It is no secret the film industry is chock full of men, both in front of and behind the camera. Women are often shorted on speaking parts, and sometimes their characters lack a certain depth male characters receive.
In a comic strip called “The Rule” in Dykes to Watch Out For, author Alison Bechdel illustrated a scenario between two people who were going to the movies. In the strip, one of characters said they do not see the film if it does not meet three requirements: 1. The movie has to have two women 2. who talk to each other 3. about something other than a man. The 1985 graphic brought about the idea for the Bechdel Test.
Though the Bechdel Test was a thought-provoking for the time period, its simplistic idea is outdated.
It's easy to get around the Bechdel Test. Take the 2003 film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The romantic comedy is fully centered around a woman and her relationship with a man, yet it still passes the test because the main character has a few discussions about her job with her friends and boss.
The Bechdel Test is still the standard for evaluating the representation of women in the film and if they are just treated as a romantic interest. There has to be a better method to do this.
The Bechdel Test provides a bare minimum for directors and writers to meet. The people working on the film behind the scenes, who are often men, feel if they meet this standard, it will appease the general audience.
But those people should not aim to meet the bare minimum — they should want to surpass it.
Right now, people are focused too much on getting more women into films instead of creating powerful, inspiring characters. Sure, it is great to see a cast full of women, but those movies tend to be more comedic. Quality over quantity should be the focus.
If writers are more attentive to the type of female characters they are writing, that will produce better content. That’s what it is all about. This generation needs more independent, powerful characters to look up to, and the key to that is focusing on the development of the characters during the writing process.
Georgia Davis is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Tell Georgia whether you think the Bechdel Test is effective by tweeting her at @georgiadee35.
