Women Have Stories Too
Take a few seconds and think of one of your favorite movies. In that movie, are there two female characters? If you said yes, at any point during the movie, do the female characters have a conversation? If so, is that conversation about anything other than a male? If you answered yes to all three, congratulations; your movie has passed the Bechdel test. If not, don’t be too disappointed, it is in great company.
First and foremost, the Bechdel test is a way to measure the representation and use of female characters in movies. In order to pass, a movie must feature two female characters who have a conversation that is not about a male.
According to bechdeltest.com, a database where people can submit movies and explain why they do or do not pass, there are currently 9329 movies on their platform, and only 56.7% of the films pass. It should be noted that this website does not contain every movie ever made, and it is completely peer-reviewed. However, after reading through the explanations for a number of entries, there is some validity behind the website and its content.
Because the database contains movies dating back to the 1800’s, optimists may argue that the data is skewed by all of the older movies, while films today are passing because of all the steps Hollywood appears to be taking with inclusivity and diversity in gender, race, sexuality, body type, etc. Unfortunately, multiple movies from this decade actually struggle to pass the test as well.
Many of the winning movies from the 2020 Oscars failed the Bechdel test, and some that did pass, did so by the skin of their teeth. According to a report by ScreenRant, 1917, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and Joker all failed. ScreenRant added an additional stipulation that some do while analyzing movies using this method: the two women who have the conversation must be named characters.
Realistically, it should not be a hardship to have two female characters that have names; however, in order to have female characters with names, they must include females in the films to begin with.
Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, the executive director of the Center of the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University recently released her study entitled, “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World, Even in a Pandemic Year: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top U.S. Films of 2021,” which breaks down the percentage of male versus female characters in 2021 movies, as well as data regarding character roles, racial breakdowns, and viewership. She found that 85% of movies had more male characters than females, 7% had more females, leaving roughly 8% with an even divide. To put that in perspective, if you watched 20 movies this past year, 17 of them would have more male than female characters.
According to the UN World Population Prospects report, the world population is estimated to be comprised of 49.58% female. So despite making up almost half of the world, only 31% of the protagonist roles in 2021 were women.
While the Bechdel test does a great job pointing out if there are enough women in movies, in 2022, the issue goes beyond that. We should not just be asking to have female characters appear on the big screen; people should demand that women are written as more than just devices to further the male characters’ storylines, or as one-dimensional creatures with no aspirations.
In 2021, 55% of major female characters had goals primarily related to their personal life, while only 34% of male characters had that. In contrast, 33% of male characters had goals that were more career driven, while only 21% of females had goals aimed toward their occupation. Female characters’ roles were more often related to the personal lives of the characters, while male characters were used to drive the professional aspects of the plot.
In 2019, 57.4% of women were employed in some capacity. The narrative of all women being stay-at-home mothers while their husbands are the breadwinners has been rewritten, yet somehow, Hollywood has maintained this outdated view on gender roles and continues to use it too frequently within their movies.
When female characters are protagonists, major characters, or have speaking roles, there is a higher likelihood that there was at least one female writer and/or director on the project. Dr. Lauzen found that of all the 2021 films with only male directors and writers, 19% of their protagonists were females. Meanwhile, 57% of the protagonists in 2021 films that had at least one female writer and/or director were female.
With all that being said, not all movies need to pass the Bechdel test. There are stories that require a dominant male presence. For instance, Dunkirk is a 2017 movie by Christopher Nolan inspired by the Dunkirk evacuation during WWII, in which civilians sailed to the surrounded allies to help them evacuate. There is a female nurse and a stewardess in the movie, but other than that, it a male dominated cast. However, because of the time period and subject matter, it makes sense there would not be much of a female presence in the story.
While it is fair for a movie like Dunkirk to not pass, there is less of a reason for a franchise as big as the Marvel Cinematic Universe to struggle to have their movies beat the Bechdel test. On TikTok, Jonathan (@jaystakes) points out that in the 22 MCU movies from Iron Man in 2008, to Avengers: Endgame in 2019, only six definitively pass. In the video, Jonathan cheers after noting that Black Panther (2018) passed with flying colors. While it’s great that it did, filmmakers should not be applauded for making movies that pass the Bechdel test. If that’s the bar, it is so incredibly low.
Although Hollywood has worked to improve its representation, more can still be done. While it’s great that movies are increasing the number of female characters, they should be utilized as more than just a love interest or plot device to advance their male counterpart. Audiences should demand more female protagonists and major characters, and those working in the film industry should strive to help these changes come to fruition. Women have stories, goals, and conversations aside from romance and the men in their lives, and that needs to be reflected up on the silver screen.
