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]] Black Panther (2018) [imdb]

This movie passed 3 of 3 tests. It was entered by YoMa on 2018-02-16 04:28:37.

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Comments

YoMa said:
Several named female characters who have conversations, mostly about the villain (male) and the hero (male). Nakia and Okoye have at least one conversation which covers several topics, such as (briefly) the safety of the Queen Mother and Princess.
Message posted on 2018-02-16 04:28:37
Serpentina said:
Shuri tells Nakia to put on a military outfit stressing that it is armor when Nakia protests.
Message posted on 2018-02-24 22:24:29
Not-Sher disagreed with the rating and said:
Spoilers, obviously.

I'm actually not positive that this single conversation, the only example being given for Black Panther "shattering" the Bechdel test in many cases, is sufficient proof.

While there is a clear subtext to the conversation involving nationalism and an exploration of the value structures of both Okoye and Nakia; the actual conversation's key components are about how Nakia loves T'challa, and how she can't believe that Okoye is going to serve his usurper, who is of course male.

The conversation does touch briefly on other topics, but unless we consider topic changes to be entirely different conversations then this one doesn't meet the criteria.

I can't recall any other conversations that would qualify, but I would love to be proven wrong.
Message posted on 2018-03-03 22:04:48
Sahil said:
Wont safety of the queen also involve talking about villain directly?
Message posted on 2018-03-04 21:31:49
Marc said:
Okoye: "Get this ridiculous thing off my head".
Nakia: "Just swish it back and forth"
Message posted on 2018-03-13 19:41:03
Jeniouis said:
Two women also discuss their country, and it brings up a very thought provoking conversation of duty vs morality. There is another brief conversation, between to women, about whether an object should be passed along to an enemy or kept within the original tribe.
Message posted on 2018-03-14 22:43:54
FireHazard said:
There are a number of brief conversations between named characters that don't involve a man.

When T'Challa, Okoye and Nakia arrive in Wakanda, Okoye tells Ayo to take Nakia to the river province, and Ayo responds "Yes, General"

During the car chase scene, Nakia asks Okoye what she is doing, and Okoye tells her to just drive.

Shuri and Nakia have two exchanges during the final battle, where they briefly discuss Nakia wearing a Dora Milaje uniform and later when Shuri asks Nakia if she is okay after being injured.

They are small moments, but they all feature named female characters and aren't about a man.
Message posted on 2018-07-01 12:08:27
Damien said:
By a strict definition, Black Panther only barely passes the Bechdel-Wallace test, but only because the villain happens to be male and his tyranny dominates most of the lead characters’ psyches. One particularly poignant conversation happens between Okoye and Nakia just after Killmonger takes the throne. Nakia wants to immediately overthrow his rule, while Okoye must remain loyal to the throne. The substance of this conversation is actually the difference in station and outlook between the two women, but having this discussion without mentioning T’Challa or Killmonger would have just seemed odd. Even the scene where Shuri, Nakia, and Ramonda are fleeing to the Jabari is a fail - even though it’s a meaningful conversation that reveals much about each character (Ramonda still has zero trust for those outside her tribe, while Nakia views herself as “less than” because she is a spy in a nation that reveres warriors) the conversation fails because they mention that M’Baku May become a bigger monster than Killmonger once given the Heart-Shaped Herb.

This might be a scanty reference but I feel like Judge Dredd at the end of DREDD and the film is Judge Anderson: it fails if we stick rigidly to the letter of the law but I still want to give it a pass since it honors the spirit and the intent of the rule.
Message posted on 2019-10-08 01:40:04
Tetsu Lin said:
Hi. This is for an assignment I am doing for my BIS 341 class at the University of Washington

Black Panther more than any other film I’ve watched in my life, represents African, and African American cultures, issues, and its people beautifully, and respectfully. It’s a rather fascinating film because it details a conversation that I hadn’t heard before how Africa and its diaspora can (African Americans in particular) come together in order to grow & heal together. It’s a movie on what it means to be black in both Africa, and the U.S. Something you just don’t see on screen. Ever. To see an mostly all black cast was awesome to see as well. Too often do I feel like Hollywood, and its movies are represented by white Americans. The movie doesn’t dodge themes about race & identity but rather tackles issues head on. Issues of disparity, colonialism, modern black-life, and many more are addressed. Black Panther at time of its release was only one of the only superhero movies to feature a black superhero. This was along with an African-American director as well. The movie does an amazing job in inspiring the many African Americans in this country who feel who were never represented in Hollywood. As a person of color myself, I thought the movie was utterly brilliant, and my favorite marvel film.

Looking at what the test says, the movie passes the Bechdel Test. Some moments where the qualifications of the test are met are when Kania teases Okoye about her wig, Sophia chides Nakia on her tendency to make trouble and Shuri tells Nakia to put on some armor. However, the movie only passes the test because of the basic qualifications. In many areas of the film where ladies have a lead role, the conversations revolve around a man. For example, there is the conversation between Nakia and Okoye have about how to deal with Killmonger after T’Challa is overthrown. In one way, you could see this conversation could be about nationalism and loyalty to one’s country. But to go through that scene without mentioning T’Challa or Killmonger feels weird. So, in the end the conversation revolved around a man.
Message posted on 2020-02-03 22:51:43
Tetsu Lin said:
Looking at what the test says, the movie passes the Bechdel Test. Some moments where the qualifications of the test are met are when Kania teases Okoye about her wig, Sophia chides Nakia on her tendency to make trouble and Shuri tells Nakia to put on some armor. However, the movie only passes the test because of the basic qualifications. In many areas of the film where ladies have a lead role, the conversations revolve around a man. For example, there is the conversation between Nakia and Okoye have about how to deal with Killmonger after T’Challa is overthrown. In one way, you could see this conversation could be about nationalism and loyalty to one’s country. But to go through that scene without mentioning T’Challa or Killmonger feels weird. So, in the end the conversation revolved around a man.
Message posted on 2020-02-03 22:59:26
Tetsu Lin said:
Looking at what the test says, the movie passes the Bechdel Test. Some moments where the qualifications of the test are met are when Kania teases Okoye about her wig, Sophia chides Nakia on her tendency to make trouble and Shuri tells Nakia to put on some armor. However, the movie only passes the test because of the basic qualifications. In many areas of the film where ladies have a lead role, the conversations revolve around a man. For example, there is the conversation between Nakia and Okoye have about how to deal with Killmonger after T’Challa is overthrown. In one way, you could see this conversation could be about nationalism and loyalty to one’s country. But to go through that scene without mentioning T’Challa or Killmonger feels weird. So, in the end the conversation revolved around a man.
Message posted on 2020-02-03 22:59:34
Tetsu Lin said:
Looking at what the test says, the movie passes the Bechdel Test. Some moments where the qualifications of the test are met are when Kania teases Okoye about her wig, Sophia chides Nakia on her tendency to make trouble and Shuri tells Nakia to put on some armor. However, the movie only passes the test because of the basic qualifications. In many areas of the film where ladies have a lead role, the conversations revolve around a man. For example, there is the conversation between Nakia and Okoye have about how to deal with Killmonger after T’Challa is overthrown. In one way, you could see this conversation could be about nationalism and loyalty to one’s country. But to go through that scene without mentioning T’Challa or Killmonger feels weird. So, in the end the conversation revolved around a man.
Message posted on 2020-02-04 00:13:04
Lin said:
By the basic definition, the movie passes the Bechdel Test. Some moments where the qualifications of the test are met are when Kania teases Okoye about her wig, Sophia chides Nakia on her tendency to make trouble and Shuri tells Nakia to put on some armor for battle. However, the movie only passes the test because of the basic qualifications. In many areas of the film where ladies have a lead role, the conversations revolve around a man. For example, there is the conversation between Nakia and Okoye have about how to deal with Killmonger after T’Challa is overthrown. In one way, you could see this conversation could be about nationalism and loyalty to one’s country. But to go through that scene without mentioning T’Challa or Killmonger feels weird. So, in the end the conversation revolved around a man.
Message posted on 2020-02-04 19:14:04
H.a said:
I believe it passes the Bechdel test because there are more than two named women in the film who have conversations about topics other than men. To name a few, Sophia (Korean ahjumma) taking to Nakia to get entrance into the meeting site. Shuri talking to Nakia about armor. Finally, Nakia and Okoye talking about their disguise.
Message posted on 2020-02-05 05:28:37
Selene said:
The scenes were brief, and the conversations were not that intellectual but there scenes where it is two women talking to each other in the film. Like when Nakia and Okoye(very briefly), discuss Okoyes wig.
Message posted on 2020-02-06 06:21:29
$isi said:
I believe that the movie just so passes the Bechdel test, there are scenes between 2 women talking about something besides a man but they are very brief. Like for instance, when Nakai and Okoye are having a conversation about Okoye's wig, where Okoye says "... I can get this ridiculous thing off my head" and Nakia responds to that, "It looks nice. Just whip it back and forth" and to that Okoye counteracts with, "What. It's a disgrace".
Message posted on 2020-02-06 06:48:26
Guzman said:

This film was directed by Ryan Coogler, a man who identifies of color. He is a film producer and a screenwriter. Black Panther was produced by Kevin Feige and David J. Grant. The main protagonists in the film were the women and the black panther named, T'Challa. The women were the ones that protected, and saved the land of Wakanda. One of their struggles for T'Challa was protecting the throne and the pressure of being a good king. And for the women, it was the women the struggle to change the traditions to help other countries around them, to save Wakanda.

The politics of representation of the film was how men were the ones dominating and taking the lead because they were in power. But there were women there protecting and assisting the king, especially when they wanted to make a change and unite with other countries around them and have T'Challa become king again (1:44) but unfortunately they weren’t recognized as much as the men leaders were. This film does pass the Bechdel test because there were women fighting for Wakanda. They weren’t fighting because of a guy. They united as a team to get T'Challa and save the black panther.
Message posted on 2020-02-06 07:26:58
Aisha said:
When looking at the rules, Black Panther barely passes the Bechdel test. The film first does have at least two named women in it. If I'm not mistaken it actually identifies every female lead that has a present and talks. The characters also do talk to each other. We see a few conversations between Nakia and Okoye. Also between Shuri and her mother. But for Nakia and Okoye the focus of their conversation does usually mention the men who currently rule the country, seen their goal is to try and save it. But there's a scene where they talk about Okoye's wig. There are also a few conversations between Nakia and Shuri. In one scene Shuri is telling Nakia to wear the armor. In another Shuri asks Nakia if she’s ok. Overall in the film I feel that there are a few exchanges between the female characters, allowing Black Panther to barely pass the test.
Message posted on 2020-02-12 07:20:19
nate said:
I think all of you are missing the point that the Bechdel test doesn't only apply to women but also characters of color. Realistically this film passes both tests.
Message posted on 2020-12-03 01:41:47

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