Introduction
The Bechdel Test is a type of sexism test in the bracket of films. This test is otherwise known as the Bechdel/Wallace test or the Bechdel Rule or Mo Movie Measure and is marked as a measure of gender depiction in the films. The label of his particular examination is taken after a caricature artist, Alison Bechdel. She is the brain behind the string of cartoon strips that has encouraged the evolution and fame of her works. This test has garnered huge amount of inspiration and are often utilized in the assessment and ranking of the cinematic films.
Origin
Bechdel created a number of directives in connection to this test in her cartoon strip artworks, most especially in her “Dykes to Watch Out For ”. These comic strip materials began to be distributed in 1985. In her other masterpiece entitled, The Rule, a set of guidelines for a feminist film was laid down such as:
- A film ought to have a couple of women
- These women should talk interactively to each other
- The topic of interaction should be about anything without mentioning about the opposite gender
This test classifies a film using these three standards. If a film fails to meet the just a single stipulation of this test then a film fails the test as a whole.
Exposure To Cinema & Movement
The Bechdel Test was acknowledged as a large component in classifying a certain cinematic film. However, a lot of films fail to meet the demands of this particular test. In terms of cinematic films, the storyline is materialized with the editing procedures. The interesting matter about this test is that it hammer down through the affinities in the film and defines how each of the film’s roleplayers out to be depicted. It is important for a film to live up to want the test specifies in order for a film to pass the Bechdel test.
The most fitting cinematic film that upholds Bechdel Test is Erik Canuel’s 2015 film “Bad Hair Day ” under the Disney Channel. This film is about a high school student named Monica, who aspires to become a prom queen. But things went awry when on her very special day she was plagued with a bad hair day, and a damaged prom dress and shoes and the necklace she bought from a vintage store was actually from a lady cop Liz Morgan. The lady cop only wants two things: her necklace and her job back to her again. The lady cop did run on the kid but a jewel snatcher, Pierce, wants to steal the necklace. The student and the lady cop managed to get the robber jailed and the film had a favorable ending.The student was able to attend her prom night along with an escort of the entire police force of their community.
The film garnered an immense response of 3.97 million viewers during the screening. Further film examples are the
- Margarethe von Trotta’s 1981 film titled as “Marianne and Juliane ”
- MarleenGorris 1982 film “A Question of Silence ”
- Sally Potter’s 1983 film “The Gold Diggers ”
Concept
The concept of Bechdel Test is to assert the guidelines on cinematic films to highlight the essence of women characters in the film. The laid down requirements of the test carried out a larger concern for the female characters getting depicted in films where the male characters should have been. The female characters are noted in accordance to their connection to the opposite gender. The test then, imposes that the female roleplayers should carry on a dialogue about anything except for talks about males. However, the critics claim that the test itself failed show the measure of the nature of the female characters in the films.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Bechdel Test is a determining factor in typifying a certain film in terms of standardizing and ranking it. This test demands the highlighting of feminism in a particular cinematic format that openly reflects in the three guidelines of this test. However, whether to meet or come short with what the test requires does not warrants the totality of the female attributes in films. The intention of this test is not to determine who can succeed through the test and who can fail. The test aims to prove how the progressions of the utmost clusters of mass communications are made of.
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