Bechdel Test Movie List

Claire Dearing has a conversation with her sister Karen that includes talk about their family and mother.

I completely disagree with this rating. This film portrays highly sexist stereotypes of male and female roles. The lead female is supposed to seem successful because she holds a senior position in the Jurassic World company, knows her business management theory so well, and is so organised and in control of things. Yet she can't see what's going on in front of her nose - that the business is corrupt and executives completely reckless, all in the name of profit. The message that I got from it was that this was not really important because she had perfect hair, skin, and make-up and was hot and was probably earning a really good salary and that is success for a woman, right?
Then her relationship with the dinosaur trainer was also appallingly sexist. When the s**t hits the fan and the reckless behaviour of the company is exposed (i.e., monster dinosaur escapes its cage), she needs a man to save her. But not just any man, she needs a rebel who lives alone in the jungle and who understands dinosaurs on an emotional level but will also shoot them with a huge gun if they go feral. And she is prepared to show him that she will ruin her outfit and run in high heels if it means that he will help her save her nephews from being eaten by the dinosaurs. Then despite all his toughness and her superficiality, they fall in love because he's really just a nice guy with a soft heart and massive biceps and is hot. And she doesn’t want to be a career woman after all, she’s really prefer to be a mother and a husband like her sister.
I also disagree with the comment that talking with her sister about family is not a sexist stereotype. A strong female stereotype is that we are all nurturers and always think of our families first. If she had been explaining the genetic modification process to her sister because they were interested in it, then this would have been an example of a non-stereotypical conversation between women. This film was offensive to any woman who wants to be valued for her intellect.

The sister talks to her assistant about scheduling. It is in relation to when she will meet up with the nephews, but it is about time so technically it might pass.

On a side note, the dialogue was horrible in this movie, so the standard shouldn't be set to high.

Yea, the movie had lots of weird retrograde sexism in it. That doesn't affect the rating, though. The little bits of scheduling talk slip it in under the wire. Remember, the test is a great starting off point but it isn't perfect. Sucker Punch passed the test while Gravity failed it.

Sophie, saying the film passes the Bechdel test - which it does - does not therefore mean that it is officially Not Sexist in other ways. It may well be offensive and full of stereotypes and so on, but it still passes the test that this website is about.

Claire's conversation with her sister is about her two nephews (two men). Claire's conversation with her assistant are about the whereabouts of said nephews.

Blue and Indominus Rex converse in addition to Claire and Karen.

Claire and Karen have a conversation on the phone regarding their mother and Karens career. Claire also have brief conversation with the female computer operator in the control room regarding Indomitus rex escaping. (Her name is mentioned later by the male geeky operator, but I can't remember it just now.)

In addition to the already mentioned conversations between Claire and Karen about their mother and Claire and Zara about scheduling (that conversation does include a mention of a meeting that Claire needs to attend prior to picking up her nephews, so the conversation DOES pass), there are multiple conversations between Claire and Vivian the control room employee about the paddock situation and the Indominus Rex's path.

Hi Sophie whether the movie is sexist or not isn't what the bechdel test is about.

It's a very low bar - do two female characters have a conversation about something other than a man?

They do in Jurassic World, so it passed

Sophie the point of the test is to show that women are represented in film not how they are or weather it is sexist. This movie meets all the requirements of the test and therefore meets it. Personally I think most of the characters in the movie are badly stereotyped and Clare is not the exception. I certainly wouldn't go as far to say that the movie is sexist just shows there is a problem with Hollywood in general of thinking they are playing it safe by meeting expectations.

Claire also talks to the other woman in the control room (Vivian Kril) about dinosaurs and work related things. Whether you agree the film was sexist or not, you can not deny it passes the Bechdel test.

1. It has multiple named women talking
2. To each other
3. And the sole topic is not men.

The point of the test is not to make a definitive determination about sexism in a particular film, many films can pass the test and still be sexist, it is simply an easy way to prove the majority of films are sexist.

@Sophie: The rating is not about how sexist the movie is, it's about whether or not it passes the three rules in the Bechdel Test. It clearly does pass.

Most of the dinosaurs were female. When regarding the humans, they don't discrimnate on gender and might as well be communicating about their non-gendered meal.

I disagree with sophie's entire statement as this test has nothing to do with isms or stereotypes. Simply the three stated questions above.

I have to disagree. Claire and Karen talk about other things but the main topic of the conversation is clearly the boys. Zara and Claire's conversation about scheduling also revolves around them, this movie certainly didn't pass.

That's not the conversation, that's a fragment of the conversation. It starts off talking about the boys. Karen then guilt-trips Claire (she's supposed to have the weekend off to take care of them but is working today) using mum's words which Claire calls her on. The conversation leads back to Karen telling Claire she'll understand when she settles down and has kids of her own. The conversation as a whole is about boys, men and kids quite clearly.

I don't think Claire was as much of needing a man to save her, as she neeeded someone who knows their stuff about dinosaurs to help her find the boys in the park. It was said over and over again throughout the movie that she didn't really know/care to know that much about the animals.

It really ought to be given a dubious tag, since her conversation with her sister and assistant is all about the boys. I think she also does talk to Krill (control room girl) about maintaining park conditions in the midst of the Indominus mess.

This is a profoundly depressing movie for women. The only 'qualifying' conversation was between the two dinosaurs. Our Heroine discussed her nephews with her sister and her assistant. The conversation between Our Heroine and the Control Room person was about a male dinosaur. They even had to make some of the dinosaurs male this time.

That being said, the shoes do have a great scene toward the end, so don't dis the shoes - it's very Ginger Rogers.

Indominius Rex is not a male dinosaur? The raptors aren't either. What male dinosaurs are you talking about?

It passes three times:
1. Claire and Karen talk about their mother.
2. Zara and Claire talk about scheduling (not just about scheduling around the boys).
3. Blue and Indominus talk about eating humans.

I thought Claire was stronger than people are giving her credit for, but even if her portrayal were sexist, that would be irrelevant to the test.

It does not pass

1) Conversations between women that are supposed to pass are actually about the boys (would be girls, it would pass, but they are male gender...)
2) we don't know what are the dinosaurs talking about (maybe they discuss the men flesh tenderness over the women one)

An extremely sexist movie and insulting to anyone's intelligence.

Bryce Dallas Howard starts off as a cold, ice-queenly executive, and ends up as a subservient mess to Chris Pratt's macho warrior.
One cringe worthy scene was when they were hiding from the dinosaurs. As the manager of the park, you'd expect she'd know the park inside out. Instead she cringes in a corner, whimpering, while he struts his manly stuff, picking up guns and jumping over skulls and other stuff.

At the end, she's reduced to a mess, who asks Chris, "What do we do now?", while he says with a manly glare, "Stick together to survive." Aka 'you're my baby now.'

I don't see why she couldn't have been a respected, cool-headed, strong woman who rescued her nephews, even if she didn't like children.

Sexism and stupidity do not mean the movie fails the test. Why did no one point out that the boys mom says that it is a family weekend? Usually those involve a family not an Aunt and her nephews.

@j20b They had male dinosaurs in the first movie. the whole problem was that the frog DNA allowed them to mutate and breed.

Both conversations the women have with each other revolve around the nephews.

Not sure why people are calling this movie sexist. Bryce Howard's character is a strong, independent and successful woman and basically saves everyone at the end. This is actually one of the most feminist movies i've seen in a long time.

The purpose of the women's conversations is to support men/boys. A few lines about mom doesn't change that.

Yes, it passes the test, but barely.

Claire talks with her sister about the boys, but also about herself and what is she doing with her life or something. But still, the boys parents are not at all important to the plot whatsoever. You could easily remove them from the movie and nobody would care. So removing them from the movie would remove the sisters' conversation.

Claire talks to her assistant about the boys, and according to some of you cause I don't remember, Claire talks to the female nerd about dinosaurs and stuff, so yeah, here it passes the test.

This kind of three-star rating is an example of why this test is fallible. While it met all the criteria, I found Ant-Man (which didn't) to have a better example of a strong, independent woman.

This also passes because Claire and Vivan (the red head in the control room) talk about the park operations

tbh I think this movie was a load of shit. the portrayal of women in the movie was horrendous and it prompts sexist ane inflammatory comments from males. also, the idea that two female dinosaurs are communication means that it passes the bechdel test???? that's a stretch of I ever heard one. this test is about the representation of human females, not reptiles. another point being Claire's status as a "career woman": a high position in the company but has no luck in dating and seems to have no conscience and then finds love at the end of the movie is a continuation of an awful stereotype that makes women think they can't be successful professionals and have healthy relationships. ?????? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ im not a fan of this movie. it made me feel like shit and it kind of printed violence against women and a view of women as useless and expendable.

This film does earn a very, very slim pass. Even if you discount the conversations between Claire and Karen, and between Claire and Zara, there is at least one definite qualifier.
Near the beginning, before everything falls apart, Claire has a brief discussion with Vivian (control room girl) about the Pachycephalosaurus enclosure. Claire asks why the area is closed, Vivian explains that one has escaped, Claire criticises the security measures, Vivian reassures her that the dinosaur has been captured, and Claire then asks how long it will be before it is put back, prompting Vivian to tell her that it has only just been tranquilized.

I had an interesting conversation with a friend about this movie and the Bechdel-Wallace test, and I wanted to get everyone else's thoughts. Do conversations between or with animals count? We know that all of the dinosaurs are female (or are supposed to be), and the raptors definitely have names.

Larisa I would say that since nobody is capable of understanding what it is the raptors are saying we shouldn't count it. For all we know they are talking about men exclusively

First of all: I think the movie passes the test.

On another note, I personally never thought that any of the Jurassic Park movies are sexist, simply because all the dinosaurs are females and they only tend to eat male characters (with the assistent in JW as the only exception)

Actually the whole theme of the movies is kinda based on Ian Malcolms words in JP1: "Dinosaurs eat man..... Woman inherits the earth." ;)

Late to the party but the argument in these comments is pretty entertaining. The movie clearly passes the test (named women talk about park operations and scheduling as well as men and families). People who are outraged, you do realize that male-gaze porn like 'Debbie Does Dallas' easily passes the Bechdel test (women talk about football and money) while movies like 'Gravity' (in which a woman basically talks herself through a problem by pretending she's talking to George Clooney) do not? It's not a measure of feminism.

Claire's sister, Karen asked her if she was okay at the very end, and after Claire was clearly expecting her to tear her to shreds about her sons. And Claire nods, which counts as a response back. Test passed.