Star Wars: The Force Awakens reportedly passes the Bechdel Test requirement that two female characters speak to each other for a period of time (sometimes given as 30 seconds) about a something other than a man.
After the film’s Hollywood premiere, a number of attendees tweeted that it met the requirements of the test created by Alison Bechdel, the cartoonist and author famous for her Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip. LA Times film critic Rebecca Keegan tweeted to say, “Among its many wonderful qualities, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS passes the Bechdel test”.
Among its many wonderful qualities, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS passes the Bechdel test.
— Rebecca Keegan (@ThatRebecca) December 15, 2015
Although it might not seem like a particularly high bar to set, that two women should speak to each other about something other than a man, a surprisingly high number of blockbuster films fail. In 2014, just 55.4% of films passed the test according to data compiled by Women in Film.Films that failed the test in 2014 includeThe Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game andThe Other Woman, which has three female leads who talk to each other, but never about anything other than men.’