Bechdel Test Movie List

In Blue Velvet, we certainly have at least two female characters. The rule does not explicitly specify this, but for a significant reading of the rule, the female characters should be either lead or supporting actors, not just an extra. Sandy as well as Dorothy are key figures to the plot, both being supporting actors with relevant characters. The first part of the test is thus passed. However, as the two women never talk to one another directly – not even when they meet in Jeffrey’s garden and home, where they see each other and react to their respective behaviors, but they don’t have a conversation – the film fails the second and third part of the Bechdel Test, and therefore the entire test as such.
(Mirco Lange)