The Bechdel Test
Admittedly, I did not provoke this conversation – it was started yesterday at Faceplace by one of my friends, who posted this video from TED, talking about…The Bechdel Test for movies.
Here’s the Bechdel Test, if you don’t want to watch the video:
1. Are there at least 2 women [in the movie]?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. About something other than a man?
Of all the movies in 2011, only 11 passed the Bechdel Test, according to the TED video.
Think about it – does the mass media really screw us up on gender roles? What are movies, TV and for that matter, music teaching our society?
Let me talk about my favorite TV shows for a minute. My favorites right now are: 1. Girls (HBO), 2. Downton Abbey and 3. The Carrie Diaries (bear with me, I’m making a point). All 3 of these shows I think pass the Bechdel Test. They have more than 2 women, who talk to each other, about stuff other than men.
I think the Bechdel Test can apply to more than just movies. I think it can also apply to music, and to TV as I just described above. So–I think the next time we all pull out Netflix or iTunes, it might behoove all of us to think about The Bechdel Test, especially if we are going to let our kids watch it.
Just a suggestion.
