Bechdel Test Movie List

It has at least three women in it who talk to each other but most of the conversations center around Iron Man/Tony Stark. The women are at least presented as smart and capable people and not dependent on a man.

While almost all conversations between women revolve around Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, so do almost all conversations in the movie. He's the title character, remember?

Besides, in case you haven't noticed, there isn't a damn anti-feminist thing about this movie. All the women are presented as smart, talented, independent women. Borderline inhumanly so.

The fact that there was room for many side characters to be females is beside the point. It does pass all three the test, and as such it deserves a passing grade.

Pepper and Natasha do talk to each other about business (however briefly.)

Phil- relax.

what was the point of that comment, phildog? the movies on this website (BECHDELTEST.COM) are being rated in accordance with the three rules established by the aforementioned BECHDEL TEST. yeah yeah i know that any implication of feminist thought is, of course, a vicious personal attack on yourself (and marvel comics) but perhaps you'd be better suited to trolling reddit forums.

Both Pepper and Natasha talked about business and not just Tony Stark. Also Tony Stark is the main character so why is it a surprise that he is the focus.

The critical point her is that THEY DID TALK ABOUT STARK ENTERPRISES work, so the movie PASSES the test.

The minimum bechdeltest patrons/admins should do is present an honest portrayal of the movies they are criticizing.

I have to disagree with the rating as well. Pepper and Natasha talk about running Stark industries as well as Natasha's qualifications to do her new job. By the rules on this site, the movie should pass.

Sorry fanboys - this film does not pass the test. Pepper and Natasha do not talk about anything that is not Tony Stark related, including Stark Industries.

I feel your pain tho. I really want this film to be pro-women to. Better luck next time?

I felt like Pepper and Natasha exchanged pleasantries/formalities but did not participate in a substantive conversation. I'm not sure if I think that counts or not. It was kind of amazing how many scenes they were present together in without actually interacting.

There's a conversation between Pepper and the journalist about an article featuring women in power, it's really brief but it's there. It feels like cheating, but i think that technically, the movie passes the test.

They talk about Natasha's qualifications and about running the business (plane schedules, incoming meetings etc.). The assumption that this is about Stark Industries and therefore about a man seems far-fetched.

I have no doubts that this is a predominantly male movie, targeted at a male audience. But it still passes the test nonetheless.

I have to disagree with the ranking as well, It passes the test. It doesn't involve the man when they talk about Stark Enterprises.

The rules of this test are extremely simple. If all they talk is Iron Man, then they are only talk about the man. Also, I don't recall any conversation about business that wasn't related to Stark. That isn't to say it's anti-feminist; it just fails the test.

Phil, this doesn't test for feminist elements, it tests for female presence. The entire movie could comprise of mostly women, but if the only characters who hold a conversation of any substance are men, the movie fails the test.

I also agree that talking about Stark Enterprises doesn't count as "talking about a man" because A) I believe Pepper is the CEO at that point and B) if talking about something that was founded/run by a man counted as "talking about a man", then this test would be almost useless.

Though the rules are arbitrary, they are exact.

Talking about a company - even if named after a man - is not talking about a man.

The rules also do not require characters to be major versus minor and do not require the characters or conversation to be of major significance.

You could have one 5 second conversation in the entire movie be between two women.

Julie: Hi Pam.
Pam: Hi Julie.
Julie: Great Yankees-Sox game last night, right?
Pam: Definitely. Ok, I'll see you later.

That would qualify, even if neither character are ever seen in the rest of the movie.

I think it should pass. Also, if I made movies, I would include the Julie and Pam conversation in everyone just to bother people running the test.

@Phildog: "The fact that there was room for many side characters to be females is beside the point. It does pass all three the test, and as such it deserves a passing grade."

This is exactly the kind of deeply internalized mindset that this test is trying to reveal and deconstruct. Why should a movie not "have room" for characters to be female? The implication here is that any-old character cannot be female--she can only be female if there is a reason for it (i.e. love interest, something hot to look at, etc.). The whole idea behind this test is to reveal that women in movies do not often have the kind of autonomy that men do. There has to be a reason for her to be there (much in the way that there used to need to be a reason for characters to be Black or Hispanic or any other minority), and usually that reason is romantic or sexual in nature. I just don't understand why this concept is so difficult for people, because it's pretty obvious to me.

This movie passes the test. Conversations about Stark Industries does not make the conversation about a man. A conversation about a man would include a man's name, he/him, or something about him in some way... not business talk or topics related to work. This was a great movie and I chose it as one that doesn't meet the standards for a test... but it does so now I have to watch another one :D.

I disagree with the rating and agree with almost every other commenter here. On a side note, are movie ratings at this site ever altered from the original rating?

Besides it being obvious that this film has powerful female characters (one of which dispatches over a dozen men, while the other runs a company), there are definitely conversations in the film between two women that do not involve a man. Hell, the conversation is about how she runs one of the most profitable companies in the narrative. I'm glad most people disagree with this rating.

Tony stark =/= Stark Industries.
Just like Tony stark =/= Iron Man (S.H.I.E.L.D. report)
Just like Donald trump =/= Trump casino [out of movie ex]

there is a conversation between Natasha and Pepper about Stark Industries.

- All men have a spinal cord.
- Stark Industries does not have a spinal cord.
- Ergo, Stark Industries is not a man.
- Ergo, a conversation about Stark Industries is not necessarily a conversation about a man.


Am I wrong? :)

As others have said, talking about a company *founded* by a man (but at the time run by a woman) is not talking about a man. Talking about Stark Industries is no different to talking about IBM in that regard -- should a movie fail the test if two women only talk about IBM?

Apparently contrary to popular belief, corporations are not people. Ergo, a conversation about Stark Industries is not a conversation about a person.

I agree with what everyone's saying above: Natasha and Pepper talk about business. That counts as a pass.

I've updated the rating from 2/3 to 3/3.

I'll believe that corporations are people when Texas executes one. Stark industries is not Tony stark.

But that aside, I don't know that the bechdel test actually says anything about "feminist" the movie is.
You could make a survival-movie about the strongest female character ever, alone in the wilderness, fighting wolves and bears, going through hardships, featuring no one else but her. And it would fail the test.
Or you could make a movie featuring two completely useless, stereotypical female characters with one scene of them talking about fashion and it would pass.

Can we talk about how Pepper runs the company and it's super bad-ass because she's super smart and capable?
Then at the end she's like OMG THIS IS TOO MUCH STRESS TONY TAKE IT BACK
that is upsetting to me. Yes it passed the test but that moment didn't really advance the plot and seemed unnecessary.

Rewatching and this movie definitly passes the test. Pepper and Natasha have many scenes together when they are obviuosly handling business and often ignoring Tony. the bit with Hammond's Demonstration that goes bady wrong it is the two of them in the audience and even if we can't hear anything they are obviuosly interacting. I agree with most other commentators, talking about the business you are CEO of, even if it was founded by a man, isn't talking about a man.

i believe that this movie qualifies the bechdel test. pepper and natasha talk about business of stark industries and also discuss the topic of infertility. this, along with the fact that they are portrayed as strong, independent, capable women makes this movie qualify the bechdel test

1. the reporter says she needs a quote from Potts for their powerful women issue and Potts says sure.
2. Potts and Natasha have filler talk about business while they're both on the phone with other people. It's not even clear what they say.
3. Natasha says "wheels up in 25 minutes" and Potts says okay

The first one is a setup for the "she wrote a spread for Tony and also wrote a story" joke.
The second one happens right before Roadie arrives and each woman tells him a different thing about where Tony is and then look at each other angrily.
The third one happens so we can feel rejected for Tony because both women are getting along now and don't need him.

Remember the Bechdel test was created as a laughably low bar.