Alison Bechdel: the Test

If you find yourself bored without anything to do on October 8th, you should head on over to Textor 102 to see Alison Bechdel speak. Without going too far into her life, Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist whose most known for her comic Dykes to Watch Out For. But if her name rings a bell yet her work does not, you might be familiar with the cinematic theory named after her: the Bechdel test.

The Bechdel test is something used to gage the gender equality of films, specifically toward women. It has three very simple requirements to pass: one, there more be two female characters (with names); two, they must talk to each other; three, they must talk to each other about something other than a man. See, the main reason behind the test is to show the very realistic idea that women have plots that circle around something other than a love interest.

While it stands on the issue of feminist theory and equal-right films, to me it represents good writing. If you have a script that can’t follow these three very simple rules, then you have stuck yourself in a very traditionalistic (and cliche) plot-hole. For me, being able to write well means that you can produce a script that people can relate to. But in order to do this, you need to be able to write realistically. And if just so happens that in real life, women do talk to each other about many things than just men.