Gender Inequality in Film

[Deleted]

Yep. I'm not surprised.

This is a big issue for me as a person working in arts education. And stats on minority representation are even worse. I want diversity and access to fine arts education to be my primary research focus if I get into the doctoral program I applied for. There's a lot of focus on this for STEM education (rightfully so) and I would like there to be focus on Art as well.

Every single one of my grad school professors was a white male. There's a lot of the good old boys club in the industry that trickles back to who knew who in film school, who went to what film school, etc. In an industry that's all about who you know, I want those school networks to become more diverse.

[mominatrix]

I think that the Bechdel Test is as illuminating as it is, says so much about gender and film.

The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel's comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule. For a nice video introduction to the subject please check out The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies on feministfrequency.com.

bechdeltest.com/

That seems SUCH A LOW STANDARD, and yet so so so many movies don't pass it.

[aurora]

Great graphics, thanks for sharing.

Although, it's obvious that the only reason men win more awards and are more represented in film is because they are just better at acting than women.

[ttt]

Dec 4, 2014 15:05:31 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I think that the Bechdel Test is as illuminating as it is, says so much about gender and film.

The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel's comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule. For a nice video introduction to the subject please check out The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies on feministfrequency.com.

bechdeltest.com/

That seems SUCH A LOW STANDARD, and yet so so so many movies don't pass it.

What's really sad is that movies that fail the test make more money on average than ones that pass.

[blink]

This isn't surprising since men are usually seen as the all encompassing, universal character; they seem to be more relatable to a wider range of an audience. Not that I think that is true but perceptions. And historically they've always been able to DO things - more things than women - such as acting. So its no surprise that this is still ingrained in society, despite it being disheartening and upsetting.

[saz]

Dec 4, 2014 15:05:31 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I think that the Bechdel Test is as illuminating as it is, says so much about gender and film.

The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel's comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule. For a nice video introduction to the subject please check out The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies on feministfrequency.com.

bechdeltest.com/

That seems SUCH A LOW STANDARD, and yet so so so many movies don't pass it.

I scanned the list on the website and how did "The Single Moms Club" only pass one out of the three? I barely see any movies these days, but I don't understand how that is possible when the description of the movie says several moms formed a support group. 

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2014 15:36:49 GMT -5 saz said:

Dec 4, 2014 15:05:31 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I think that the Bechdel Test is as illuminating as it is, says so much about gender and film.




That seems SUCH A LOW STANDARD, and yet so so so many movies don't pass it.

I scanned the list on the website and how did "The Single Moms Club" only pass one out of the three? I barely see any movies these days, but I don't understand how that is possible when the description of the movie says several moms formed a support group. 

They probably spend the entire moving bitching about exes & boyfriends. Though I'm pretty sure it passed 2 of 3. 

[saz]

Dec 4, 2014 15:38:33 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Dec 4, 2014 15:36:49 GMT -5 saz said:

I scanned the list on the website and how did "The Single Moms Club" only pass one out of the three? I barely see any movies these days, but I don't understand how that is possible when the description of the movie says several moms formed a support group. 

They probably spend the entire moving bitching about exes & boyfriends. Though I'm pretty sure it passed 2 of 3. 

Wow. It boggles my mind that there could be that many women in a movie and not accidentally have them talk about something other than a man.

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2014 16:00:13 GMT -5 saz said:

Dec 4, 2014 15:38:33 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

They probably spend the entire moving bitching about exes & boyfriends. Though I'm pretty sure it passed 2 of 3. 

Wow. It boggles my mind that there could be that many women in a movie and not accidentally have them talk about something other than a man.

Honestly, I would be surprised if any Tyler Perry movies passed 3 for 3. Maybe Madea Goes to Jail? 

[ttt]

The Bechdel test is only a start, though. I mean, American Hustle only passed because there's a four second conversation between two women about nail polish. That's it. But it's a pretty good indicator that a film has serious problems if it *doesn't* pass such a low bar (with exceptions for certain films like Gravity, which only has two characters to begin with).

[blink]

Dec 4, 2014 16:08:37 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Dec 4, 2014 16:00:13 GMT -5 saz said:

Wow. It boggles my mind that there could be that many women in a movie and not accidentally have them talk about something other than a man.

Honestly, I would be surprised if any Tyler Perry movies passed 3 for 3. Maybe Madea Goes to Jail? 

For Colored Girls? Or does that not count because it is adapted from a play?

[msmerymac]

Dec 4, 2014 15:05:31 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I think that the Bechdel Test is as illuminating as it is, says so much about gender and film.

The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel's comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule. For a nice video introduction to the subject please check out The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies on feministfrequency.com.

bechdeltest.com/

That seems SUCH A LOW STANDARD, and yet so so so many movies don't pass it.

And what's weird is that movies that don't seem overtly sexist don't pass it. Or they pass it for eyeroll-y reasons (the nail polish conversation in American Hustle). 

[NitaX]

Dec 4, 2014 16:04:52 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

Dec 4, 2014 16:00:13 GMT -5 saz said:

Wow. It boggles my mind that there could be that many women in a movie and not accidentally have them talk about something other than a man.

NitaX and I went to see that when she came to visit so we could heckle it and they did talk about men most of the movie. 

Most of the movie? It was more like all of it. LOL Except for the work related scenes. Those were good because they actually dealt with sexism.

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2014 16:30:59 GMT -5 blink said:

Dec 4, 2014 16:08:37 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Honestly, I would be surprised if any Tyler Perry movies passed 3 for 3. Maybe Madea Goes to Jail? 

For Colored Girls? Or does that not count because it is adapted from a play?

I always forget that was him. Partial credit for getting it made then.

[saz]

Dec 4, 2014 16:08:37 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Dec 4, 2014 16:00:13 GMT -5 saz said:

Wow. It boggles my mind that there could be that many women in a movie and not accidentally have them talk about something other than a man.

Honestly, I would be surprised if any Tyler Perry movies passed 3 for 3. Maybe Madea Goes to Jail? 

Is Madea being counted as a woman in this assessment?

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2014 18:23:52 GMT -5 saz said:

Dec 4, 2014 16:08:37 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Honestly, I would be surprised if any Tyler Perry movies passed 3 for 3. Maybe Madea Goes to Jail? 

Is Madea being counted as a woman in this assessment?

I do, since the character is a woman, even though she's being played by a man, she's not secretly a man like Wayans brothers in White Chicks.

[mominatrix]

I remember there was a bit of scandal around The Lego Movie, and whether it passed the test... because even though Wyld Style was an awesome female character, and Wonder Woman was in there too, whether it passed hinged on whether UnaKitty:


counted as a woman.

[josieposy]

Dec 4, 2014 19:49:11 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I remember there was a bit of scandal around The Lego Movie, and whether it passed the test... because even though Wyld Style was an awesome female character, and Wonder Woman was in there too, whether it passed hinged on whether UnaKitty:


counted as a woman.

Unikitty is the best. I think she counts as a woman.