The Evolution of Authentic Metrics of Media Representation
Written by Namya Katsuri
In 1985, Cartoonist Alison Bechdel created the Bechdel Test in an attempt to gauge and promote female representation that she wanted to see in the media. Throughout the early 2000s, the Bechdel Test became a mainstream criterion used to judge feminism in films after increased discussions about how to reduce the growing gender gap. Feminist filmmakers and students started writing more about the Bechdel Test, thinking that it was a solid metric to measure feminism in the media. The test had simple requirements: A work only needed to have two women talking about something other than men for it to pass. This bare minimum standard, however, keeps the Bechdel Test from truly realizing feminism. Rather than encouraging works that serve as beacons of representation, it oversimplifies feminism into something that it’s not: women talking about topics other than men.
Bechdel never even intended for the test to be a measure of complex and nuanced stories of women in the media. Rather, she simply aimed for an easy metric — the bare minimum. As such, many movies centering around a female character fail the test, while those that don’t, pass. For example, “Goodfellas” and “Weird Science,” which are movies with a predominantly male cast, pass the test, while “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Little Mermaid” don’t meet the Bechdel Test’s criteria.
Furthermore, the Bechdel Test sometimes does more harm than good, as it can lead to forced representation, also known as tokenism. In order for a movie to truly be feminist, it must include authentic and meaningful stories, as oversimplifying narratives negates their purpose. If there are genuine and raw stories that claim to capture the “human experience,” women should be a part of them too — it shouldn’t be forced. That being said, the Bechdel Test’s minimum standard doesn’t push filmmakers to develop dynamic, relatable female characters, a shortfall that Bechdel has come to realize over time. “The real question is how do we make stories that are as complicated as real people and that don’t oversimplify what it means to be human, what it means to be alive?” she said in an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Fortunately, despite its deficiencies, the Bechdel Test has inspired other, less-performative measures of representation. The Duvernay Test, for one, encourages filmmakers to develop more complex characters of color: A work must include at least two people of color, and their connection to the plot cannot be through a white person. Furthermore, the characters should have speaking parts, and their conversations cannot solely revolve around white characters. The Vito Russel Test — named after Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Co-Founder Vito Russo — has similar criteria, but with LGBTQ+ representation. The film must include a character that identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and they must be significant enough so that their removal from the plot would alter the storyline. The character also shouldn’t be written merely because they are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. These measures are contributing to a more meaningful representation of diverse perspectives and experiences in the media. In contrast to the Bechdel Test, they prioritize authentic and varied viewpoints, with films such as “Booksmart” and “Black Panther” serving as examples.
Ultimately, everyone deserves to feel included and seen in their surroundings. People should not feel as though their identity is used as a placeholder or a way to pass a bare minimum “standard.” Although there’s a long journey ahead when it comes to full media representation, as a community, we can start by listening to others’ stories that are different from ours and taking the time and effort to craft genuine narratives.
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