Star Wars fails the Bechdel Test
Soon ratings will be as much about gender equality as they are about nipslips.
Some Swedish cinemas are rating movies based on the Bechdel test for gender bias, the Associated Press reports. The Bechdel test, developed by badass graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, presents a simple criteria for gender equality in film. In order to pass the Bechdel test, a film must have at least one scene of two named women talking about something other than a man. It’s that simple.
Only movies that pass the Bechdel test will get an “A” rating in Sweden. The entire Star Wars and Lord of the Rings series both fail the test, as do most of the Harry Potter films. Ditto Pulp Fiction and The Social Network.
The state-funded Swedish Film Institute supports the new ratings, as does Scandinavian cable channel Viasat Film. Hell ja.
[AP]