(Photographed by Media Production Manager Lilly Lafleur)
Staff Writer: Jesse Magnifico
Email: jmagnifico@umassd.edu
Are women represented equally and appropriately in film?
On March 4th, English and Communication professors Dr. Katherine DeLuca, Dr. Anupama Arora, Dr. Juli Parker the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies; and Women and Gender Studies undergraduate senior Daizha Reed held a panel in the Grand Library Reading Room to tackle the hefty question.
Women bear the brunt of sexualization and gender stereotypes in the media—dominantly by men, no less. A 2012 study conducted over 855 popular movies from 1950 to 2006 discovered that, on average, for every female character, two male characters were present and/or accompanied the woman in the film. Plus, “[f]emale characters were twice as likely as male characters to be involved in sex, with differences in more explicit sex growing over time.”
Even behind the scenes, women are underrepresented in film creation. In 2023 alone, among top-grossing films, 14 out of 116 directors were women, compared to only 106 in the past seventeen years. And of 1,588 movies, only twenty-five women from underrepresented backgrounds were behind the camera.
To challenge and critique the neverending sexualization and stereotyping film, Alison Bechdel, with the help of Liz Wallace, has developed a tool that commonly serves as a critical starting point for analyzing and critiquing female portrayals.
The Bechdel Test (or Bechdel-Wallace Test, as Alison gives credit to her friend for the idea) stems from one of Bechdel’s weekly Dykes to Watch Out For comic strips. Her 1985 piece called “The Rule” features two women deciding whether to watch a movie and one woman explains the “three basic requirements” that need to be met to go see it:
- There has to be at least two women in it.
- Those women have to talk to each other.
- The conversation(s) they have are not about a man.
There is a longer list of films that are applied for the Test, but alas, the Monday panel applies this test and two others to nine 2024 Oscar-nominated movies for “Best Picture.” The Vito Russo and Duvernay tests both take inspiration from the Bechdel Test. In short, the former analyzes and critiques queer representation in film, while the latter examines racial diversity in film and Hollywood.
Without further ado, let’s dive into it.
Maestro (Bradley Cooper)
A biopic about American conductor Leonard Bernstein (who composed for the 1947 musical West Side Story), Maestro examines Bernstein’s (Bradley Cooper) life between the 50s and 70s. It focuses on his complicated life and marriage with his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan) and the conflict of his bisexuality.
Bernstein is depicted as a loving yet difficult husband who has affairs with men.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes: Bernstein’s daughter and Felicia.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes.
Does it pass? No.
“Just because a film passes this test, that does not mean in any way its politics are not problematic,” affirms Dr. Arora.
Sure, Maestro shows the sacrifices Felicia has to make. She is not just a footnote in the artistic hero/genius’s story—she puts her acting career aside to support Bernstein’s.
But that’s not all.
Applying the Vito Russo test, representational politics becomes complicated. They are not three-dimensional characters—Bernstein’s relationships with men are not given much time or space. They come and go as drunken flings, small glances, or passes. Queer relationships slowly fade out early on in the film. Jennie Livingston of The New York Times says, “They are there as a light visual presence but not as people with stories and interior lives.”
Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)
An adaptation of David Grann’s nonfiction book of the same name, the film centers around the Reign of Terror that took place in 1920s Oklahoma within the Osage nation. The Osage struck oil on their land and became rich, but they were subjected to the greed of white settlers who wanted to steal rights to the land. A series of murders broke out until the FBI stepped in.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes: Mollie (Lilly Gladstone), Ernest Buckhart’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) wife; her mother; and her sisters Minni, Anna, and Reta.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes. Not a lot, but they do.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes. They chat about Anna’s alcoholism briefly, how they’re courted by the white men.
Does it pass? No.
Killers of the Flower Moon gives Mollie screen time—perhaps not enough—but the film centers on the white men. What is important, though, is that there are not many female Native Hollywood actresses, and Mollie is no caricature. She is shown to have strength, and resilience.
With the Duvernay test in mind, the film passes. Killers of the Flower Moon displays the white men in an unflattering light—they are not saviors. The film also bears witness to the history of the murders of Indigenous people.
Moreover, several members of the Osage are cast in the film, who have helped create wardrobes and taught some of the cast to speak the Osage language. Religious customs are highlighted.
However, representation remains complex.
The white men may not be shown as saviors, but Killers of the Flower Moon foregrounds the white story. Historical context is missing, too. A confusing element is also in the film: the Osage are easily gullible about who is behind the murders, almost downplaying their intelligence, in a sense. One of the leaders presents the issue of who did it, yet it seems clear the others know and understand who.
Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)
A crime/thriller film that is more complicated than the label. Sandra (Sandra Hüller) lives on the border between France and Switzerland with her husband Samuel (Samuel Maleski) and son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), who are isolated from society. Samuel mysteriously dies, Daniel discovers his body, and she is accused of murdering her husband.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? No.
Does it pass? No.
“Now, here’s why that’s fascinating,” chimes Dr. DeLuca. “It stars a woman, it’s about a woman, and she never talks to another woman about anything other than a man—her dead husband.”
The Bechdel Test is a starting point for understanding what it means to have feminist politics within a film. This movie is an excellent example of failing the Bechdel test but being complex about what it means to be a woman—what it means to be trustworthy and a woman, and what it means to seek justice as a woman.
Anatomy of a Fall surprisingly passes the Vito Russo Test. It does this in part because the main character is later revealed to be a queer woman… though her queerness is weaponized. It is brought into the courtroom as something to be questioned—can she be trusted because she’s had affairs with other women? It’s a complicated representation, although perhaps significantly true to life.
Something interesting in Anatomy of a Fall is Daniel’s vision impairment. He is not portrayed as a disabled kid who needs to be cared for, nor is he seen as some sort of spectacle. He is a wholly, truly realized character who contributes greatly to the story.
The Holdovers (Alexander Payne)
This is a coming-of-age story about a teenager, his teacher, and Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the kitchen commander. They’re stuck in a boarding school over the holidays. The three form an interesting relationship. Mary is at a turning point in her life—her son died in Vietnam. The instructor is also at a turning point because he is stuck in a rut.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes: about brownies at a Christmas party. That’s it.
Does it pass? By a hair.
In the spirit of feminist politics, though, The Holdovers does not advance any agenda. It does pass the Duvernay Test. Although Mary Lamb is not the main character, she is given depth and the screentime to develop herself. She is not there simply to support or develop the white characters. She could have been written off as another nanny character, but she isn’t.
All three stories are equally represented.
American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)
A comedy/drama commenting on narratives that reduce people to outrageous stereotypes, American Fiction follows a Black writer (Jeffrey Wright) struggling to have his work published. He writes a satirically Black book as a joke toward the white publishers.
Reed stresses the movie plays heavily with the idiom “representation does not guarantee authenticity.”
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes: They have conversations about POC and complex black families.
Does it pass? Yes.
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Set in the Victorian Era, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is brought to life with a brain transplant performed by a mad scientist (Willem Dafoe). Throughout the film, she grows with a childlike curiosity into a woman of her own free mind and will amidst subjection to controlling men who yearn to mold her to their liking.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes. Bella has many meaningful conversations, especially about finding and reading books.
Does it pass? Yes.
The film takes an interesting spin on sex work and sexuality, with Bella coming into it and having different experiences with men and women.
Past Lives (Celine Song)
This romantic drama film is based on a loosely true story. When Nora (Greta Lee) moves to the United States, she leaves her childhood romance, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), in Korea. Elements of immigration, the realities of the Asian-American experience, and relationships between her American lover and Hae Sung come to life as she becomes a well-known playwrighter.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes: Nora and her mother.
- Do they talk to each other? Yes.
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes… Primarily about the boy in Nora’s childhood. They have other conversations when she is an adult, but they are barely not about a man in her life.
Does it pass? No.
Barbie (Greta Gerwig)
Barbie (Margot Robbie) has an existential crisis and discovers she must trek from her home in Barbieland to the real world to solve the problem. Her partner in crime and long-term, long-distance, low-commitment “boyfriend” Ken (Ryan Gosling) accompanies her, discovers himself, and changes Barbieland. The film highlights and comments on issues surrounding women, especially the setbacks they face because of patriarchy.
This is a movie that requires a second and third watching.
THE TEST
- Are there two or more named female characters? Yes!
- Do they talk to each other? Yes!
- Do they chat about anything other than men? Yes! There are deep discussions about existentialism, what it means to be a woman, and how to combat or navigate such issues.
Does it pass? Yes! It also passes the Duvernay Test—President Barbie (Issa Rae) is an African American woman, and many other underrepresented groups are among the cast.
Barbie advances many feminist agendas. For one thing, the film highlights how women are sexualized and stereotyped systematically. The movie offers criticism against the “ideal” female body type, including plus-sized individuals in the cast. There are also women with disabilities receiving screen time.
Ending Note
Remember: just because a film passes the Bechdel Test does not automatically mean it advances or meaningfully represents feminist agendas. The test is a starting point for identifying such qualities, and we must further examine, analyze, criticize, and spark changes in Hollywood and the Academy to achieve fair, equal, authentic representation.