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]] Wonder Woman (2017) [imdb]

This movie passed 3 of 3 tests. It was entered by Ann on 2016-11-04 11:29:48.

Reviews

Comments

Aduro disagreed with the rating and said:
umm, can we wait for the movie to come up before testing it? I know its very likely to pass, but its sensible to wait (Especially considering how misleading trailers can be).
Message posted on 2016-12-09 03:11:23
Juanfraner said:
Why is this movie approved when it isn’t even released? Somebody foresaw it? Or just based on the trailer?
Message posted on 2016-12-15 22:35:11
riepichiep disagreed with the rating and said:
The movie is still in production, how could we know that he WILL pass?
Because of trailer-scenes? We do not know if all the scenes will be in the movie.
In fact, it is too early to decide, if Wonder Woman will pass or will not pass the test
Message posted on 2016-12-19 19:05:37
Kino disagreed with the rating and said:
We can't say for certain that the movie passes the Bechdel test until we have seen the finished projected.

An early script was leaked, but it will have little bearing on the movie we see. And while the trailers show women talking, either one of them remains unnamed, or they're talking about a man.

I fully believe that the movie will pass the test in the end, but until we see it, we can't rate it.
Message posted on 2017-01-08 05:50:25
TPD disagreed with the rating and said:
How can you say this passes, it doesn't come out til June...
Message posted on 2017-01-16 21:16:37
Nicolas disagreed with the rating and said:
There is only one woman named in either trailer. This move hasn't passed any of the criteria yet.
Message posted on 2017-02-06 23:26:06
Stuart said:
It passes because Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) is from Themyscira, a land where the only gender demographic is women. Therefore the movie passing the test is a certainty.
Message posted on 2017-02-24 14:49:52
Eta said:
The movie trailers pass the bechdel test in multiple scenes. Highly likely those scenes won't be cut so the rating makes some sense.
Message posted on 2017-03-29 19:14:18
Dylan said:
Don't underestimate Hollywood's ability to write a movie about the island of straw feminists that only ever talk about how much men suck. I am hopeful but we really should wait and see.
Message posted on 2017-04-04 17:12:25
Arnold said:
Having seen the film, it absolutely passes all 3. The majority of the first 20 minutes is conversations between women without mention of a man in sight. And even without that, the conversation between Diana and Etta Candy while Diana is trying on clothing makes it qualify.
Message posted on 2017-06-02 05:52:11
Jose disagreed with the rating and said:
I have just watched the movie, the female characters only talk about Ares, the god of war (not a man, but a masculine figure). Perhaps the only moment they don't is when they discuss about Diana`s training, which is conditioned by the treat of Ares.
In the other hand, I think it passes the Furiosa Test.
Message posted on 2017-06-02 15:37:34
jmarq said:
Definitely passes. During the first fifteen or so minutes of the movie, there're only female characters and the only males they talk about are Ares and Zeus, and that's sporadically and in a historical context.
Message posted on 2017-06-02 16:13:02
Erica said:
1) The first segment of the movie takes place on an inland with a population made up entirely of women with almost every conversation passing the test and 2) Etta Candy and Diana Prince talk briefly about fashion... i.e. how can she fight in this outfit... mostly in comic relief, but it still counts.
Message posted on 2017-06-04 03:59:44
Le Quang said:
*Spolier alert

I agree with the rating. There are multiple female characters in the movie: Diana (Wonder Woman), Queen Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazon), General Antiope (an Amazon's warrior), Doctor Maru (Doctor Poison), and Etta Candy (Steve's secretary).

The first three talked to each other about the Amazon's origin, about the training of Diana among other things. Diana talked to Etta about clothes and weapons as well.
Message posted on 2017-06-04 14:34:14
Colleen said:
Now that it's finally out we can confirm that it does pass the test. Diana has conversations about fighting, their people, their history, and honour with Antiope and Hippolyta, the only time they talk about men is when they explain the fight between Ares and Zeus. It is evident that Diana and Antiope have a good relationship as well. Diana doesn't really talk about men other than Ares, whom she must destroy. And when she does meet a woman outside her island, Etta Candy (who is her best friend in the comics), they talk mostly about how unconventional women's clothing is.
Message posted on 2017-06-04 14:51:39
Erik said:
Since the movie has come out, I can say it passes. There might be a few arguable scenes (her conversation with Etta Candy about fashion and fighting could theoretically be about men since it's a comment on patriarchy; her conversations with other Amazons about the upcoming war is about Ares who is presumably male).

But the conversation between Hippolyta and Antiope about Diana and whether to train her definitely counts. And, hey, bonus points for using two named female characters who aren't the protagonist of the film!
Message posted on 2017-06-04 17:08:49
Rodrigo Ortiz Vinholo said:
Easy pass. The first couple of scenes with amazons does the trick, even though the second half of the movie doesn't really have Wonder Woman talking to women (there's a few lines with Etta that would guarantee the pass, though).
Message posted on 2017-06-05 02:44:47
Whitney disagreed with the rating and said:
If it does pass, it's by a slim margin. The entire movie is her surrounded by men. And the other two females are given lame roles despite being cool characters.
Message posted on 2017-06-05 03:03:10
Paran01ac said:
Hyppolyta and Antiope are talking to each other about whether Diana should receive a military training. Diana and Etta are speaking to each other a few times, discussing clothing and the safety of the sword and the shield.
Message posted on 2017-06-06 02:13:05
Richard said:
This movie has been officially released and it passes with flying colors.
Message posted on 2017-06-06 05:04:40
Firehazard said:
Having seen the film, I can say it definitely passes, especially in the first act. Diana, her mother and her aunt are all named and, by virtue of having living on an all-female island, have many conversations where men are not mentioned at all.
Message posted on 2017-06-06 10:25:16
Emily said:
This movie passes. Diana speaks with her mother Hippolyta and her aunt Antiope about various aspects of training, fighting and weapons.
Message posted on 2017-06-08 03:52:07
Julia disagreed with the rating and said:
I saw the film today and while named women talk to each other on the (women only) island at the start of the film, they are all related to each other, not friends. Also most of the women get slaughtered!

The only other woman/woman relationship is between Gal Gadot and Lucy Davis and 1. is not friendship and 2. Not not about men!

Very surprised a film like this has so many men and so much mansplaining.
Message posted on 2017-06-11 20:03:21
wobster109 said:
I watched the movie and confirmed that it passes.
1. Diana and her mother Queen Hippolyta are two named women.
2 and 3. Near the beginning of the movie when Diana is a child, she asks Hippolyta to let her train. Her mother says no. Diana says, what if she doesn't use a sword, or what if she trains with only a shield? Hippolyta says there is no need for her to train.
Message posted on 2017-06-12 16:22:00
pillravi said:
Having seen the movie, I can confirm it passes. Diana, Hippolyta, and Antiope have several conversations between each pair of women about Diana's training and the "god killer" sword. Diana asks Etta to protect the sword with her life; the pair also talks about clothes.
Message posted on 2017-06-15 14:23:19
Joe S. said:
As predicted moving easily passes the test.
Diana has multiple conversations with multiple named characters, (Hippolyta, Antiope, Etta,) something other than mentioned. Granted, typically about fighting.

Also they took the trouble to give names to multiple Amazon's who would normally be faceless background characters/ mooks.
Message posted on 2017-06-16 15:37:52
Shinny disagreed with the rating and said:
Strongly disagree that it passes the test. All the scenes people refer to? They all occur when there are no men in existence. The milisecond a man enters the plot, it grinds to a screeching halt and the Bechdel test is flunked outrageously. In my view, those first 15 minutes mean the film fails the test that much harder. You don't get points for passing the Bechdel test when it's literally impossible to fail, especially if you fail as hard as possible for the rest of the film once it is possible.
Message posted on 2017-06-18 20:18:41
stares_at_llamas disagreed with the rating and said:
I have to vehemently agree with Shinny. The conditions of the first part of the film shouldn't qualify for consideration since there are no men to be considered as a possible topic of conversation in the first place. And I can't recall any situation in which it would pass the test after (the two main characters) leave the bubble.
Message posted on 2017-07-11 03:40:14
C. said:
You people disagreeing are making up criteria that doesn't exist.

(1) There's no need for them to be "friends" for this to pass. In the original test criteria set out by Bechdel, the 2 "females" were Sigourney Weaver and the Alien!

(2) it doesn't have to pass within EVERY scene in the movie for it to pass. Just because it passes in the first act (all the Amazons) and second act (with Diana and Etta), but not the third act, doesn't mean it doesn't pass. The criteria is INTENTIONALLY easy to pass by having the very low bar of simply ONE exchange that meets criteria. And there are MULTIPLE in this movie.

(3) Abstract connections (the patriarchy) are not "talking about a man". Talking about the constrictions of women's clothes definitely counts. Also saying that talking about Diana's training is "really" about Ares is absurdly reaching. I mean if that's the case ANY female led movie would fail if ultimately she fights a male opponent because one could argue that "the whole movie was leading to this climax".

Stop trying so hard to be contrary, people. It's blatantly obvious that the movie passes far beyond the requirements (which are clearly listed at the top--stop adding your own qualifiers)
Message posted on 2017-07-11 17:43:29
Maurice Greer said:
@shinny u don't think you understand what this test does. Its a simple test. The movie passes it easily.
Message posted on 2017-07-12 03:30:40
Jen said:
Do you dissenters even read?

- If the PRIMARY subject of dialogue is something other than a man, regardless of intent, it passes. You can't discuss intent behind words, because 1. you can't truly know what the character is thinking without the character narrating it, and 2. there would never be a way to grade the test if every little thing that comes within punching distance of the speakers has to be 100% free of a man's even theoretical taint.

- What "slim margin"? If it passes, it passes. The only grey area is if the ONLY qualifying "conversation" is (not) about a man. Things that men have been involved with do not themselves count as men, or they would similarly count as women, because men and women have yet to be able to exist 100% independently of each other in real life. Also, how can you complain it passes when no women are involved, then insist that men are always involved when men ARE around?

- When does the Bechdel Test have to do with friendship/relationships between the women involved?

- Etta and Diana talk to each other about the clothes Diana is trying on. Men totally exist then--they were not vanquished from the universe.

Stop trying to overthink it! It's a "joke" rule that happens to point out some problems with representation. It's not any more a science than if I made up a Jen Test where a movie passes if there's a cat in it. ("Would it pass if a dog was called a cat, or vice versa?")
Message posted on 2017-07-12 04:48:49
Thursday Violist said:
Shinny:

The test does not analyze what percent of the movie has no men in it. The test does not analyze what happens after the introduction. The test does not analyze what happens throughout 9/10ths of the movie. The test does not analyze whether or not "it's literally impossible to fail". The test does not analyze the impact of women on the plot. The test does not analyze the absence of men. The test cannot be failed after it passes, or pass after it fails. The test doesn't require treating men as irrelevant.

Instead, the test analyzes the (1) presence of named women who (2) talk with each other (3) not about men. This just has to happen once throughout the entire movie, and it doesn't even have to fill a minute. The reason why the test is useful is because it's so simple. Making the test more complicated would make the test more useless in a non-academic setting.

Just because you disagree with the test does not mean the movie fails the test.
Message posted on 2017-07-14 23:08:54
Andre said:
It totally passes it! It doesn't matter if in the first act there are no men. Actually, even with no men, they have conversations about Zeus, Ares and other gods (that definitely can be seen as men) and they talk about how the amazons were "to bring love to the men" or something like that. So even with no men in scene, they talk about them. But are all talks about them?? NO. So it passes.
Message posted on 2017-09-26 03:18:24
Gregory Pearl said:
I agree with this rating however, Batman v Superman should absolutely fail this test for one reason: Wonder Woman's introduction into film started with an incredibly MISOGYNISTIC statement. "Is she with you?" says Superman. "I thought she was with you." replies Batman. You just KNOW a man wrote that line. That is all....
Message posted on 2019-10-24 00:06:24
Robert Scythe said:
Gregory Pearl

How is this "MISOGYNISTIC"? Wonder Woman shows up without either of them knowing where she came from and, because the situation requires an enhanced individual, they both assume that the other contacted her. There is enough misogyny in films that one does not need to stretch like this to find it.
Message posted on 2020-09-01 21:07:50
Linny said:
It passes the test, but it's important to remember that the test itself was not meant to be a high bar. I was disappointed, like Shinny, that the movie focused so much on men at all. Even Amy Schumer's I Feel Pretty feels more feminist and interested in women's experiences than this movie. Once Chris Pine shows up, the only other woman (going from an all female island) is much less prominently featured. Her and her all male troupe didn't pique me as of the spirit of Wonder Woman, but as series of scenes of a woman performing/proving her immense competence for an audience of men. Which seems to serve a male audience, and ignore female relatability. It passes, but I wished Themysceria went on for much longer than just fifteen minutes.
Message posted on 2021-07-25 09:02:41

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