Women's Presence In Film... Or Lack There Of

            Women make up about 51% of the population in America, and yet are vastly underrepresented in Hollywood film (Benshoff and Griffin 214). The underlying sexism that is present in our culture manifests itself in Hollywood film. In fact, there are about “twice as many men on Hollywood screens as there are women” (214). Think about the classical Hollywood narrative form. Based on this storyline, the protagonist will be a male. It has become standard for Hollywood films to focus on men.

            We recently learned about the Bechdel test, which further supports the notion that women’s presence in film is lacking. According to the website Feminist Frequency, the Bechdel test is a method of testing the presence of women in film. To pass the test, a movie must meet three requirements: there must be two or more women characters with names, they must converse with each other, and finally, they must converse with each other about something other than a man. You’d think most movies would pass the test, right? Wrong. A large number of films do not pass this test. Some of my favorites that don’t pass the test include The Lord of the Rings 1, 2, and 3, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, The Princess Bride, and The Big Lebowski.

            Wait, not one out of all three of The Lord of the Rings movies pass the Bechdel test? Those are some of my favorite films, and I’m honestly a little surprised. There are definitely multiple female characters with names, but this is as far as it gets. These characters never talk to each other in any of the films. Coming up in December, the first film of the new Hobbit series will be released, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (IMDb). Maybe it will pass the test. I’ve read the book though, and it’s highly unlikely.

I'm really doubting the possibility of this movie passing the Bechdel test.

            The equality between men and women is much more balanced than it was in the past. With the levels of inequality that women previously faced, it doesn’t surprise me that films from these generations would lack female presence. But despite the progress women have made, we still see many films being made that fail the Bechdel test (The Lord of the Rings films only came out about ten years ago). For example, in another video on the Feminist Frequency site, we learn about which films pass the test that were nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards in 2011. This gives us insight as to the current status of women in film (and highly regarded films for that matter). It turns out that out of the eleven films nominated for best picture in 2011, only two of them clearly pass the test.

            From the large number of films that do not pass the Bechdel Test, it’s easy to see how women go underrepresented in Hollywood film. We live in a society that favors the male sex. While women have made much progress in achieving equality, the presence of women in Hollywood film (or lack there of) is an example of how patriarchal ideologies remain in tact. 

Works Cited

Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America On Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. 2^nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.

“The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies.” Feminist Frequency, 7 Dec. 2009. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.

“The Oscars and the Bechdel Test.” Feminist Frequency, 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2012.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).” Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc. Web. 16 Nov. 2012.

The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. Dir. Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema, 2001, 2002, 2003. Film