are we using the bechdel test wrong? 

My response to the Intro: “A day without lesbians is like a day without sunshine.”

An interpretation of the Bechdel (maybe it’s unrelated idk) is that what happens if you replace the female character with a sexy lamp. Would it change the plot? If it doesn’t, you have your answer.

I'm ashamed that I mistook The Riz test for a rizz test... Thank you for adding wrinkles to my brain with each video you make (it's been a little too smooth as of late)

not the idol passing the bechdel test 😭😭

One thing so many people get wrong by taking the bechdel rules out of context and raising them to an "Is It Feminist?" test is that it was never supposed to measure if the movies the character was watching were feminist enough, only if she could see herself represented in them. Because she's a lesbian. So if there are no women, or only women whose lives revolve around men, she's not interested. Because she can't relate to them if they don't fullfil these bare minimum requirements (be named women not obsessed with men). It's not SUPPOSED to measure progressiveness, but "possibility of lesbianism", or at the very least "potential for a lesbian to care about it" It morphed into something way more serious than intended, so it not being nuanced is not a fault, it just wasn't made for that use. And it's simple enough to make it glaringly obvious how absurd movies that don't pass it are, since it's such a low bar, but it doesn't take any complexities into consideration because it was only supposed to be a "haha relatable lesbian experience" moment

As you mentioned, I think the Bechdel test is mostly relevant for a global view of the film industry, not really singular movies. It is really telling that so many movies don't pass it and that definitely reflects how sexist our society is. But if we apply it to specific movies it gets really vague whether or not this is a good measure to analyse sexism in that specific film. There are movies where it's pretty clear that not passing the test is due to the writers not really giving a shit about the female characters and then there's movies where it genuinely makes sense that they don't pass the test.

I needed that intro today

I first heard of the Bechdel test in the “Google autocomplete” video with Gaten Matazzaro and Joe Keery and one of the questions was about whether “Stranger Things” passes the Bechdel test. Gaten thought it did and granted, this was to promote season two I wanna say. I think it does after the past two seasons with the friendships between Eleven and Max and Nancy and Robin. It doesn’t stop me from enjoying a show or movie. Like, I won’t automatically like/dislike it if it does or doesn’t pass.

8:01 Or as Emma Thompson said that the studio’s idea of a strong woman is one who saves people and is armed with a gun.

everyone should listen to the "The Bechdel Cast"! Its my favourite podcast! Every episode they talk about a different movie and they use the bechdel test as a jumping off point to a larger conversation on the intersectional feminist messages that the particular movie fails/succeeds in. Everything you discussed in this video, I already knew bc of the podcast

Also the comic strip (as you said) is about lesbians! This is not just about representation of women or women not being defined by their relationships to men (those things are important which is why people jumped on the Bechdel test) but it can also just be about wanting to imagine the interesting or attractive or relatable character on screen could be a lesbian!

nothing but fire facts in this video

Your videos are amazing, its crazy that more people don’t follow you

hilarious and informative, lol loved the intro

Thank you so much for talking about this!! I’ve taken a few gender studies courses that focus on film and the Bechdel test has always been discussed, but never in this way! Your content is always so insightful🥰

thank you sm for this video , i learned a lot!!

amazing video, i love your usual content but if you decide to make more of this style videos i would so be there

7:01 Haha I remember this tweet! Fab 👏🏽

i really agree with the bechdal test being a great start to the conversation on the representation of women in film but not the end all be all; for example, a film can still be feminist and not the pass the test

A lot of the conversation around representation should start with funding and cancellation. Why are some projects funded more and why wlw content keeps getting cancelled? (Rhetorical question)

In 'the cabin in the woods' they parody the bechdel test. 1. Is it a good film - Yes (i love it anyway) 2. Is it a problematic film - yes because Joss whedon So what does this mean for the film? It passes the bechdel but cannot possibly be pro-feminist because... #2 and any other films which have been produced by Harvey but pass the bechdel. It really is a fun nonsense - but it absolutely shouldnt be used as a gauge for feminism

In the comic the characters say "ill know what not to watch now" Movie industries golden age😚 What a loss I say

Great video. Learned about this in college about a decade ago. It’s modern interpretation is a mess.

India's "saas-bahu" daytime soaps pass the Becdel test in spades, with enough conflict btwn MIL & DIL to not even bother to mention the males in their shared lives. (OTOH the MIL-DIL relationship only exists because of the men in their lives and the patriarchal structure of the joint family unit.) People all over the world are so starved for female drama that doesn't reference romance or child rearing that these shows get dubbed in many languages and rebroadcast throughout the world, esp in the global south.

LETD GO LESBIANS!

LETS GO LESBIANNSSS

yeha i feel like we should have more of a 'what is the straight cis man toxicity level' test.