About Pass the Bechdel Test
This site started as a simple question that refused to leave me alone: why does it still feel notable when two women in a film talk to each other about something other than a man? The Bechdel Test, with its three deceptively small criteria, has become a shorthand for a much bigger conversation about representation, and I wanted a space dedicated to actually applying it — film by film, show by show — rather than just discussing it in the abstract.
Who’s Behind It
I’m Eleanor Marsh, and I’ve spent years watching films with a notebook nearby, half out of habit and half out of stubbornness. I’m not a film critic by trade in the traditional sense; I came to this through curiosity about patterns — who gets to speak, who gets interrupted, whose stories drive the plot versus whose stories simply decorate it. This site is where that curiosity turned into something more structured.
Why This Site Exists
The Bechdel Test isn’t a perfect measure of quality or feminism in storytelling, and I try not to pretend otherwise. A film can pass it and still be flat in its portrayal of women; a film can fail it and still be worthwhile. What the test offers is a starting point, a small diagnostic tool that makes certain absences visible. This site exists to apply that tool consistently, honestly, and without pretending it settles every argument.
What You’ll Find Here
Expect straightforward breakdowns of whether films and shows pass, along with context about why the result looks the way it does. Sometimes a pass feels hollow; sometimes a fail comes from a film that otherwise handles its characters with real depth. I try to capture that nuance rather than reducing everything to a checkmark.
If you’ve got thoughts, disagreements, or suggestions for what to cover next, I’d genuinely like to hear them.