Flick Critique: Bechdel Test fails to always effectively promote female representation

With midterm season upon students, perhaps there is no test as controversial regarding films as the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test, aimed at identifying if a movie features enough representation of women, is based on three factors: the film must have a minimum of two named female characters, they must have a conversation, and it must be about any subject besides a male character.

While the premise may seem simple, there are a shocking number of movies that manage to fail this test, with only 58 percent of all movies in the Bechdel Test database passing in all three areas.

Many have criticized the test for not encapsulating the meaning of representation, with some movies that feature leading women characters failing the test for not having two women speak to each other or having a limited cast — such as “Gravity.”

Nonetheless, while more accurate tests are continuously being developed, the Bechdel Test will remain the standard for examining the representation of women in film. Here are three movies that surprisingly fail the Bechdel Test and three that shockingly passed it.

While “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” features debatably one of the coolest women to ever hit the screen, the movie manages to fail all of the three requirements needed to pass the Bechdel Test.

In this case, Lara Croft is the protagonist with the movie centered around her — but with unnamed characters and a lack of interaction, the film flat-out fails. It’s possible to see here the misleading nature of the test. Sometimes, it is indicative of a movie with minimal representation, but other times, it simply may not lend itself to pass the other three constraints.

The original “Star Wars” trilogy is another surprising fail, as all three movies feature one of the most prominent female characters ever — Princess Leia. She is one of the greatest leading ladies of all time, as she manages to be both regal and strong at the same time by bringing justice and goodness throughout the galaxy.

Nevertheless, with only three women named in the films and minimal to no interaction between them, “Star Wars” is substandard to the requirements set. The series managed to improve with its later installations, as two out of the three prequels and both of the sequels passed the Bechdel test.

“The Avengers” provokes mixed feelings with its failure to pass the Bechdel Test, even featuring the iconic Black Widow. Marvel has disappointed audiences for years, as they have already released films for many of their main Avengers, but not for Black Widow. A prominent character through the series, Black Widow will eventually have her own movie.

While “The Avengers” names two female characters, it fails to have them converse — much less about a subject other than men. For these reasons, it does not pass the necessary tests to be considered up-to-par in terms of female representation.

Although the previous movies surprisingly fail the Bechdel test even with their emphasis on women characters, other movies have passed the test, even with a male-dominated cast.

This is the case for the beloved sports movie “Remember the Titans,” where regardless of the minimal interaction between two young girls, it manages to fulfill all of the requirements needed to pass the test.

Once again, the test shows how it can sometimes mislead those analyzing the results, as this movie has mostly male characters. However, a small chat about dolls is enough to grant it a pass.

“No Country For Old Men” also manages to snag a pass for the Bechdel Test through a small conversation between two named female characters, even when they have an extremely limited screen time overall and are barely named.

This Coen Brothers film surprisingly passes, especially considering that it lacks a female protagonist while their cult classic “Fargo,” featuring leading character Frances McDormand, fails the test.

Surprisingly, another film that passes the controversial test is the 1984 movie “The Karate Kid,” centered around a young boy who learns martial arts with the help of a skilled man who soon becomes his mentor.

While the original barely manages to check off each of the test’s three boxes, it is certainly not shocking that the 2010 remake of this film passes the test, as the two named women only talk about one of the character’s sons. This shows that while many movies are adapting and incorporating a larger female presence on the big screen, others fail to adopt this same mentality.

Evidently, the film industry has a long way to go with including women in its storylines. While the Bechdel Test may not be the best guideline, it certainly sheds some light on the inclusion of women in movies.