Footloose Bechdel Test (Haley Jensen)

The Bechdel Test Footloose (2011)

  Footloose is about a group of high school kids that are trying to bring dancing back to their town after it became against the law because they lost some of their own teenagers when driving home from a dance. Things eventually come around in the town of Bomont, Georgia after the main character Ren comes to town from Boston.

The movie did pass the Bechdel test. The two women characters are Ariel and Rusty. They are close friends and go to school together. They talk to each other multiple times throughout the movie. They did talk about something other than a man a few times, but in some cases they did have conversations about a man; for example, when Ren came to town they talked about him.

I had a hard time deciding if this movie was feminist or not. In some ways I think it is and in other ways I don’t think so. Overall, there is a pretty good balance of male and female characters throughout the film. Also, at the town meeting, Reverend Shaw’s wife did speak up and say that she disagreed with dancing not being allowed in the town. This is important because it shows a female taking a stand and saying how she feels and what she believes instead of just going along with what the men say. On the other hand though, the majority of the authority figures of the town of Bomont, Georgia are mostly male and not female. This shows that all the people in power and making the important decisions are mostly male. The movie also uses Ariel, the preacher’s daughter, who is a good girl that has gone bad. In my opinion, I think that this is an overused stereotype and kind of character. Also, Ariel’s rebellious boyfriend Chuck beats her up and gives her a black eye and Ariel never told her parents who really did that to her and therefore Chuck was never punished for hurting her. This doesn’t really set a good example because it shows that it is okay for him to beat her up and that he can just get away with it. Overall, the film did have feminist parts and other parts that were not so feminist.

Crossroads

Crossroads is about three women that used to be the best of friends when they were younger, once they got into high school they drifted apart. On graduation night, they unburied their memory capsule. They decided to take a road trip, with a random man who had a car, that next day across the states; one was going to music auditions, another was going to find her biological mother, and the other was going to surprise visit her fiancé that is in college. This movie does pass the Bechdel Test. There are three women as the main characters throughout this movie, and then one male.  Each woman is completely different; there is one that is really girly, spoiled and popular, another who is super smart and is the virgin, and the other who is pregnant and unpopular. They did talk to each other about many things other than a man. Each woman was on their own mission, which is to accomplish their wish that they had put in that capsule they dug up but yes, of course there was a love story in this too. I did not think this was a feminist movie because, the three women were dependent on a man to get them to the places where they needed to be, and also to help protect them on the way. There was a scene where the group needed to make a little extra money to get the car fixed that had broken down on the way, so they stopped at a bar and participated in a singing contest. The girls dressed a little provocative and danced to get as much money as they could. They did end up winning the contest too.

Bechdal Test- Pitch Perfect

For this assignment I chose the movie Pitch Perfect. The main character in this movie is Becca. The movie begins when Becca arrives at college. Her father, who is a professor at the school, tells Becca that she needs to be involved in activities in the school. She finds out about the Barden Bellas, who are a female acapella group on campus who were in dire need of new members. After some convincing from one of the members, Becca decides to join the Bellas. There she meets Aubrey, Chloe, Fat Amy, Lilly, Stacie, and Cynthia-Rose. The new members have difficult learning choreography and matching pitch. The movie goes through the training of the Bellas in order to compete against multiple schools around the country. Their main goal is to take 1^st place at nationals and beat their rivals, who are the male acapella group on their campus, the treblemakers.

This movie definitely passed the bechdal test. The movie focused on many women in the acapella group, but specifically Becca and Aubrey. Aubrey is the leader of the Bellas, so there was constant tension between them. Since most of the movie surrounded the Bellas, the women were always talking to each other. They would discuss choreography, singing and competition. This movie was only slightly feminist because female acapella groups had a harder time winning because they couldn’t hit the lower sounds. I don’t think that the movie was really that feminist because the women in the movie had an equal opportunity at winning the title and if they didn’t win it was because they either messed up, or a person in the group got sick while performing.

When I first started watching the movie I wondered if there would be multiple conversations that didn’t involve talking about a man because they introduced Jesse, who was very fascinated with Becca. I began to realize as I was watching, that Becca did not want to be involved with guys. She was involved in the acapella group and was committed to help lead the group to nationals.

Bechdel Test: The Princess Diaries_by Luke Thao

Film plot:

Fifteen-year-old Amelia (Mia) Thermopolis’ world is turned upside-down as she learns that she is actually the heir to the throne of the country of Genovia.

 Film analysis:

            Under scrutiny of the three guidelines outlined by the Bechdel Test, the film The Princess Diaries successfully passes (and with flying colors, one might add!).

            Comprising this film are a cast of characters that include at least four major female characters that occupy a significant role in consideration of advancing the plot of this movie. From the main character, Mia, to her quirky, but loyal sidekick-friend Lilly, there is a range of female presence in this film that all but shatters the predominant idea of a male lead often spearheading the story. As equally important to take notice of are the characters of Mia’s mother and her grandmother who are as integral a piece to the story as Mia herself. Portrayed in the film, each of these characters feel fairly realistic in their depiction of the individual they were cast to play. Mia is a representation of the “invisible,” awkward high school student who has her “Cinderella” moment as she comes into her own and finds confidence in who she is. Lilly, Mia’s best friend, is a spunky activist outspoken in her advocacy of a number of causes dear to her heart. Mia’s mother and grandmother both come across and strong, independent women once married but now living boldly on their own with a firm grasp on their personhood and the direction of their lives.

            The characters described above interacted with one another throughout this film on more than one occasion and the nature of their conversations were well beyond that of only men (although men wen certainly mentioned as well!). For example, an exchange between Mia and Lilly had to do with Lilly’s perception of their dissolving friendship as Mia was putting forth an effort to hide the fact that she was a princess and therefore seemed as though she was distancing herself from Lilly. Additionally, later in the film, Mia’s grandmother confronts her about a scandal that she got caught up in and goes on to describe what consequences there would be for such ill-conceived behavior.

            Taken as a whole, I would contend to make the claim that this film could be considered feminist in its message. One example I cite in support of this claim is the fact that a large majority of the (important) characters in this film were female and nearly to the extent that the male characters that were featured were merely an embellishment to the largely female cast. However, were it only that there were a greater number of females in proportion to males in this movie, that would not necessarily make such a strong case for my earlier point. That being said, it is in conjunction with the aforementioned observation the strength of the female characters that is what really speaks to the feminist ideal. Even more minor characters such as Mia’s physical education teacher and the school’s vice principal communicate to the audience this image of powerful women who hold positions that would otherwise usually be occupied by men. What’s more, once again referencing Mia’s grandmother, the broader (and, perhaps, more obviously apparent at least within the context of this film in particular) concept of a woman ruling her country and raising her granddaughter to one day do the same is a key take-away message of women’s capacity to wield such a high level of power as a natural part of their ability. Ultimately speaking, the women of this movie are by no means passive, delicate individuals who let life happen to them; on the contrary, they fight for what they want and are not afraid to be outspoken in world dominated by men.

Monster-in-Law Bechdel Test Results by Wes Huntington

Monster-in-Law stars Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda, in one of the funniest comedies of the early 2000s.   Lopez stars as Charlie (short for Charlotte), a woman who apparently has a lot of jobs such as a dog walker and spots a handsome man while reading her horoscope on the beach.  He later runs into her on several occasions after that, and then finally reveals his name to be Dr. Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan), a surgeon who has moved back to Los Angeles from San Francisco.   Unfortunately things turn for the worse when Kevin introduces Charlie to his mother, Viola (Fonda), who has recently been fired off her own television show and is in the midst of a nervous breakdown.    It gets worse when Kevin proposes to Charlie in front of his mother.   What ensues is a hilarious tug-of-war of love and letting go.  

So, the $64,000 question is: does it pass the test?  After much deliberation, yes it does.   In addition to having the overall theme of love for Kevin from both Viola (as his mother) and Charlie (as his fiancée), there is a second theme and that is the theme of letting go.   The letting go subplot stems from Viola, as she has deemed that Charlie isn't the right girl for her son, but eventually lets go when she realizes that they didn't need her approval to marry each other.  There are two significant female roles in Viola and Charlie, and they are polar opposites when they have their cat fights over the entire relationship (like the hilarious example of Viola trying to incapacitate Charlie when she slips chopped almonds in the gravy, which blow up Charlie’s lips before the wedding day).  They do talk to each other on occasion, albeit awkwardly at points (and tensions rise), but eventually they come to an understanding when Viola's ex-mother-in-law Gertrude (Elaine Stritch) gives her approval of Charlie and when they both realize that the arguments Gertrude had with Viola would happen to both Viola and Charlie in thirty years.   In addition to talking about Kevin for most of the film, they do talk and eventually argue over details of the upcoming wedding, such as the wedding book.  For example, Viola brings her a peach colored one, when normally for weddings they are white.   Finally, is the film a feminist film?  No it is not, in my opinion.  Instead it basically follows the gender roles of both men and women: women falling in love with a man, having to deal with potential hostile in-laws (who are probably not ready to see their son/daughter getting married), and getting married to the man.   

10 Things i Hate About You Bechdel Test.

10 Things I Hate About You is about a new kid, Cameron, in school that wants to date a popular girl, Bianca but the only way that he can date her is if her older sister has a date, so Cameron and his friend find a way to pay another guy, Patrick, to take the older sister, Kat out on a date. But little did Patrick know that he would end up falling for Kat and realize that he shouldn’t have taken money from someone to date her. That creates tension in the movie. 

The movie passed the test. There were 2 main female characters, Bianca and Kat Stradford. They talked to each other a lot since they were sisters. During the movie, yes they did talk a lot about men because Bianca wants to date and Kat did not want to. But there we also other women in the film like Bianca’s friend Chastity and Kat’s friend, Mandella. Kat and Bianca had a conversation about their mother’s pearls. I think that this movie is very feminist. Because Kat is somewhat of a feminist. In a scene in the movie, she tells a teacher that she wants to read more books in class with women authors. Kat speaks her mind a lot in the movie that is what kind of character she is. This movie is feminist because there is a lot of women power. The sisters end up settling their differences and coming together even closer. 

Michaela Jensen 

Bechdel Test 

1. There must be two women characters? Yes.
2. The two women must talk to each other? Yes.
3. Who talk to each other about something other than a man? Yes.

Bridesmaids is a movie with 6 women in it as the main characters. One of them being the bride and the rest the bridesmaids. They go through many different experiences through out the movie and journey of being the bride or bridesmaid. These experiences being about men, kids, marriage, and friendship. It is a comedy movie with women as the main characters.

In the film Bridesmaids, yes the movie did pass the test. There was two women characters. The two main women characters are Annie and Lillian. They are best friends and the friend group grows as there is more bridesmaids that become into the group. The two best friends talked to each other a lot about many different things. Food, clothing, men, trips, driving, they talk about everything. They also talk about many different things within the bridesmaids group. 

I think the film has feminist perspectives in it. It shows the women being powerful and more dominant than the men. Even the picture of the film shows how women are dominant and powerful. The way they are positioned on the picture presents the idea of women being strong. They are not only shown powerful but the movie is meant to be funny and make the audience laugh. Throughout the movie they show the women being powerful and each character brings a different personality to the movie. It is very easy to see the different personalities each bridesmaid has in the film. One is the best friend, one is very successful, one has kids, one thats struggling for money. They come from all different backgrounds and have different feelings and personalities. 

The women seemed to just do humorous things that men would do. They did it in a way that was comical and many people found funny. This was one way of making the movie funny for the audiences. 

I see the movie being a feminist movie. It shows the women being the strong people and being powerful. The group brings many different perspectives and personalities to the movie which makes it a great comedy movie. 

Tangled

 

Tangled is about a girl, named Rapunzel, who is trapped in a tower with her mother, to be protected of the outside world so they do not discover her magic long hair. Her dream is to go out of the castle to see the floating lanterns that come out every year on her birthday. Then, a boy named Flynn climbs into the tower to escape the guards, and she makes a deal with him that he will take her to see the lanterns. These two adventure out to follow her dreams to see the lanterns up close, but along the way they run into many different obstacles.

                This movie does past the Bechdel test because it passes all the criteria.  Tangled has at least two girl characters, there is the mom, the queen, and Rapunzel.  In this movie, the mom and Rapunzel have a conversation about how Rapunzel wants to go out of the castle and adventure to see the lanterns. The mother then scares her daughter by telling her about the dangers of the outside world.  The mother also asks Rapunzel to brush her hair and sing because it makes the mother stay young and beautiful forever.  The movie does not have many women, but the main character is a girl. The movie passes all three criteria, 1. Has women characters, 2. Who talk to each other, 3. Who talk to each other besides a guy.

                This movie has a courageous lead women who is the center of the entire movie. She stands up to the thugs in the bar when they tried turning her guardian in, Flynn. This is an aspect that makes this movie not feminist. The only way Rapunzel would leave her castle was if Flynn would come with and protect her. Throughout the entire movie Rapunzel was fighting her own battles and saving Flynn a lot of the time wither her magic hair.  In conclusion I believe that this movie has an overall good representation of women and how they can be the guardian sometime over guys. Granted she was looked at as a healer instead of a strong independent woman, she was still fighting her own battles and thinking on her feet to save the two of them.

by: Jade Anderson 

The House Bunny by Crystal Burger

For the Bechdel Test I decided to choose the movie The House Bunny. This movie is about the main character Shelly, who grew up as a child in a foster home, but grew into a beautiful woman and moved into the Play Boy Mansion. She grew up learning all about how to be pretty and sexy and how to make boys like her. After being sabotaged by another bunny in the house Shelly is thrown out on her own and comes across the sorority house of Zeta where the girls are in desperate need of everything she's become an expert at: parties and boys. Eventually at the end of the movie Shelly learns that not all guys are all about wanting someone dumb and sexy, one man in particular. The girls of the house also learn how important it is to be yourself and that there's more to life than boys.

Considering there are 7 girls living in the Zeta house, there was one in particular that played a more important role in the movie with Shelly and that was Natalie. She was a very smart student who gave up her beliefs in hopes of getting a guy to like her. Her and Shelly shared many conversations, many of which were about boys and how to be sexy and not "too smart", but they did share conversations besides those topics such as what else they could do to save the Zeta house, or about what truly made Shelly happy. This movie did pass the Bechdel Test because it showcased two female characters talking with each other about things besides boys. 

This movie for me is definitely not a feminist film, but I do believe that there's more to it than meets the eye. I do feel it is very gender based in the way that the goal for the girls throughout the movie is to cater themselves to what boys want. Be smart, but not too smart. Be funny, but not too funny where you out do him. Be sexy but not inappropriate, etc. Although on the other hand, aside from all the male catering, the moral is made clear at the end. Always be who you are and never let anyone change you just because they say you aren't good enough, especially when it comes to boys.

Madagascar

                                                    

The movie I watched was Madagascar. This film is about a hippo named Gloria, a lion name Alex, giraffe name Melman, and a zebra named Marty. Marty has escaped from the zoo and is trying to get to the wild. In the process of his friends coming to save him they get caught and shipped out to Africa. While on the boat the crate’s they are in fall over board and they are washed up on an island. Now they have to survive in the wild.  

The movie did not pass the Bechdel Test. There was only one female character in the whole film. Even though there was only one female she was a very strong independent women and did not need the support of a man. If anything the men in the movie leaned on her at points. She was the level headed one of the group and would help them when they were in a sticky situation. I do not think the movie really needed another female character. Once I was finished with the movie I did not think to myself that movie would have been much better if it had more female actors. If there were more female actors in the movie I think it would have taken away from Gloria’s part and she would not have been such a strong lead character.

I do not think this film is feminist at all. There are no part in the movie that make me think the movie was supposed to be a feminist film. I do not think the film would have been any better or worse had it been a feminist film. This film is an animated film for children. I think it would have been more of a complicated film if it was a feminist film because I do not think kids would have picked up on it. 

The Divergent by Maggie McDonald

The Divergent

The film I chose to watch was, Divergent. The film's plot is about a society that functions in factions which are, factionless which means you are homeless and don't belong anywhere. Candor which is the faction where members run on honesty, Amity are the peace keepers within the factions, Dauntless which are the brave and the defenders of all factions, Erudite which are the brains in society, all people who value education go here. Lastly there is Abnegation, which are the selfless people of all the factions.  Beatrice Prior who later changes her name to Tris,  is the main character in this film, which is the reason I picked it. Beatrice is portrayed as a strong independent women who goes against the odds and picks a faction no one expected her to, Dauntless. She goes through brutal training, fist fights, using guns, and throwing knives, which obviously are not your typical female traits. She then comes under suspicion of the leader or Erudite, Jeanine Matthews, because she sees how different Tris is compared to everyone else, she may be a Divergent. A Divergent is someone who can think on their own, see things in ways other people can't. And if your society were to try and control you, the control won't work over a Divergent, which makes Tris a threat. That's when the leading male role, Four comes in and helps protect Tris from getting harmed or taken away from the Dauntless faction, causing a lot of chaos within all factions.

I would say that the movie The Divergent passed the Bechdel test. It included many female leads like Tris, Christina (Tris's best friend), Jeanine Matthews and Natalie Prior (Tris's mother). A lot of this film highlighted how strong and independent each of these individuals are, they are intelligent, strong, loving and bold and courageous. The only conflict I had while deciding if this were a feminist film or not was when the going got tough Tris had to rely on her love interest, Four to help dig her out of the mess. At times in the film it was great to see women take over control of situations and show dominance within their factions. Like Matthews who is the leader of her faction, and Tris who out performed many men in her faction.

Overall I would say this movie did pass the Bechdel test because of the relationship Tris had with her mother Natalie, Jeanine Matthews and Christina. They do mention her love interest Four when conversing. But the majority of their conversations focus around Tris and how she is different and needs to conceal that in order to remain normal in her faction. Her and her Natalie also focus on their relationship which is centered around how her mother picked the wrong faction and how proud she was of Tris for picking the right one for her. All in all it was a surprise to me that I picked a movie that passed the test, considering how many films don't.



Bechdel Test on the movie Grease {By: Nicole Mara}

Grease

"Why this car is auto-matic. It's system-matic. 

It's hydro-matic. Why, it's greased lightening!" 

The movie I chose to watch was the 1978 film, Grease. Growing up this movie was one of my all time favorites. I have been reciting the catchy tunes that accompany the film for years and until this test, I have never actually thought about what I was saying and or watching. Obviously I knew some of the events and discussions that took place in the movie were not exactly what one could say as, "a lifestyle American high schoolers should strive for," but none the less I never took into account what I was watching fully until watching it from the view of a GWS class.

This movie follows the young love of two high school teens who fall madly in love during the summer and believe that they will never again see one another. As a viewer you are swept into the lives of Sandy, played by Olivia Newton- John and her lover, Danny, played by John Travolta, as they unexpectedly reunite at their high school. You are introduced to countless friends of each individual and are taken on a journey into their lives as well, battling the sometimes unfair realities of adolescence. (side note: some of the events that happen in the movie are unrealistic and dramatized) 

The movie has many female characters who all are seen multiple times throughout the film. Some of them are more well known than other's, but each time you are always given the name of the female who is shown on screen. I believe because of this, the movie passes the first question on the list of criteria. 'The Pink Ladies' which consists of Rizzo, Frenchy, Jan, and Marty are all very close friends. When Sandy comes into the picture, Frenchy takes her under her wing and helps her get acquainted with the in's and out's of the school. As a result this also passes the second question regarding if the women talk to one another. As for the last question, I had troubles making a concrete decision if the movie passed the test or not. For the most part the girls all talk about the men or lack there of in their lives. A very slim few times do they bring up anything other than men, such as when Frenchy decides to go to beauty school. With that being said, I came to the conclusion that the movie did not pass the test as a result.  

The movie is no where close to being a feminist movie. It does not portray women as being independent or being able to fend for themselves in any way. The men in the movie often take advantage of the women by focusing on their outward appearance and the sexual aspects that accompany this. The boys's group, otherwise known as ' T Birds', is always looking to capitalize on  their next advancements toward the women. I especially noticed parts of the discussion we had in class about the images seen in magazines and commercials. The women in the movie are always concerned with their self image and even change it at times to "get the guy". Sandy at the end of the movie does this. She becomes more of a 'greaser' to appeal to Danny's senses, when in all reality he did the same to for her. This test was a very eye opening experience because though I had already known most of this, I never actually took a second to think about the way it truly is at times a dig on females.

Steel Magnolias: Bechdel Test

           The Steel Magnolias is set in Louisiana about a group of six women.  It mainly focuses around one of the character’s wedding that is taking place during the majority of the film.  When I picked this film I was confident that it would pass and I was right.  The majority of the conversations were about mostly about men, but there were occasional conversations that would not include a male.

There were six female characters that had names in this movie M’Lynn, Truvy, Ouiser, Annelle, Clairee, and Shelby.  All the women characters interact as a close knit circle of friends, and are frequently at a beauty salon sharing about their individual lives. The majority of the movie was about the women talking to each other and setting up the plot.  They talked a lot about males, but other topics came up as well. They talked about religion, their past, death, health, and other members of the community.  When M’Lynn’s daughter Shelby died the conversation about life and death did not include a male.  M’Lynn talked to Annelle about how lost she was because she was supposed to die before, her daughter, Shelby. M’Lynn had a very hard time accepting that fact.

I do believe this is a feminist film for many reasons.  First of all it has very headstrong and independent females casted as the head roles. Males are mentioned in conversations frequently, but they are not the highlight of the film.  A good example of feminist characters are Ouister and Clairee,  Ouister is a very stubborn and load spoken woman who made it clear she did not need a man because she had more money than God. Clairee owned a successful radio station just for the fun of it, and she never mentioned having or wanting a man in her life.

By: Amber Brandt

Sleepless in Seattle-- Bechdel Test

Jessica Johnson

I watched the movie “Sleepless in Seattle,” and the main story line starts with a son of a man, who had lost his wife, calling into the radio station and wishing for his dad to find a new wife and be happy again.  After having the father on air to tell his story, all sorts of women from all over swoon over him without even meeting him and send him letters about themselves.  Throughout the film I was looking to see if there were two named female characters that talked to each other about something besides men.  The movie did not end up passing the test based on those three questions but there were two female characters that talked to each other, it just happened to always be about men.  Watching this film and asking those three main questions made me look into things a little further and my gatherings do not just end with the film passing or failing the test.  The way in which the movie showed women and the characteristics that women were shown with made me decide that it was not a feminist movie.  I think the movie portrays women as needy, desperate, and easy.  There is one woman who is even engaged to get married, then second guesses herself after hearing this man speak on the radio and in the end, ends up meeting up with him and ideally falling in love with each other.  Although the film is more of a love story and that is the main focus of it, there are small clues and underlining things that do sometimes come off as unequal or stereotypical of the women characters.  I do see women portrayed in these similar ways in a lot of films and media forms and I think that more often than not it is just overlooked and seen as normal for women to be portrayed in those ways and it is hardly ever questioned or seen negatively.