Bechdel Test
The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two [named] women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. The test was popularized by Alison Bechdel's comic Dykes to Watch Out For, in a 1985 strip called The Rule:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1gAF_bCo_4Y/TexG3UuxAMI/AAAAAAAAAsk/1RnUFtjHXOw/s1600/The+Bechdel+Test.jpg
Two further two points should be noted:
- Passing or failing the test has no bearing at all on whether a film (or other media) is good.
- Passing the test does not necessarily make it more feminist, or otherwise, positive-for-women.
So what is it, then? A crude tool to start thinking about sexism in cinema. One film failing is not a problem. When all the films you know bar one or two fail, it suggests a bigger picture where, broadly, women have nothing to do. They’re either absent, or exist purely to support male protagonists. It implies their underdevelopment – they don’t have personalities, interests or roles in the plot outside of said male protagonists. - The Bechdel Test: What It Is, And Why It Matters
For more information about the Bechdel Test, see:
- The Bechdel Test: What It Is, And Why It Matters
- Wikipedia: The Bechdel Test
- TV Tropes Wiki: Bechdels Rule
- Bechdel Test Movie List
Even though Young Hercules is a show that primarily focuses on three male leads, it still manages to pass the test every so often. Episodes that pass the Bechdel Test:
1.09 Amazon Grace
1.22 A Lady in Hades
1.25 Herc's Nemesis
1.29 Sisters
1.30 The Golden Bow
1.31 Home for the Holidays
1.35 My Fair Lilith
1.38 Me, Myself, and Eye
- The Fates?