Named for the American cartoonist who introduced it, the Bechdel Test sees whether a particular piece of media has at least two female characters who speak about something other than a man at some point. It has its limitations, but it is nonetheless a useful tool for examining the presence of female characters in media.
Here are 5 examples of famous films that fail the Bechdel Test:
Avatar
Avatar comes close to passing the Bechdel Test but never manages to meet its simple criteria. For example, there are times when female characters exchange lines, but those failed to meet the criteria because they were not long enough to count as conversations. Furthermore, there is a moment when Neytiri has a conversation with her mother, but that failed to meet the criteria because their conversation was about Jake Sully.
The Avengers
The Avengers had three female named characters of some importance – Natasha Romanoff, Pepper Potts, and Agent Maria Hill. However, two of these characters – Pepper Potts and Agent Maria Hill – existed for the purpose of furthering someone else’s narrative, while even Natasha Romanoff tends to be less prominent than most of her male team-mates. Since none of these three characters managed to hold a conversation, The Avengers failed to pass the Bechdel Test.
The Lord of the Rings
There are some female characters in The Lord of the Rings with important roles, as shown by Eowyn who killed the Witch-King of Angmar with the assistance of one of the hobbits. However, said individuals are situated across the setting, meaning that none of them even managed to come into contact with one another. Never mind holding a conversation. In other words, The Lord of the Rings failed the Bechdel Test in spite of the fact that it is more than nine hours in length.
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire has two female characters of note. The first is the protagonist’s mother, who died during the Bombay Riots when he was a child, while the second is the protagonist’s love interest, who shows up in the narrative after the death of the mother. Unsurprisingly, Slumdog Millionaire failed the Bechdel Test because its female characters existed more for the sake of furthering the protagonist’s narrative than anything else, which to be fair, is a lot more common in movies than it should be.
Star Wars
Episodes III, IV, and V had a total of three female characters with speaking parts – Beru Lars, Leia Organa, and Mon Mothma. In spite of the fact that both Princess Leia and Mon Mothma are supposed to be high-ranking members of the Rebel Alliance, none of them share a conversation, meaning that neither one of those three episodes managed to pass the Bechdel Test. It is interesting to note that Episodes I and II managed to pass because of Padme’s interaction with Shmi Skywalker as well as her handmaidens, whereas the same cannot be said for Episode III. Likewise, it is interesting to note that Episode VII passed with consummate ease.
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