Alison Bechdel just won a MacArthur Foundation ‘genius’ grant. She’s already changed the way we talk about film.
|
Version 0 of 1. With one test, cartoonist Alison Bechdel changed the way we think about and discuss film. In her comic strip, “Dykes to Watch Out For,” which ran from 1983 to 2008, she offered a basic metric used to illustrate just how male-dominated the film industry actually is. The test, which Bechdel coined in 1985 in a strip titled “The Rule,” consists of three questions which set a baseline not for gender parity, but for the simple inclusion of women in a film in any meaningful way: 1) Does it have two female characters? 2) Who talk to each other? 3) About something other than a man? If the answer to all three questions is yes, the film passes the Bechdel test. The concept has made the jump from mostly feminist circles to the mainstream as a bare-bones indicator of women’s roles in film. In April, Walt Hickey of FiveThirtyEight asserted films that pass the Bechdel test make significantly more money. Last year, just 15 percent of top films featured women in lead roles and 30 percent of speaking roles. This comes at a time where we like to think the conditions for women in film are evolving — New York Times critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis say representation is improving, albeit at a glacial pace. “Maleficent” for example, was the only non-super-hero film of the summer to cross the $600 million mark in worldwide revenue. It’s now up to $754 million according to Box Office Mojo. Young stars such as Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley aren’t being pigeon-holed in the romantic comedy trap, but are leading successful franchises. Even “Lucy,” with its premise based in a myth that seems truthy, gives reason for hope when it comes to strong female leads. When we discuss women in film, it’s almost impossible not to invoke the Bechdel test. Now, Bechdel is one of 21 people awarded a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, colloquially known as a “genius grant.” Here’s what you may not know about Bechdel: RELATED: MacArthur Foundation surprises 21 fellows with 2014 ‘genius’ grants and $625,000 |