen to be very female-positive overall too. "Glitch" is a drama that has earned its rightful place in any discussion about feminist science-fiction. Her character, Cassie, is a fun-loving flight attendant who gets into a huge problem. To pass this step I looked for a three-line sequence. Thankfully, by Toy Story 3 Pixar had included a conversation between female . It made history, being the first all-Black starring cast to cross the $100 million threshold at the box office. Mrs. Maisel is about a woman who is getting a divorce from her husband who cheated on her and finds her voice as a comic in the 1950s/60s and to be clear, she is definitely seen as a female comic. When Ive seen people discussing the Bechdel test with regard to television, theyre usually talking about individual episodes and not the series as a whole. This method probably fails to catch some cases where the topic of conversation was, broadly speaking, a male character, but a three-line sequence occurred without mentioning him by name or pronoun; but it seems too harsh to throw away the whole scene if a male is mentioned anywhere in the scene, since often scenes can involve multiple conversations between different groups of characters. The Bechdel Test explained like you're five It is as simple as that, and you will do this for every scene in the script. *WaitShore Leave has two women on the planet at the same time. To search the database, enter a search term below. The Bechdel Test is a type of sexism test in the bracket of films. To pass, a movie must have two named women converse about something other than a man. "Glitch". All rights reserved. 6) Encanto. In fact, theyre kinda just flat characters who the male characters ignore or bang in bathrooms when its dramatically appropriate. New York? Ted LassoWhile it may be a mans name in the title, this might be one of our favorite TV shows that passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. There were a few named female characters, but they were all minor enough that its plausible that they never talked to each other. Okay, so, right, Atomic Blonde stars Theron as an MI6 agent who travels to Berlin as the wall is about to fall in order to retrieve a priceless dossier to take down an espionage ring. 20th Century Fox. 11 The Imitation Game Based on the 1982 biography Alan Turning:. 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. The test has three criteria: 1. the movie must have at least two female characters, 2. who talk to each other about something other than a man, and. Amongst civil unrest and economic collapse, Theo unwittingly becomes responsible for a young pregnant refugee, Kee, who he must protect against all odds. We all play a part in creating a more equitable and just workplace and world. . According to the . Younger is a marathon-worthy series about a fortysomething who pretends to be in her twenties in order to break back into publishing. The Bechdel Test, if you're not familiar with it, is a benchmark for movies developed by Alison Bechdel in 1985. 4. 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. The best movies that pass the Bechdel Test are female-positive and great watches in their own right. Some deviations from reality were for humor; some were for drama. Movies with female directors have higher Bechdel scores. The Bechdel test was designed to point out how infrequently women in Hollywood movies are presented as characters in their own right, as opposed to adjuncts or even accessories to the male characters. RELATED: 10 Best 2019 Movies That Passed The Bechdel Test, Ranked After witnessing a series of inappropriate events at school - none of which are taken seriously by the staff - Vivian . del test/n. She later also attributed the idea to her friend Liz Wallace and to Virginia Woolfs writings. TL;DR: Some episodes do, some d. But it goes much further than this, with Katniss having a variety of conversations with other women, ranging from her mother and Rue, to the delightfully colourful Effie Trinket, and only once does a romance get mentioned in one conversation between Katniss and Rue. Pixar's record in general is pretty poor. Marvel Studios. Even shows that are deemed feminist sometimes dont pass the testand, frankly, its frustrating. By role, women accounted for 17% of writers (even with 17% in 2020), 26% of executive producers (up from 21% in 2020), 32% of producers (up from 30% in 2020), 22% of editors (even with 22% in 2020), and 6% of cinematographers (even with 6% in 2020).. The comic strip that popularized the test was titled "The Rule," and it says that to pass the test the movie must have three things. 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: The movie: In this particular post-apocalyptic world, children are sent to battle to the death on TV. In one installment of her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, one character informs the other that she will only go to see films in theaters that have adequate female representation. Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. Pretty sure Peep Show passes the Bechdel test. Remember the test was originally invented to help lesbians find movies theyd like. Um, no. She talks to her father, her boyfriend, the security guard at her fathers bankand not a single woman. 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. Most are finallypassing the Bechdel test, aka a test that analyzes a scene where two or more women talk about anything else other than men. Enter search term: Or, you can show the list for one or more years: YAS! If you need a reminder of how strong women are, then turn on Glow. 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. So, love them or hate them, you can probably relate to at least one of them. I think it's a show that has great female characters. There arent enough shows that embrace female insecurities. Note: Your privacy is important to us, so please know that your information will always remain confidential! We all play a part in creating a more equitable and just workplace and world. Why are youhere? In non-pandemic years, an average 600 or 700 films have been added to the archive annually since 2006. TH3 RUNDOWN. Fox Searchlight Pictures But the show is very, very real. Example: A woman has only one minor female friend, all other characters are male. Lauren OCallaghan. The Bechdel Test asks three key questions about a movie's female characters. Your home for data science. But seriously, I cant remember two female characters even talking to each other. Seems simple enough, right? It also crushed the Golden Globes in 2017. Alright, now were heading into the darker category. (Lets ignore the fact that the alien was a walking penis-monster, as this was before the Xenomorphs had established sexes the Queens werent introduced until 1986sAliens.). And by god, is she an unforgettable one. The test is named after and . Did it miss the mark on some topics? Imagine how tedious it would be if half of all of the films you watched never had any men who were important enough to be named in them? 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! Now its up to Elsa to find her and help her get control of her powers so she can unfreeze their home. Were trying to be conscious of not just meeting this bar. Wikipedia says that Ms. Bechdel prefers the name "Bechdel-Wallace test". Most any military-based show. At this point in time, the SGO team is fully remote, and we are located across the United States. Its a good thing that she has good friends to help her do it. But the Internet commenters can still find things to get upset about - go ahead, get angry! While Im pretty sure their husbands/boyfriends back home, and the 4077s doctors did come up, it was mostly about Margaret. 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. While reading a critical review of a popular show which noted that it didn't pass the Bechdel Test, it occurred to me, a long time fan of Hannibal Eat Sleep Die (2012) The TV shows that have captivated audiences in lockdown include Unorthodox, Normal People, Killing Eve and I May Destroy You. Take Game of Thrones for example. note Additionally. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Theres a 99% chance youve seen at least one episode of Broad City. First, the film must have at least two female characters. Seriously, in the entire 10-hour trilogy, no two female characters ever actually speak to each other. And, apparently, successfully robbing banks is one of the things they can accomplish together. The meaning of BECHDEL TEST is a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters. 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. Law & Order in the early seasons wouldnt have, with no starring female cast members. Movies that fail the Bechdel test tend to have higher IMDB ratings. Have you ever had someone comfort you after a break up by saying "There's plenty more fish in the sea?". Swedish cinemas take aim at gender bias with Bechdel test rating Movies need to pass test that gauges the active presence of women on screen in bid to promote gender equality Jennifer. Despite having an array of fierce and funny female characters, the last movie of the Harry Potter installments disappointingly doesn't feature a single conversation between the women. Avatar (2009) James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster movie does have strong feminist themes but fails the Test in one key aspect: its strong female leads Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Dr. Grace Augustine . Toy Story is such a beloved film to so many, but it unfortunately doesn't pass the test. Each step was calculated by scene and aggregated to episode level. In fact, no two female characters actually even speak to each other. The Bechdel Test (BT), which checks for a rudimentary level of female-centricity in media, has elsewhere been covered thoroughly for movies, with a crowd-sourced manual approach, but not, to my knowledge, for television, except at a high level or in very selected cases. Here are our favorites! Its pass rate drops dramatically at steps 2 and 3. Absolutely. How it passes: The two leads, and indeed the majority of the cast, are women and the only time they really talk about men is when they briefly explain their crimes or discuss trying to get Geres Billy Flynn to represent them. 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. (Wikimedia) Virginia. 3) About something other than a man. Second, the women must talk to each other. The movie: The 2016 Ghostbusters (opens in new tab) film is technically the third film in the franchise, but actually serves as a reboot, replacing the four main male characters with female alternatives - played by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. Now, thats not to say that theyre all friends or even that their relationships are all healthy. Doesn't Lara need any friends? 483623. Do those bacta tanks grow babies,too? Women make up more than half of the population, but it seems that theres still a problem with representation in films and on television. Seriously? Padme speaks to Shmi Skywalker in Episode I and to her handmaidens at various points in Episode II, and in both cases, they discuss things other than men. But not dwelling on that, the show quite obviously passes the Bechdel Test, with a strong . (Episode III does still fail, though. Some Western animated shows would fail a reverse. In three films, none of them says a word to each other. TV shows tend to run far longer than movies and thus, most of them end up passing the Bechdel Test. Alison Bechdel Has Amended the Bechdel Test Just for Fire Island The cartoonist chimed in on the fiery Twitter debate spurred by one user's claim that the gay rom-com Fire Island did not. All Rights Reserved. Like Harry Potter, there are a few brief moments where female characters say a single line at each other, but they dont actually hold a conversationexcept in one scene, where Neytiri and her mother have a drawn out discussion. Should it be dismissed entirely? Because representation matters, and many of the people writing, directing, and producing are still majority men. To pass the Bechdel test, a movie must follow three rules that are supposed to show if the story has a good representation of women. Most of the cast is female. Whats not to love? We love this list and think many of them go farther than just passing the Bechdel test. Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley. Director and Producer James Cameron first wrote the script in 1994 and it took a whole 15 years before the film was made and released. 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. Kate McKinnon was everything. We can look at the results for each show, broken down by test step. Stay tuned by signing up for our newsletter! There are also a handful of episodes that do not pass either test (grey). News images provided by Press Association Disney Movies That Don't Pass the Bechdel Test Pinnochio Dumbo Bambi Lady and the Tramp The Sword in the Stone The Jungle Book The Fox and the Hound The Great Mouse Detective Oliver & Company Aladdin The Lion King A Goofy Movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame