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

[[2]] Godzilla (2014) [imdb]

This movie passed 2 of 3 tests. It was entered by NessieNos on 2014-05-13 18:22:34.

Reviews

Comments

NessieNos said:
The women in this film don't get much to do: The main ones are the first protagonist's wife, the second protagonist's wife, and the lead scientist's assistant. None of them have any plot impact except by dying to motivate a man, and none of them ever share the screen. The only two exchanges between women in the entire film involve Second Protagonist's Wife (Elizabeth Olsen) hearing from one co-worker that Second Protagonist is on the phone, and later telling a co-worker to evacuate her son. So both conversations consist of just a couple lines, and both are about men.
Message posted on 2014-05-13 18:22:34
Dean disagreed with the rating and said:
I'm fairly certain that neither of those co-workers has a name and so I don't think it even qualifies that far.
Message posted on 2014-05-17 04:37:20
LilianaoftheVeil disagreed with the rating and said:
I am certain that there are at least two named females, Elle being protagonist's wife, Sandra being his mom, and Laura being wife's coworker. Elle and Laura talk about evacuating the city. While son is mentioned in the conversation, I believe the main premise of the conversation is evacuation. I believe it barely passes all three tests.
Message posted on 2014-05-17 23:22:41
Kaelee said:
I remember Second Protagonist's Wife telling her son the coworker's name when she entrusted her with him to evacuate. So it does (barely) qualify for a 2/3.
Message posted on 2014-05-18 07:03:54
camadnatim said:
Don't forget that the women played their role by being hysterical. Isn't that what they are for? (sarcasm disclaimer)
Message posted on 2014-05-18 23:32:05
Kaitune said:
@Dean

I am not sure about the first co-workers, but the second co-worker was definitely given a name when she was talking to Elle. I think she (VERY) briefly talked to Elle about her own safety at first, but the conversation quickly switched to Elle's son. Might be a couple of non-man related sentences at best.

It is kinda sad that the only female who is doing anything significant is the female monster.
Message posted on 2014-05-19 16:17:12
Aurelian disagreed with the rating and said:
Said co-worker is has a name: Dona or something, and there are two discussions, and i would not catalog Sam Ford, the son, as a man, but as a child. and as such discussing evacuation for the child is something other than talking about men. Although the discussion came around Brody not being there on time. I remember making a clear mental note about it.
So imho it's a 3/3, but just barely. This in regard to the test, but when it comes to female roles and impact... they serve mostly as devices or aids, and that is bad.
Message posted on 2014-05-20 08:27:52
Charlie said:
I just saw the movie and would ask, with such broad rules is it fair to say anything barely passes? I also remember the dialog about evacuation but it included talk of staying behind for the husband. I fell like the very idea of having to split hairs to find a 3/3 pass only adds to the point that the test aims to highlight. I agree with the rating.
Message posted on 2014-05-21 02:30:25
Geoff said:
I think they only mention the name of the coworker just to try to pass the test. it's so minor of a moment and her character name isn't listed in the credits.
Message posted on 2014-06-12 23:52:34
Michael said:
It's funny that the Second Protagonist's wife's coworker was so minor and forgettable that two comments disagree on her name. I certainly can't remember it, and I wouldn't consider her "named".
Message posted on 2014-06-27 14:44:54
Brendan said:
I am a huge Godzilla fan and saw this movie 15 times when it came out. That is why it pains me to say that yes, the initial rating is correct. This movie did not make the cut. While her work friend is named, I don't remember what the name was, but I remember the scene. Elizabeth Olsen's character is dropping her son off at the bus and says "Sam, you remember ______; she's mommy's work friend." And on IMDB, she is credited merely as "Head Nurse", but the character was named.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth Olsen's character (Elle) never talked to her outside the context of her son or husband. Elle did talk about the evacuation with someone without referring to her son but it was a black, male EMT as he was wheeling people out on gurneys. After he explains that they're evacuating patients, her nurse friend comes (putting her coat on over her pink scrubs; yes, shut up, I am a fan boy) and asks if Elle wants her to take Sam. There maybe, MAYBE, a sentence passed between them that isn't related to Sam or Ford. So, no the movie only passes the first 2 items.

@Kaitune
To be fair, I think the female MUTO was going to do more than any human female character; she destroyed Vegas, after all. Godzilla did more than any of the males did.
Message posted on 2014-07-31 04:05:18
Peter said:
Let's not forget Dr. Graham is in this movie too. It's not only Elle/Sandra/work friend. It manages to pass 2 of them, but it certainly doesn't pass #3
Message posted on 2014-10-27 05:19:05
Louise said:
My question is what happened to "Mommy's work friend, Laura"? After Elle hands Sam over to her, we never see her again. She isn't in any of the scenes on the bus & she certainly does not help the bus driver maintain quiet on the bus. Did the kids throw her off the bus?
Message posted on 2016-03-06 23:09:17

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