In 1985, cartoonist Alison Bechdel coined the term as a simple, tongue-in-cheek measure of the lack of female representation on screen. Thirty-five years later TV has progressed, but why are film releases still not meeting its minimal requirements?
“We get into a habit of lapping up crumbs and pretending to be fed,” says Corrina Antrobus, the founder of Bechdel Test Fest, the London-based film festival celebrating progressive depictions of women on screen. She explains that a range of factors reinforce the status quo, from the shortage of women directors to the prevalence of male-dominated sets and studios.
”launched a campaign to create the next Bechdel Test, asking more than a dozen women to devise new ways of calculating gender and racial imbalance. Emmy-winning writer Lena Waithe asked that films have a black female character who is in a position of power and in a healthy relationship; actor Rory Uphold asked that the on-set crew be 50 per cent women; and writer Noga Landau asked that the film’s female lead not end up dead, pregnant or causing problems for the male lead.
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