History MediaNotes / TheBechdelTest

-->'''Garth''': "Then [[Characters/StarWarsLukeSkywalker Luke]] looks down and [[Characters/StarWarsHanSoloCharacterSheet Han’s]] [[ReturningTheWeddingRing wedding ring is gone]]. 'Hey, what happened with you and [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Leia]]?' And Han's like, 'Don't even get me started.' So now, you know, where did Leia go? She’s not gone, but we will find out in a sec, now the whole ..."\\
'''Leslie''': "The female part is a little underwritten so far, sir. I'd like to note that."

-->'''Betty:''' And on my copy of Forever by Judy Blume.

It's easier for a TV series, especially one with an EnsembleCast, to pass this test than a film, because there's far more time for the conversation to occur in. To compensate for this, Bechdel-inspired analyses of television often substitute the pass/fail binary with a Bechdel ''score'', looking at the show episode-by-episode, giving a final average (such as 7/13 if seven episodes pass in a 13 episode season,) or compare the series's Bechdel score with its reverse Bechdel score.

It's easier for a TV series, especially one with an EnsembleCast, to pass this test than a film, because there's far more time for the conversation to occur in. To compensate for this, Bechdel-inspired analyses of television often substitute the pass/fail binary with a Bechdel ''score'', looking at the show episode-by-episode, giving a final average (such as 7/13 if seven episodes pass in a 13 episode season,) or compare the series' Bechdel score with its reverse Bechdel score.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do with]] the global infrastructure firm Bechtel Corporation.

* "Furiosa Test", inspired by film ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' ask the question [[https://twitter.com/photopuck/status/607259980631273473 Does this work cause misogynists to boycott it?]]

* The "[=MacGyver=] Test", inspired by [[Series/MacGyver1985 television series of the same name]] that determines the comparative shallowness and stereotypical nature of most male characters in fiction by asking questions like "Does the male protagonist solve problems in creative and intelligent ways, only using violence as an absolute last resort?" It is just as shocking to discover how many films and shows fail ''that'' test as fail the Bechdel Test.

* During the [[DeadpanSnarker Davina]]-[[TheDitz Tara]] "Ask Me Anything" session of ''Webcomic/TheScumthorpeFiles'', one user asked Tara what her ideal boyfriend would be like. This conversation ensued:
-->'''Davina: <OH, WONDERFUL. LET'S ALL GO FORTH AND FAIL THE BECHDEL TEST.>'''\\
'''Tara:''' ...I totally don't know what that is. Does talking about cute boys mean you fail it?\\
'''Davina: <OF COURSE IT DOES, YOU CRETIN.>'''\\
'''Tara:''' Then watch me fail it, Davina. Watch me fail it ''hard''.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' originated with four genius-level men interacting with the GirlNextDoor Penny. The fourth season added similarly genius women Amy and Bernadette to the cast ([[PromotedToOpeningCredits introduced in the third season]]), who ended up forming a girl group with Penny. Their conversations tended to skew towards guys, given that each had a LoveInterest among the guys, but in one episode Amy and Bernadette mention that they sometimes enjoy breaking away from Penny because she only talks about the guys and they would like to talk about their careers in high-level science. That conversation, amusingly, [[HypocriticalHumor got sidetracked when some guys at a bar sent them drinks]].

* The "[=MacGyver=] Test", inspired by [[Series/{{MacGyver}} television series of the same name]] that determines the comparative shallowness and stereotypical nature of most male characters in fiction by asking questions like "Does the male protagonist solve problems in creative and intelligent ways, only using violence as an absolute last resort?" It is just as shocking to discover how many films and shows fail ''that'' test as fail the Bechdel Test.

This is because the Bechdel Test is ''not'' meant as a moral or ethical judgment on the quality of female characters in a work. Nor is it designed as a judgment on the artistic quality of the work - good movies can fail the Bechdel Test, and bad movies can pass. It is entirely possible for a film to pass without having pro-feminist themes, or even characterizing women positively. For instance, ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'' (Manos's wives discuss whether or not to spare the female protagonists so they can also be wives), ''The Bikini Carwash Company'' and ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'', films whose treatment of women range from incredibly {{squick}}y to tasteless {{fanservice}}, have passed the test. In fact, the original example of a movie that passes is ''Film/{{Alien}}'', which, while it has feminist subtexts, is mostly just a sci-fi/action/horror flick.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by She Hulk in ''ComicBook/JLAAvengers'': "Yo, Star-shorts! I figured that you'd be getting bored so I thought I'd hang with you. We can talk girl-talk. Y'know, butt-kicking, name-taking, like that."

Part of Bechdel's original point was about how lesbian women specifically feel isolated from popular media; when there are so many examples that fail, and female characters often spend all their time talking about the men in their lives, women who aren't attracted to men can feel justifiably underrepresented. This concept can also be applied to other forms of marginalization such as race, disability, mental illness, and other issues, and remains one of the major reasons that calls for more inclusive media have been echoing for decades.

There are lesser-known variations of the test:

There's nothing necessarily wrong with any film flunking the Bechdel Test. Indeed, there are films with female protagonists that fail it, such as the 2013 movie ''Film/{{Gravity}}'', a movie about a female astronaut attempting to survive a disaster in space, in which there are only two major characters, one female and one male. Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' shows that a film can even fail the test for the ''same'' reasons why it has strong feminist themes: the movie discusses sexism (and overcoming it), and thus is set in a world too sexist for it to pass the test. The protagonist starts out in an environment where women are valued only for their ability to get a man and [[BabyFactory produce babies]], and then [[SweetPollyOliver moves into an environment]] where there are no other women at all because it's not allowed. A fair number of top-notch works have legitimate reasons for [[ChromosomeCasting including no women]]. What's a problem is that ''so many'' movies fail the test, creating a pattern which says [[UnfortunateImplications uncomfortable things]] about the way Hollywood handles gender.

* A Website/PlatypusComix article dedicated to the obscure ''Franchise/ArchieComics'' series ''Marvelous Maureen'' comments on a scene of Maureeen and Clarissa [=DuBois=] arguing over Wonder Blunder like so:

There's nothing necessarily wrong with any film flunking the Bechdel Test. Indeed, there are films with female protagonists that fail it, such as the 2013 movie ''Film/{{Gravity}}'', a movie about a female astronaut attempting to survive a disaster in space, but there are only two major characters, one female and one male. Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' shows that a film can even fail the test for the ''same'' reasons why it has strong feminist themes: the movie discusses sexism (and overcoming it), and thus is set in a world too sexist for it to pass the test. The protagonist starts out in an environment where women are valued only for their ability to get a man and [[BabyFactory produce babies]], and then [[SweetPollyOliver moves into an environment]] where there are no other women at all because it's not allowed. A fair number of top-notch works have legitimate reasons for [[ChromosomeCasting including no women]]. What's a problem is that ''so many'' movies fail the test, creating a pattern which says [[UnfortunateImplications uncomfortable things]] about the way Hollywood handles gender.

There's nothing necessarily wrong with any film flunking the Bechdel Test. Indeed, there are films with female protagonists that fail it, such as the 2013 movie ''Film/{{Gravity}}'', a movie about a female astronaut attempting to survive a disaster in space, but which only two major characters, one female and one male. Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' shows that a film can even fail the test for the ''same'' reasons why it has strong feminist themes: the movie discusses sexism (and overcoming it), and thus is set in a world too sexist for it to pass the test. The protagonist starts out in an environment where women are valued only for their ability to get a man and [[BabyFactory produce babies]], and then [[SweetPollyOliver moves into an environment]] where there are no other women at all because it's not allowed. A fair number of top-notch works have legitimate reasons for [[ChromosomeCasting including no women]]. What's a problem is that ''so many'' movies fail the test, creating a pattern which says [[UnfortunateImplications uncomfortable things]] about the way Hollywood handles gender.

The Bechdel Test[[note]] AKA Bechdel-Wallace Test, or the Mo Movie Measure named after Mo, the main character of ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', even though it was introduced in a one-off strip before Mo was introduced[[/note]] is a litmus test for female presence in fictional media. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip ''ComicStrip/DykesToWatchOutFor'', who made it known to the world with [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/12/da/8b12da8784a50c7777c0cadeccf1a0d0.jpg this strip.]]

There's nothing necessarily wrong with any film flunking the Bechdel Test. Indeed, there are films with female protagonists that fail it, such as the 2013 movie ''Film/{{Gravity}}'', a movie about a female astronaut attempting to survive a disaster in space, but which only two major characters, one female and one male. Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' shows that a film can even fail the test for the ''same'' reasons why it has strong feminist themes: The movie discusses sexism (and overcoming it), and thus is set in a world too sexist for it to pass the test. The protagonist starts out in an environment where women are valued only for their ability to get a man and [[BabyFactory produce babies]], and then [[SweetPollyOliver moves into an environment]] where there are no other women at all because it's not allowed. A fair number of top-notch works have legitimate reasons for [[ChromosomeCasting including no women]]. What's a problem is that ''so many'' movies fail the test, creating a pattern which says [[UnfortunateImplications uncomfortable things]] about the way Hollywood handles gender.

This is because the Bechdel Test is ''not'' meant as a moral or ethical judgement on the quality of female characters in a work. Nor is it designed as a judgement on the artistic quality of the work - good movies can fail the Bechdel Test, and bad movies can pass. It is entirely possible for a film to pass without having pro-feminist themes, or even characterizing women positively. For instance, ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'' (Manos's wives discuss whether or not to spare the female protagonists so they can also be wives), ''The Bikini Carwash Company'' and ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'', films whose treatment of women range from incredibly {{squick}}y to tasteless {{fanservice}}, have passed the test. In fact, the original example of a movie that passes is ''Film/{{Alien}}'', which, while it has feminist subtexts, is mostly just a sci-fi/action/horror flick.

The Bechdel Test[[note]] AKA Bechdel-Wallace Test, or the Mo Movie Measure named after Mo, the main character of ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', even though it was introduced in a one-off strip before Mo was introduced[[/note]] is a litmus test for female presence in fictional media. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip ''ComicStrip/DykesToWatchOutFor'', who made it known to the world with [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140216030535/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zizyphus/34585797/ this strip.]]

** Mentioned [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/skinhorse/series.php?view=archive&chapter=45896 by name here]], when even the lesbian cast member decides it's fine to discuss [[TheCasanova Tip]].

** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2013-05-15 In a later strip]], Slick reads the definition of the test and writes a screenplay that, strictly speaking, passes the test.

* ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'' features [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2014/04/10/0571-a-talk-between-women/ "A Talk Between Women"]], which would imply that the two characters were going to talk about boys or something "feminine", but the punch line is that they're discussing international politics instead.

* A ''WebVideo/FeministFrequency'' [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/leefalhead/the-bechdel-test-1dq8 video]] shows a large number of popular movies that fail the test. In a running joke, Anita yawns, wanders away, comes back with an apple, and eats it, [[OverlyLongGag while the movie posters are still blinking steadily along in the background]]. Anita discusses the test again [[http://www.feministfrequency.com/2012/02/the-2012-oscars-and-the-bechdel-test/ here]]. She proposes that the test be modified so that the scene in question must last at least sixty seconds to pass. She also describes a variant of the test for people of color, where at least two named non-white characters discuss something other than a white person. She rejects the concept of the Reverse Bechdel Test as she believes it contributes to the idea that women aren't oppressed.

* ''WebVideo/StuffYouLike'' references this when reviewing ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' [[http://blip.tv/stuffyoulike/halloween-special-5-ridiculously-entertaining-things-about-underworld-5680230 here]]. The scene is [[ActionGirl Selene]] and Erika (briefly) discussing dresses (before going on to talk about... umm... men).

* In ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-4-best-moments-in-worst-movies-ever-made_p2/ The 4 Best Moments in the Worst Movies Ever Made]], Luke [=McKinney=] points out that the movie based on the video game ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' "physically beats the shit out of the Bechdel test" "within the first 10 minutes".

* The test was discussed by Cheshire Cat Studios in this video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzqgXYkw3tY here]], where the test is criticized for being taken too seriously in some circles that suggest that the only good movies in existence are films that "pass" the test, and criticizing the Swedish ratings board for even considering to use the test in their consideration of a movie's age rating.

* Website/TheOnion: "[[https://entertainment.theonion.com/sci-fi-film-presents-vision-of-future-in-which-women-ne-1822674263 Sci-Fi Film Presents Vision Of Future In Which Women Never Speak To Each Other]]"

The Bechdel Test[[note]] AKA Bechdel-Wallace Test, or the Mo Movie Measure named after Mo, the main character of ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', even though it was introduced in a one-off strip before Mo was introduced[[/note]] is a litmus test for female presence in fictional media. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip ''ComicStrip/DykesToWatchOutFor'', who made it known to the world with [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140216030535/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zizyphus/34585797/ this strip]].

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': During "Article Two", a local citizen Garth (Creator/PattonOswalt) gives a [[ThrowItIn completely ad-libbed]] filibuster, in which he proposes an IntercontinuityCrossover between the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe and the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. It takes a long time for him to mention a single female character, and when he finally does, Leslie Knope is not impressed.

* [[http://sittingduck1313.livejournal.com/501902.html This blog]] applies the Bechdel test to every movie featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

[[IThoughtThatMeant Has nothing to do with]] the global infrastructure firm Bechtel Corporation.

[[IThoughItMeant Has nothing to do with]] the global infrastructure firm Bechtel Corporation.

[[JustForFun/IThoughItMeant Has nothing to do with]] the global infrastructure firm Bechtel Corporation.

* Author Creator/JohnCWright criticized the test, pointing out that several pieces of classic literature would not make the cut. At the same time, he seems to misunderstand what the point of the test actually is.