Bechdel Test Movie List

/bech·del test/ n.
1. It has to have at least two [named] women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

[[3]] Mandy (2018) [imdb]

This movie passed 3 of 3 tests. It was entered by llamakiller on 2018-10-29 21:51:58.

Reviews

Comments

llamakiller said:
There's more than 2 named female characters, but all they talk about is their cult leader and lover Jeremiah.
Message posted on 2018-10-29 21:51:58
Jeremy DeForrest said:
Mandy and Mother Marlene talk about where Mandy lives and a book Mandy is reading. This happens at a convince store where Mandy works. This is the only instance in the film where two women talk about something other than the cult leader, who is a man.
Message posted on 2018-11-02 05:38:24
Matt said:
- There are more than two named female women in this movie: Mandy and Mother Marlene
- Who talk to each other: inside the Gas Station where Mandy is the cashier
- about something besides a man: about what book Mandy is reading, where she lives, how much something costs. Complicated because Marlene is there to gather details for the cult to kidnap Mandy.

about 20/30 minutes into the film.
Message posted on 2018-12-11 19:21:08
Felipe said:
I agree with the rating and disagree with the comments because: Yes, it is true that the two character talk about other than men. But the reasons why the mother is at the store and has a conversation with Mandy, has the underlying intention of a man. The mother didn't care about Mandy, only for the information she could get about her for her son Jeremiah. So it is not a legitimate women-to-women conversation. Therefore an invalid argument. And the rating is right.
Message posted on 2020-02-19 17:58:33
philip said:
I have to disagree with the rating as well. This film passes—albeit barely—because of the gas station conversation.

Felipe's assertion that "the reasons why the mother is at the store and has a conversation with Mandy, has the underlying intention of a man" is true, but a character's motivation is irrelevant to the Bechdel test. A character's motivation *is* of course relevant to any feminist critical analysis of a film, but the Bechdel test is not the be-all-end-all of such analysis. Indeed, I'm sure there are plenty of pieces of misogynist trash that pass the test.

The third criterion is simple: the characters must talk about something other than a man. Several topics are discussed in the gas station scene, and since a man is not one of them, this film satisfies the criterion. It's not a feminist film by any stretch of the imagination, but it meets the bare minimum standards specified by the Bechdel test.
Message posted on 2022-04-13 20:51:01
neil (webmaster) said:
I've updated the rating from 2/3 to 3/3.
Message posted on 2022-04-21 09:16:14

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