Image Credit: Everett CollectionHer name is Salt. Evelyn Salt. Or maybe it’s Croft. Lara Croft. The characters played by Angelina Jolie look great doing a lot of amazing stuff. They’re sleek, they’re slinky, they’re cool under pressure, they’ve got great delts, lats, and biceps. But they can’t always pass a challenge called the Bechdel Test that’s so simple, it can be taken while sitting down and enjoying a nice BBQ chicken Candwich. After the jump, try it for yourself.This comes thanks to EW alum Dan Fierman at GQ, via Boing Boing, via Feminist Frequency, via the always on it cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Onward!
I like the Bechdel Test, and I think it’s a good way of exposing how male-focused the film industry can be. However, I don’t think it’s the be all, end all of judge of a feminist presence. Just thinking of some random films from recent years, I think (500) Days of Summer, The Band’s Visit, and The Wrestler would all fail this test and that those films have admirable female characterizations.
500 Days of Summer does NOT have an admirable female characterization. She is a manipulative, selfish she-devil. Women who keep stringing along a man whose so clearly in love with her because she’s “not sure” are cruel and selfish and mess up great guys for the next girl.
You sound really bitter. I don’t think Summer was really that evil. Do I think she was a great person, no, but a lot of people tend to make her out to be a villain. Which she most definitely is not.
Katie, I’m glad you said this, and I fully support you. Summer was nothing short of a “selfish she devil”. She was an utterly horrible woman, and it made me absolutely hate Zooey Deschanel for that two hours (who is actually one of my favorite actresses)
Weirdly enough, if we go based on the trailers, it looks like Resident Evil 3D might pass this test!
So does “Sorority Row.” And I’m sure the feminists are all about that one.
I read about the Bechdel test a few months ago on Cinematical. It’s pretty interesting, though, how many of my favorite movies would probably fail that test. Ghost World would be a good example of one of my favorite movies that passes it. If the test was applied to TV shows, I think Daria would more or less pass it.
I believe The Descent passes, another horror movie.
Well one of the best movies to pass this test would have to be Thelma and Louise.
Thelma and Louise? Perhaps not…aren’t they on the run BECAUSE of men in their lives?
“Salt”, other than being nothing more than a stunt-heavy action film, is quite despicable in the sense that Jolie’s character kills both Russians AND Americans. Is this part of the new US movie marketing, where it is known that some international auds love seeing Americans getting killed? A new cynical world view designed to beef up the international box office ?
I didn’t get the impression that she was intentionally killing any Americans. It looked more like she disabled them for the time being.
Pulp Fiction? What about the part where the two women are talking about piercing? The last part she mentions something about men, but really their conversation is about piercing.
I’m not that impressed…most of the movie examples were action movies, and, yes, there are less women in those kinds of movies. I bet if you apply the Bechdel test to men in more female-centric movies, you might find something similar (though admittedly, probably not quite as high a %) Also women are less interesting..
Perhaps if women in movies were given more meaningful dialogue and screen time, they would be a bit more “interesting”.
Actually, in X-Men 3, Storm and Rogue spoke to each other about the cure. I can’t remember if Storm talked to that one female mutant she fought though.
I guess it shows that the film industry is male-oriented, but just because a movie doesn’t pass the test, it doesn’t necessarily mean the film-makers are biased. What’s interesting, though, is that even though most action movies predictably don’t pass, a lot of romantic comedies don’t either.
Oh, how stupid. Get a life. A movie is a movie. Jeez!
LOL Interesting. But it pretty much fails in some aspects:
1) Twilight and New Moon. Two of the most antifeminist movies on the block. They pass the first two elements without question – and I’d have to say they pass the third part as well. (When Bella goes out to Port Angeles with her female human companions in the first movie (I think), and when Bella and Jessica go out there again in the second movie – they talk about Bella’s idiocy concerning a gang that she knows. I think perhaps a line or two was delivered by Jessica exclusively about Bella’s safety. But like I said, it’s one of the most negative movies influencing women out there.
Now here’s a question. Does ‘Inception’ pass this? It definitely passes the first two elements, but I think whether or not it passes the third one is a matter of perspective.
This really isn’t surprising. I would have liked to see her come up with a list of films that DO pass the test.