Bechdel Test Movie List

Minerva McGonagall turns to Mrs Weasley after performing the enchantment that brings the statues to life to fight for the school, and says something like "I've always wanted to do that spell..."

I don't know what the definition of a 'conversation' is, but there are 3 times in the movie when one female character says something to another female. One is mentioned by Garmonbozia above. Another is when Lily's sister Petunia (not named in the film) tells her 'you're a freak, I'm going to tell mum'. Another one is where Molly Weasley says to Bellatrix Lestrange 'don't touch my daughter you bitch' and then kills her.

the rule is thst at least two women has to talk "to each other" so I would say that both women have to say something for it to count. an of comment here and there from one woman to another without a substansial reply shouldn't be enough.

Luna and Cho talk to each other, when Harry asks about Ravenclaw's diadem, and Hermione talks to her daughter at the end.

Movie is a clear pass.

(1) Cho to Luna, about the diadem: "But the thing is, Luna, it's supposed to be lost."

(2) McGonagall to Molly, after bringing statues to life: "I've always wanted to do that spell."

(3) Young Petunia to Lily, in Snape's memory: "You're a freak, I'm telling mum."

(4) Molly to Bellatrix, before blasting her to pieces: "Not my daughter, you bitch!"

We agree with the rating.

Cho and Luna are both replying to Harry.

McGonagall to Molly is a statement they are not talking to each other.

Petunia to Lily- Petunia isn't named during the film so shouldn't count as a character.

Molly to Bellatrix- unless we count Bellatrix's mad cackling as speech it's a battle cry not a conversation.

I think the dialogue between Petunia and Lily at least definitely counts - if I remember correctly, it's not just a one-sided remark from Petunia, as Lily is showing her a flower or something and says, "Look!"
And arguing that it doesn't count because Petunia isn't named in the film is ridiculous - the only reason the writers didn't bother is because they've now given up on trying to make the films accessible to anyone who hasn't read the books, and now just assume that the audience will be able to fill in any gaps they leave.

I agree with the original poster, martin, Pete, Jed, and Emma that it gets to the 2 named women point. Petunia isn't named in the movie and there's no scene where any named woman replies to another. I didn't remember Petunia's name even though I read the books; while I was watching the movie I assumed she was a friend of Lily's from school. You might be able to make a case for a major political figure or celebrity not needing to be named in a movie as the general audience would know who they were, but not a minor character whose name is buried somewhere in the 5,000 pages of the books the movie was adapted from. The argument that only people who had read the book closely would know her name, and the general audience wouldn't, pretty much makes the point.

I disagree with the rating because the memory scene between Lily and Petunia should count as a conversation between two main characters. For starters, anyone who has watched at least the first movie would remember the Petunia and Lily are related and that she is really the only character to call magical folks a freak. Like the books, the scriptwriters have added little details that are hard to notice if you aren't a dedicated Potter nerd and have watched the movies/read the books.

Two women (check) discuss (check) turning statues into sentient guards (check).

It passes both the letter and the spirit of the test. The letter in so far as there are at least, by my count, seven instances of two female characters trading dialogue unrelated to male characters, as listed by people above, and it passes the spirit in so far as there are any number of non-objectified positive female role models in both the book and the film (no doubt in part because the books were written by a female author who self defines as a feminist).

There are the instances of dialogue between female characters mentioned above as well as one more I'd like to point out. You may not hear the entire conversation, but there is clearly dialogue between Professor Trelawney and Padma Patil over the death of Lavender Brown.
Aside from that, there is a large selection of great female characters in the film. Hermione is the one who gets Harry and Ron out of nearly every situation. This movie is definitely a pass.

Please, can anyone who thinks it passes give one line each of dialogue between two female characters who were named in the film? That is all it needs to pass. The two characters need to have been named in the movie itself, and one just needs to speak to the other, and the second one has to reply with even a single line.

If Trelawny and Padma Patil were named in the movie (I don't remember) and they each have a line, that would be the only thing mentioned so far that would be a pass. Does anyone remember their lines, and if they were named in the movie? Or Duncan, if you think the statue scene passes, can you remember if Weasley replied to McGonagall, I didn't hear her reply?

Seems a shame if this movie doesn't pass, it comes so close. But with a movie that seems to have little dialogue compared to others I suppose there aren't going to be that many long conversations.
Seems its a perfect example of why the bechdel test is only a test of whether the movie passes the bechdel test - it gives no indication of whether the movie is 'feminist-friendly'.

Haven't seen the movie yet, just want to reply to the last comment.
I wouldn't say the Bechdel test gives *no* indication of whether a movie is "feminist-friendly". It is just an indicator, not absolute proof. Something can fail the test and be feminist, something can pass the test and be sexist, but the set of movies that pass the test contains many more feminist movies (per capita, at least) than the set of movies that don't pass the test.

I agree with the rating, there's no conversation between two named women in this movie.

How is a 1/3 a "dubious" passing? Either there are at least two named women [there are] or there aren't.

Well I'd have called it a pass.

Petunia Dursley was one of the first characters introduced in the series. Anyone who has read the books or watched the movies properly should know who she is, therefore the scene between her and Lily should pass. I don't think we need Lily to say, "Why do you call me a freak, Petunia, my sister?" to recognize the character.

Regarding Petunia not being named - she's clearly a character in the series and appears in every other movie. And since this movie opened smack in the middle of the story without recounting any backstory, it was definitely marketed to people who have been following the series and know who Petunia is.

I think its unfair to judge this movie separately from the others. Lily and Petunia are both named characters if you look at the series as a whole. Plus, I seem to remember Lily referring to Petunia as "Tuney", which is obviously a nickname. Plus McGonagal talking to Molly and Molly talking to Bellatrix should totally count.

There's also the scene with Bellatrix and Narcissa Malfoy, near the end of the film, in the woods, after Harry and Voldemort knock each other out - Bellatrix asks if Harry is dead, Narcissa asks Harry about Draco, but then replies to Bellatrix.

It's pretty short, but I reckon this counts as a conversation between two named female characters, although about a man (Harry). Does it matter that Harry also participates here, although only Narcissa knows that he does?

I agree, all of these things you've posted are one or two lines. This test it uses the word talk in place of discussions, so atlest two or three lines of dialogue each.

The fact the woman speaks doesn't really make the character full, it just proves its not a mute.

I disagree with this rating completely!

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 definitely passes the Bechdel Test in two very prominent instances! The first was when McGonagol turns to Mrs. Weasley after having conjured the Hogwarts protection spell, and says "I've always wanted to do that." The second was when Bellatrix and Mrs. Weasley were dueling and Mrs. Weasley exclaims, "Not my daughter you bitch." And then proceeds to kill her.

A change in this rating would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I agree with the rating. "Who talk to EACH OTHER" means that they have to, you know, talk to EACH OTHER. All of the examples listed seem to be of one character talking to another character, but unless that other character then talks to the first character, they haven't talked to EACH OTHER.

The thing is...when the women are talking about men, i.e. narcissa and bellatrix about harry etc...it's not in a romantic manner and that is, i think, the most important thing about this test...checking if movies only portray women in romantic dilemmas and arguments about boys/men. when the women in harry potter talk to each other they are in such few cases speaking about someone they are romantically interested in...actually, looking back to all the movies i can only remember a time when hermione talked to HARRY about liking ron...the romantic dilemmas in these books and movies are much more the boys' dilemmas.

I think Petunia is an important enough character to count as named. I also recall Lily calling her Tunie as a nickname because it took me a second to process it was a nickname for Petunia. I believe she appears in at least 6 of the 8 movies since Harry lived with her for 10+ years before going to Hogwarts. The only confusion for a casual watcher it if they don't realize that the young Petunia in the flashback is the same person as the middle aged Petunia Durdsly who appears many times in the series. I doubt many people watch this movie without watching as least some of the previous ones in the series though.

"it's not in a romantic manner and that is, i think, the most important thing about this test...checking if movies only portray women in romantic dilemmas and arguments about boys/men."

I completely disagree. The test isn't checking here for romance. The test is checking here for whether female characters have their own agency and significance to the film or whether their only role is to reinforce the role of a male character.

Quoth Victor: "The test is checking here for whether female characters have their own agency and significance to the film or whether their only role is to reinforce the role of a male character."

Bingo.

As a fan of the first four books/movies who's often annoyed that the rest of the series nearly always gets the free pass that it does, I must confess to some entertainment at reading certain above comments vainly attempting to will this movie into a Pass. It doesn't, people. Offhand remarks are not conversations. You all know this.

But, as with many Bechdel Test ratings, this one has touched a nerve, in that it shows women - yes, even Increasingly One-Note Hermione - for the supporting/minor Potter players that they are. Compare any of these movies to the deeply flawed yet unabashedly female-centric "The Golden Compass", and see the extent of the disparity. This is, after all, a series written by a woman who straight-up invented a middle initial in order to hide her lack of a Y chromosome from potential adolescent male customers, and who has retained that obfuscating pen name long after gaining the clout needed to cast it off.

No. If "[t]he test is checking here for whether female characters have their own agency and significance to the film or whether their only role is to reinforce the role of a male character," then HP:7-II would definitely pass.

Several female characters (with names, even if not stated in this movie) demonstrate their agency and outside of reinforcement of the main character. McGonagall defends the castle with her own power and her own agency.

The exchange between Lily Potter and her sister Petunia is an exchange meant to display Lily's blossoming power and how it causes a wedge between her and Petunia, who rejects her out of jealousy and calls her a freak.

You can argue that the defense of the castle is mostly an attempt to buy Harry Potter time to complete his mission, but the confrontation between Molly Weasley and Bellatrix is about Molly's desire to protect her child, Ginny, and not about any of the males in her family, a direct attempt to fight Voldemort, or even to support Harry.

The problem with those using this task is that focus on the letter of the test, but not the spirit of it. The spirit of the test is to demonstrate that women contribute strongly to narratives without being subject to active narrative by men first. The naming concept is ludicrously applied here because Petunia Padma or Professor Trelawney aren't explicitly named, with no regard to the context of these characters being part of a series where their names have been introduced and mentioned numerous times, making naming them all over again redundant when viewed as a continuous narrative.

Molly Weasley was never named in the film to my recollection, but anyone watching the films know who she is.

The "name" concept is simply there to avoid a pass given to female characters who talk, but whose characterization and role in the narrative is so lacking and unimportant to the film that they aren't named.

Such an acute application of the rule would be just as inappropriate if a film had several female characters engaging in conversation in a film where NO characters are named. Because you simply forgot what an important character's name was from Part I to Part II isn't reflective of the character suddenly being unimportant to the narrative.

"The naming concept is ludicrously applied here because Petunia Padma or Professor Trelawney aren't explicitly named, with no regard to the context of these characters being part of a series where their names have been introduced and mentioned numerous times, making naming them all over again redundant when viewed as a continuous narrative."

Er, no. Names tend to get used fairly often in the course of conversation. The fact that so few females are named in this two-hour movie just goes to show how little their conversations matter relative to that of the males.

I agree with the rating. Yes, there are bits and pieces of dialogue between women, but single liners do not a conversation make. No two women in this film come close to having what could be called a conversation.

At the end -
Hermione: Bag?
Rose: Yeah.
Hermione: Jumper?
Rose: * nods *
Hermione: I’m going to miss you.

It's not much, but other movies have passed with similar exchanges. And yes, Rose is not named in the movie, but as many have said it was not included as we are expected to know from the books.

In response to Gaith's comment: Er, no. Names tend to get used fairly often in the course of conversation. The fact that so few females are named in this two-hour movie just goes to show how little their conversations matter relative to that of the males.

In real life, I hardly ever use names during the course of a conversation. I might call somebody by their name to get their attention and initiate a conversation. Most of the time body language and geographical proximity suffice however. In that sense, sticking to this naming rule is utter bollocks.

As for which character matters or doesn't, you can't apply these qualifications to a movie that is part of a series the way you can to a single movie. The metaverse created is (or should be) much larger and expanded and viewed in this manner.

I do not buy the argument that we're supposed to know characters' names from the books. This is not the book. This is the movie. This test is a test of the film industry, not a test of fiction in general. The fact remains that, for the film version, some characters were not characterized as deeply or even named. The decision to alter the presentation of the characters in that way for a different medium is something that needs to be examined and judged. The film version downplayed the significance of these characters to the narrative, so while the literary version of this story may pass, the film version does not.

And just as a reminder to HP defenders, that just because the movie might not pass the test, does not mean it's a bad movie. Just that it doesn't pass the test.

Luna and Cho are both named in the movie.

"Luna Lovegood: Lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Hasn't anyone heard of it? It's quite famous.

Cho Chang: Yes. But Luna, it's lost. For centuries now. There isn't a person alive today who's seen it."

The conversation was prompted by a question asked by Harry, but turns into an exchange between Luna and Cho. Cho at least is clearly not responding to Harry here. She's talking to Luna.

I see that most of the comments don't understand the Bechdel Test.

The three requirements to pass the test are:-

1) Should have atleast 2 NAMED female characters
2) They should have a conversation(both parties must say something directly only to each other)
3) The conversation(no matter how brief) must be about ANYTHING other than a man.


Now if you compare the examples given in comments above mine, you will find that most fail at Condition #2.


I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the rating, but the result of the test would stand as 'FAILED' unless proven otherwise.

Surely the "named" clause means named in the credits e.g. not "security guard" or "woman in street #1".

I love Harry Potter but I don't think this movie passes the test. Shouldn't there be some sort of meaningful interaction between the women. Luna and Cho are responding to Harry. Mrs. Weasley and Professor M. are only delivering comical sound bites. A comic one liner and a response to male character's questions do not constitute conversation.

That being said it still is a wonderful movie and there are plenty of strong inspiring female characters. It is still told essentially from a male perspective (ie Harry Potter) by a third person limited narrator.