How to use this Page

Is there a “problem” with the Bechdel test? I think it serves a good purpose, but point #2, on its own, doesn’t mean that a show/film is a failure. It’s possible that you can have a couple very good female characters who never meet each other, but they pass #1 and #3

Wow. Can you comment on the reason for this article? I don’t sit around making hashmarks about my personal obsessions when I watch TV. Or read a book, see a movie, etc. The main question I have about my entertainment–is it entertaining? Entertain first. Preach second. Or never. This commentary really belongs on a personal blog, not a comics news site.

How did Age of Ultron pass? The only conversation I can recall are when Black Widow and Mrs. Hawkeye discuss the gender of the baby which was male..

Ultron passes according to this – http://bechdeltest.com/view/6217/avengers:_age_of_ultron/

I think the Madam B/Black Widow scenes would qualify it if you exclude the baby discussion

Vichus – I completely agree that a show/movie can fail this test and still be good. I also don’t think the Bechdel test is the only gauge for how well women are represented in fiction, but it’s a decent and quantitative starting point, with the assumption that there will always be exceptions where the test doesn’t really work (like Gravity). I don’t think that was the case in any of these specific episodes, though.

Oh no! Not the Flash!

Jerry, of course you don’t. If you’ve never felt marginalized, then you’re not going to feel the need to speak out or point out certain things. If two people are out on an extremely hot day and one feels fine while the other does not, whose reaction is valid and whose is not?

Colin, there are more women in the film than that.

Hannah: Yeah, the Bechdel test would also “fail” if the movie only involved one or two people. Good point.

Any time that group stereotypes are reinforced it is a public issue, not simply “a personal obsession”.

I wish that one more point could be added to the Bechdel test:

4. In a scene featuring a female character, is she fully clothed, or is she in a state of undress, or wearing clothing that is overtly revealing in some way?

I love The Flash, but it definitely wouldn’t pass this test, either.

Specifically, Lotz is playing White Canary, which is digging pretty deep into the DC reference library, though I’m somewhat reminded of Elektra’s resurrection arc from the Frank Miller days in this instance.

Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter?

I never knew that one could get typecast as a time traveller.

While Constantine may have been the sole comic book failure from last year’s bumper crop of shows, this was clearly an outlier.

I suspect being on NBC was part of the problem for Constantine. Also unlike all of the other comic book shows other than iZombie, Constantine wasn’t a superhero show even if it was a comic book show. If superheroes are what is hot right now (and it looks like they are) then I can see why Constantine wouldn’t do as well. (Also it’s on NBC, which again I suspect is most of the problem.)

Funny you mention CONSTANTINE… according to the exec producer, they’re in talks for CW to pick it up.

Now *that* looks fun! It’s a true geek circus. Never in my lifetime did I think I’d see a show with Rip Hunter, The Atom, Hawkgirl and Vandal Savage. And I love the cast. Any show with Victor Garber is worth watching!