How sexist is this movie?
In the fight for equality, the film industry has an undeniably crucial position. Movies provide us, and most importantly children, with a script for how to live our lives, and act out our roles in society. Movies script our interactions and help us understand how to view others. They tell us what to strive for, and they also tell us about our limitations. Some original tests have emerged in the recent decades that, at the very least, lead the way to a necessary conversation.
The Bechdel Test first appeared in a comic strip in 1985. It is very simple. For a film to pass, it must simply meet these three criteria:
- There must be at least two named women in the film.
- These women must speak to each other at least once.
- The topic of conversation has to be anything besides a man.
Simple, right? Yet in 2011, only 52% of all films passed the Bechdel Test. Perhaps these female roles are not too “diverse”, seeing as they are anonymous, and don’t speak to each other about anything besides men.
Of course, passing this test does not tell the whole story. The prime example of this, would be that of Cinderella. Nearly every adaptation of the movie has passed the Bechdel test, despite the plot being based on the idea that the only way for women to find happiness is by marrying a rich and charming prince.
The answer seems clear enough: passing the Bechdel test is not enough. With men writing 9 out of 10 film scripts and making up nearly three quarters of leading roles, we need to see more than just female roles with first names, and occasional conversations between female characters on topics other then men.
Tests like the Mako Mori Test, may be a step in the right direction. Similarly simple to the Bechdel test, a movie must pass three criteria to pass the Mako Mori Test:
- A film must have at least one female character.
- That character must have her own narrative arc.
- The narrative arc cannot be about supporting a man’s story.
Perhaps several of these tests in combination could provide the fullest picture. As we know, in most domains that is often the case. However, it is the Bechdel test, in isolation, that has been widely used to assess the level of sexism in movies.
As it turns out, all the Star Wars movies, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pulp Fiction, The Social Network and almost every Harry Potter movie, failed the Bechdel test. In fact, Swedish cinemas have recently attempted to ‘stamp out sexism’, by grading films based on whether or not they pass the Bechdel test. As we have seen, measuring the ‘true level’ of sexism in movies necessitates more than this test, however, I would like to submit that perhaps the simplicity of this test makes up for its shortfalls. This simplicity allows for it’s quick and easy administration and helps in having its significance understood by many, and as such, allows the test to be widely used and thus a potentially powerful tool in the cause for equality.
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