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The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies

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    The Bechdel test or the Mo-Movie-Measure is a type of litmus test to assess the presence of women in
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    movies. It originated from Allison Bechdel's comic "Dykes to Watch out for" in 1985.
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    here's how it works
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    a movie just has to pass these three simple questions:
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    the first, are there two or more women in it who have names?
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    second, do they talk to each other?
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    and third, do they talk to each other about something other than a man?
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    It's quite extraordinary, actually, how many movies don't pass this test
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    ´Cause it is not even a sign of whether is a feminist movie or whether it's a good movie
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    Just that there is female presence in it and that they actually are engaging
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    about things other than man.
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    To prove that this is actually a systemic problem, not just a few movies
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    here and there.
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    I'm gonna show you a couple of films that don't pass the test.
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    Okay, you get the point.
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    This is only just a few films out of the many films that
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    don't pass this test.
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    When I call it a systemic problem, what I mean by this is that it's not
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    just a few people here and there that don't like women
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    or don't want women stories told but that rather the entire industry
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    is built upon creating films and movies that cater to and that are about men
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    Next time you go to the movies
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    just ask yourself these few questions
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    Are there two or more women in it and do they have names?
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    Do they talk to each other?
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    And do they talk to each other about something other than a man?
Title:
The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies
Description:

The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985. It is astonishing the number of popular movies that can't pass this simple test. It demonstrates how little women's complex and interesting lives are underrepresented or non existent in the film industry. We have jobs, creative projects, friendships and struggles among many other things that are actually interesting in our lives... so Hollywood, start writing about it!
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Video Language:
English
Team:
Feminist Frequency
Duration:
02:03

English subtitles

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