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]] The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) [imdb]

This movie passed 3 of 3 tests (although dubious). It was entered by Mira on 2011-01-13 05:53:01.

Reviews

Comments

celery said:
There are more than two women: Clare and Alba. Granted, Alba is still a girl, but she's definitely female.
Message posted on 2011-01-22 22:42:19
Ruff said:
We can legitimately argue over whether their conversations were about men, but I'm at a loss to see how anyone could watch this movie and not notice more than one female character.

Clare talks with her friend Charisse briefly about food (and probably later about their new house). Clare talks with her mother and her sister (whose names I forget) about hair and other stuff. Clare talks with her daughter Alba, mostly about Henry but also stuff like whether to open the Christmas presents early. Older Alba talks to younger Alba about a dead bird (not sure if that should count as two characters -- two different actresses at least).

So it passes two tests without breaking a sweat, and just barely makes it past three.
Message posted on 2011-01-23 06:28:06
Timothy said:
I agree with celery and Ruff. The film passes all three tests, and whoever thought it passed none can't have been watching the same film.
Message posted on 2011-06-28 17:26:00
Moonshadow Kati said:
Seems like it's time to change the rating.
Message posted on 2011-11-03 22:08:13
neil (webmaster) said:
Based on the preceding comments I've updated the rating from 0/3 to 3/3.
Message posted on 2011-11-21 20:39:31
Evans said:
I think it scrapes a bare pass as there is a very brief exchange between Clare and her mother on her wedding day regarding her appearance. There is definitely no conversation between Charisse and Clare about food or anything else, and Clare's sole conversation with her daughter is exclusively about Henry.

More disturbingly, this is a good example of how men subtly erase women from their (women's) own history. The original story gives Clare's perspective equal prominence to that of Henry, and she is a three dimensional, fleshed out character with her own back story and inner world.

In the film, however, she has been reduced to an uninteresting support character, there purely as a pretty love interest to Henry. She really serves no other purpose and has had her own story eradicated.

Why did Niffenegger ever agree to male director, producer and script writers? Did she not see how Clare's story was ignored in the process?
Message posted on 2012-08-23 13:12:11
Débora said:
Now that Evans mentioned, I notice how different the test would be in the book... there would be no doubt.

But still, the movie pass in the test because of Clare, Charisse, Alba, The Realtor...
Message posted on 2013-07-30 14:52:22
Drew Olds said:
I thought about the test shortly after watching this film, and I really thought it was a 2/3 pass.

But I might have misremembered some inconsequential exchange (which makes me think it is a dubious 3/3)

Because every moment in the film is about Henry.
Message posted on 2018-02-25 01:47:03

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