Swedish cinemas introduce feminist movie rating system
Do you remember the last time you watched a film which contained two or more named female characters, with significant roles, who talked about anything other than a man? If you are finding such a film difficult to remember, you may not be the only one. Swedish cinemas have introduced a new rating system for films, based not on their sexual or violent content, but on how successfully women are treated as equals.
This feminist theory, known as the Bechdel test, requires a movie to contain at least two named women characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. The Bechdel test was first introduced by American cartoonist, Alison Bechdel, who incorporated the test into her comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For, in 1985.
The test may seem as though it is founded on extremely low standards, and may even be seen as offensive to some, but a startling number of films fail to reach it. “The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Star Wars movies, The Social Network, Pulp Fiction and all but one of the Harry Potter movies fail this test,” said Ellen Tejle, who runs Stockholm’s Bio Rio, one of a number of independent cinemas that has instituted the classification.
It is alarming to note the amount of films which fail to portray “a female superhero or a female professor or person who makes it through exciting challenges and masters them,” Tejle said. “The goal is to see more female stories and perspectives on cinema screens,” she added.
The state-funded Swedish Film Institute supports the initiative, which is being adopted by other corporations as well. The Scandinavian cable TV channel, Viasat Film, says it will also start using the rating system in its film reviews and has scheduled an “A” rated “Super Sunday”” on Nov. 17, where it will show only films that pass the test, such as The Hunger Games, The Iron Lady and Savages.
The test does have its imperfections, seeing as Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar award winning film The Hurt Locker would not pass the test. It is just as important to see women break through the male dominated sphere in the off screen department of cinema as it is to see this happening on screen. Although there are certain parts the test which could use some modification, it is important not to miss the bigger picture.
According to a study by the San Diego-based Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film, of the top 100 US films in 2011, women accounted for 33 per cent of all characters and only 11 per cent of the protagonists. In another study, the Annenberg Public Policy Centre at the University of Pennsylvania examined 855 top box-office films from 1950 to 2006, where it was found that the ratio of male to female characters in movies has remained two to one for the last six decades. Female characters were twice as likely to be seen in sexual scenes, while male characters were more likely to be placed in violent situations.
“Apparently, Hollywood thinks that films with male characters will do better at the box office,” said Amy Bleakley, the study’s lead author. Hollywood filmmakers are creating films based on what sells at the box office, and the issue right now is that these well-received films are those which represent women in roles which lack substance.
The Bechdel test is not, by any means, going to eliminate the gender bias that has been present in cinema for decades. It will, however, be spreading awareness on the superficial portrayal of women in film, which is a necessary step toward changing how films are made and how people think about them. So, the next time you’re sitting on the couch watching a movie, take a second to think about the female presence, or lack thereof, in the film. You may be surprised by what you find.