The Bechdel Test for Women and The 2012 Oscars

Last year, three of the films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards featured women in its leading roles (Black Swan, Winter's Bone, The Kids Are All Right). This year, the frontrunner for many of the awards at tomorrow's Oscars is The Help, a movie which features a cast of strong female characters. But are women truly making gains in Hollywood in terms of female representation?

In the video above, Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian applies Allison Bechdel's Bechdel Test to the 2012 Best Picture nominees to assess the presence of female roles in these acclaimed motion pictures. To pass the test, a film must fulfill three requirements: It must 1) have at least two female characters 2) who talk to each other 3) about something other than a man.

While the test does not determine the quality of a film, the evaluation of gender bias in current movies does bring to light the systemic problem within the Hollywood film industry. Many of the films we see cater to the interests of men and fail to tell women's stories as they really are - complex and interesting. After looking at the Bechdel Test Movie List, an online database of films measured by the test, I am astonished over how so many popular movies do not meet the simple requirements of the test. This makes the under- and mis-representation of women in the film industry a glaring reality.

The next time you watch a movie (or even your favourite television show), consider the Bechdel Test and see which ones pass and which ones flunk.

View the original Bechdel Test for Women in the Movies video here.
See more conversations on Pop Culture at Feminist Frequency.

All We Need Is Love and Acceptance

These two videos bring up very important ideas on Love and Acceptance:



Jefferson Bethke's "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus (Spoken Word)"
Bethke's reaction to Christianity brings to question the hypocrisy, judgment, pride, and self-righteous found within religious institutions. I've had a rather complicated history with my religion (which is another blog entry in itself), but my issues all boil down to one point - some people of the Church don't practice what they preach, contradicting the core of God's most important teaching - which is to love, respect, and forgive one another unconditionally.



Jenna Marbles on "Why Girls Hate Each Other"
With her strikingly blunt and honest delivery, popular YouTube personality Jenna Marbles raises her voice against the raging war between females by challenging them to 'Stop Comparing Themselves'. From an early age, girls are conditioned to compete with one another. Throughout their lives, their minds are trained to compare, rank, and judge others. To beat this damaging system, women should quit judging one another and beating themselves up over failing to meet the phony standards created by a society that sets women up for their own downfall. If all we want is validation - to feel accepted - start by accepting all females as the kind, beautiful, and talented individuals that they are! As Marbles declares, once we let go of that pressure to fit in, "you are free to be you". And remember, there is only one of you in the world, so own that uniqueness!