HOLLYWOOD’S GENDER DIVIDE
So, pay attention…
There’s a thing called the Bechtel Test. It measures how male-dominated a range of mainstream movies are. In order to pass the test, there are 3 requirements films need to satisfy:
#1 There needs to be AT LEAST 2 women in it.
#2 Those women have to talk to each other (i.e. not just a girl in a coffee shop who bats her eyes at a male lead).
#3 When they do talk – it has to be about something other than a man.
The results are alarming (if not surprising). Even films with apparently strong female leads (Avatar, Birdman) fail the test. For all it’s hearty loveliness, even Toy Story fails.
Is this some deep rooted conspiracy against women? According to polygraph.co,
“Rather than generalize a sexist system, one theory is simple: filmmakers, unintentionally, make movies about themselves (i.e., write what you know). Since the most powerful producers, writers, and directors are men, male-themes permeate into Hollywood’s output.”
Whatever the cause, and despite a new awareness, there sure is a looooooooong way to go to redress the gender balance.
Check out more results and even hone in on a specific film with this great interactive chart: http://poly-graph.co/bechdel/
