Almost half of movies fail the feminist Bechdel test. That means that they don’t contain a conversation between women about something other than men!

Almost half of movies fail the feminist Bechdel test. That means that they don’t contain a conversation between women about something other than men!

The Bechdel test was created by Alison Bechdel as a means of putting numbers to sexist trends in movies. The requirement is basically a litmus test: does it or does it not contain two, named female characters who have a conversation about something other than men. 

It’s important to realize that the test does not necessarily say that a movie is or isn’t sexist based on whether it passes or fails the test. Rather it’s meant to be a way of analyzing movies in broader terms related to feminist themes. What’s truly incredible about this test is that it’s shown that 48% of movies don’t pass the test. 

In general, movies don’t show extended relationships between women. The fear is that most conversations between women characters in movies are superficial, dealing only with the closest hot guy. Basically, our movies might still be sending subtle, sexist messages. 

Movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, and the Social Network all fail the Bechdel test. Do you think the results of the Bechdel test are worrisome or irrelevant? 

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Two brothers were killed within exactly 1 year of each other, in almost the same situations.

Two brothers were killed within exactly 1 year of each other, in almost the same situations.

This tragic coincidence occurred in 1975. Seventeen year old Erskine Lawrence Ebbin was struck and killed by a taxi while driving a moped. This was exactly 1 year after his 17 year old brother was killed by the same taxi, holding the same passenger, driving the same moped, at the same intersection. 

This terrible quirk of fate earned the 17 year old a place on newspapers from both sides of the Atlantic. It is a crushing reminder of exactly how small our world is, of how even death seems to be losing its creativity. 

It seems like coincidences are actually pretty common on the road, for more see here

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