McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Bechdel test observations
OZ:
I think that a lot has to do with who the protagonist and the antagonist are in the movie. If the main character and the main villain are both male, the movie probably often fails the test. I wonder how many movies with females in both roles have two male characters discussing something other than females?
Winter_Knight:
--- Quote from: OZ on July 02, 2012, 04:55:55 AM ---I think that a lot has to do with who the protagonist and the antagonist are in the movie. If the main character and the main villain are both male, the movie probably often fails the test. I wonder how many movies with females in both roles have two male characters discussing something other than females?
--- End quote ---
LOL, I think it's easier for men to pass the Bechdel test because they are easily distracted by things like beer, pizza and football. XD
jeno:
It's easier for men to pass the bechdel test because they are far, far more likely to get parts other than 'love interest' or 'competing love interest.'
jeno:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLF6sAAMb4s
^Found a youtube video explaining it.
The Bechdel Test isn't something you build an entire story around, it's just something to keep in the back of your mind while writing. Does your story have two named female characters? Do they ever talk to each other about something other than a guy? These aren't things that will hurt your story. If anything it'll flesh it out more because you're expanding the scope of your worldbuilding in a way you wouldn't have thought of before.
(and this is where I point out that the Dresden Files and the Kingkiller Chronicles -first person male povs, many male antagonists- can both pass the test.)
eta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH8JuizIXw8 <-- start at 7:45 for the reverse male bechdel test question
OZ:
My comment was not to try to pretend that there is an issue of men not having meaningful roles in films. I was simply wondering how much the gender of the protagonist and antagonist in the film have to do with whether there is any meaningful interaction between two members of the opposite gender (from the protagonist or antagonist) that don't have something to do with either the protagonist or the antagonist. I would think that this would be rare.
I would think that the sixty second rule that the woman in the You tube clip was proposing would be very problematic. Any action films that are light on lengthy dialogue would be almost automatically eliminated.
I found it funny that Wall E was listed as having failed.
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