THE BECHDEL CON(TEST) Results! Did your film pass the test?

in bechdelcontest •  7 years ago  (edited)

I am closing out my first steemit contest--a special project for feminists and film buffs! <3 Ultimately, I wound up with 12 amazing entries (y’all, it was HARD to pick!).


Image by Libby VanderPloeg.


To recap on what exactly The Bechdel Test is:


The Bechdel Test examines whether women in films are portrayed as three-dimensional human beings with a range of lived experience and interests that do not revolve around men. The primary criteria for a film to pass the test are:

(1) it has to have at least two women in it

(2) who talk to each other

(3) about something besides a man.


My challenge was to review a movie that passed the test. View the full contest here!

In no particular order, here are the winners of The Bechdel Con(test)!


FRANCES HA | Film review by @natureofbeing. This is a beautifully written post that explores not only The Bechdel Test and the film, but also the nature of female friendship. It’s a wonderfully affirming read that explores the many types of relationships we need in life to flourish.

But the underlying theme throughout is how deeply this woman Frances needs her closest female relationship and how this friendship is actually the glue that gives her life context and joy. It's the foundation for her safety and sense of self and with this friendship she feels secure in growing personally, creatively and knows her place in the scheme of things.



THE JOY LUCK CLUB | Film review by @eaglespirit. A wonderfully engaging read that is easy to relate to--plus it doesn’t hurt that the film is inspiring not only because it features a powerhouse female cast, but it also has a powerhouse female creative team. I love when women are leading behind-the-scenes too!

The plight of women over the generations and what many have had to endure in many countries is discussed. The mothers in the film fought to make a different life for their daughters by enduring a change of culture by moving to the United States. The pride for each daughter was evident. I have felt this same type of love from my own mother. It is an inexpressible joy for mothers to have a daughter achieve what they could not in life; to graduate from college, to have the freedom of speech or sexuality, and to have the freedom to choose.



WHIP IT | Film review by @didic. This review is a shorter read than the first two, but it’s to the point, features a movie that just stacks up in every way, and leaves me wanting more. Plus, this write-up introduced me to The Mako Mori Test (invaluable!). There’s no-one more badass than roller derby gals in my eyes! And this one also features a rockin’ female creative team.

It was written by a woman, Shauna Cross, based on her own novel "Derby Girl." It was directed and produced by a woman, Drew Barrymore, who also plays a supporting character. And it shows. It isn't objectifying, it isn't male gaze-y. It tells the story of a young woman in the same way countless sports films have told the stories of young men.


I have a few other posts I’d like to give an extra shoutout and a little love to the tune of $0.50 SBD!

First, a newcomer to steemit who wrote a well thought-out and interesting post about a piece of art cinema featuring two women.


NEWS FROM HOME | Film review by @azizsedaqat.


Second, the entry that made me smile the most was about one of my favorite old movies.


MARY POPPINS| Film review by @mandelsage.


Third, an entry on the film I would have would have wrote about/entered myself if I were participating!


THELMA AND LOUISE | Film review by @ahs.


These authors also wrote lovely pieces about fantastic movies featuring strong women that you may want to check out. I know I’ll be watching a few off this list!


@agmoore
SNOWPIERCER

@soyrosa
BRIMSTONE

@amrauthor
HIDDEN FIGURES

@veckinon
BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER

@lahvista
THE FIFTH ELEMENT

@shadowmancer
WAR ROOM


Image by Girl Starter



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That was fun to do! I've known about the Bechdel Test for a while now and it's fun to learn which movies do and do not pass this test! (I mean, how many movies have you found out about don't pass the test but were actually pretty fun to watch? I know I have! I'm waking up more and more! ;-))

I LOVED YOUR POST. SO MUCH. I am watching Brimstone this weekend and will let you know what I think! :) Can’t wait.

Ahhh that's cool to hear :D I'm totally happy with the three winners you picked! And I'd love to hear your opinion after this weekend ;-) Enjoy!

haha so close! only 16ish hours late. LOL But its okay. Also I did 5 films and one of them may or may not technically pass.. although i cant believe i forgot HIDDEN FIGURES, damn. Well it was most popular anyhow.. so yea check meowt wif my late entry lol https://steemit.com/bechdeltest/@limabeing/beyond-the-bechdal-con-test-my-favorite-films-of-black-women-being-awesome

Love how you laid out the post @lilyraabe. I never heard of the Bechdel test but wonderful contest.

Thank you so much. <3

Thanks for hosting. It was a pleasure participating.

Thank you for participating! :) I had so much fun reading all of these entries!

Such a beautiful competition :) So happy to see contests like this that lift and empower women :)

Thank you so much for stopping by, glad you enjoyed seeing what people created!

Thank you again for the contest. Personally it was very helpful to me to go back to that film and check it out again.
Also enjoyed reading on other movies by other participants.

I really enjoyed the clip I watched, lovely cinematography! I enjoyed getting to see something that organically featured women without making a big deal about it! :)

=D ... Thank you so much, Lily... I'm very glad to accept the o.5SBD and even happier to have made you smile with my post.

Looking forward to future competitions of any kind - I want to come first next time! ;P lol.

Congrats to everyone.

Yay! I’m so glad you wrote about Mary Poppins, it really did make me happy to realize it passed. See you around, looking forward to our story-time project. :)

Aahh yes, speaking of which! ... I've decided to start tomorrow already. I know you said you'd be quite busy until March, but I think it should be fine because Erin will have to do her post still, and then only you, and there's no time limit. Plus, like I said, it'll be a short post, easy to fit in =)

OH yea, suffragettes in Mary Poppins! and also Mary talks to the little girl about all kinds of silly stuff and Big Mary barely has time for Burt. F U Burt shes gone! lol #spinsterlife

Such a cool idea! If I had more time I would've participated as well. There's a few films up there I haven't seen so it'll be cool to check them out. I would've done Kill Bill or something like that :)

Thanks for checking out the results! Ya, there’s quite a few I hadn’t seen and now I get to! :)

Sweet! Great contest and a lot of fun, thank you for hosting @lilyraabe. Up/resteem

Thank you for submitting! Beautiful post!

Do another one 😛😛😛
Contest that is ...

I actually just launched an interdisciplinary art contest today!

cool, good luck with the contest!

You got a 1.97% upvote from @buildawhale courtesy of @lilyraabe!
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Wow @lilyraabe. Way to go. Your so new and to be able to pull off your first Contest is pretty impressive.

Congrats and keep up the great work :)

Thank you so much for popping over to check it out, I appreciate it! :)

Thanks @lilyraabe for one of the most enjoyable contests I've ever entered and I'm honored to be part of it.

Plus I learned about some new movies and was reminded of some oldies but goodies that I'd forgotten.

I’m so happy you were part of this, thank you for writing such a lovely post. :)

Oh, wow! Gotta say, after reading some of the other entrants, especially the other winners, I did not expect this. Thank you!

I think it’s mostly that you picked a movie I HAD to highlight. WHIP IT sealed the deal, haha. :) I also don’t think it’s always about length, sometimes short pieces do it for me because they get to the point and leave me wanting more. :)

P.S. Also, you introduced me to the Mako Mori test with your post! So that made it really stick with me. :)

I inevitably find myself in a conversation about the Bechdel Test like, once a month. I guess that should be expected as a feminist who works adjacent to the film industry. I wish I had seen this contest when it was still going; I would have been all over it!

Haha, I work in the theatre, so I’m in the same boat. It was awesome though, because I’d somehow missed the Mako Mori test entirely and I learned that from running this! <3

One interesting example of a movie that passes the Bechdel Test but not the Mako Mori Test is Rogue One. It annoys the hell out of me, actually. They decided to make a strong female character... and then forgot to put in a second one and surrounded her entirely by men. There are a couple of very short exchanges between Rey and other women but they're so brief that I don't think they really count.

Gah--Yes--I hate when that happens and it happens all the time...the token strong female so you can say that there is “representation”. Of course, tokenization isn’t just a gender issue, but that’s another rabbit-hole.

Your post had been curated by the @buildawhale & @ipromote team and mentioned here:

https://steemit.com/curation/@buildawhale/buildawhale-curation-digest-02-28-18

Keep up the good work and original content, everyone appreciates it!

Thank you so much! <3 I really appreciate this support. :)

Thanks for running the contest. Writing the review and meeting your criteria was stimulating. It was a pleasure to be part of a process in which many people participated. Gives a sense of community. I also appreciate the mention, very much.

Thanks so much for participating! :)