Jessica Chastain Describes the Importance of the 'Bechdel Test'
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- Опубликовано: 18 апр 2021
- Jessica Chastain has a challenge for you. Name as many movies as you can that contain at least 2 or more female characters talking about something other than a male character?
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this "off Camera Show" is the most intelligent chat on the web, like finding a diamond on the sidewalk.
I used to act in local productions as a kid, and lemme just say it would've been so nice to have female audition monologues and duologues that featured women and girls who were not constantly pining-for-love or vapid and self-absorbed.
I love the idea that truly meaningful and personal stories are universal. Jessica is so right here - the love between a parent and child isn't gendered, and if played and written right the core of the relationship should transcend all identities
In my opinion the Bechdel test is not an indication of whether a film is good or not. Some people seem to misunderstand that. It does however tell you if it has women who matter on their own merits. And we don't need every film to pass that (we can still have a film about two brothers, or a man and a woman), but we need /some/ movies that do, and there is no reason why we shouldn't have a lot more of them. I for one hope we see more and more of them, and don't automatically assume a script "is for a man" when it really doesn't need to be. Even when based on some other material, genderswap away!
I do a lot of acting and I hope one day I can make it on this show.
All the best man.
get it 👍
That's when you know you've made it!
@@soulman888 Foreal!!💯💯
@@sauravVocals Thanks bro!!!😎
One of my two favourite films ever passes the test over and over and over. When I realized it, it made me love the film even more. Now I always have the test in mind when watching something.
cringy
One of my favourite movies, John Carpenter's The Thing, doesn't pass it because it has no female characters. But that doesn't make the movie any less of a masterpiece.
@@KevinCarney91 no one said otherwise
If I look at my favorite movies of all time, the only one that passes the Bechdel test is Lilo & Stitch. Just another reason that movie is the best.
Always thought a big rule of writing people was that their shape was pretty interchangeable and more often than not leads to a more interesting story. Not having diversity is, well, it’s boring.
Yeah like pieces of a woman, and bridesmaids and sisters. Those could all be 65 year old men in those roles. And braveheart, gladiator, we were soldiers, the patriot, and 300 could all be about 22 year old women. Sometimes the characters require a gender because of the experience that the character goes through including childbirth or being on the front lines in a war. That’s life.
I have two daughters and sought out movies for them throughout their lives that passed the Bechdel test and that’s how I found Studio Gibli. I had to go all the way to Japan to find them. Ridiculous!
They’re weird movies. Animation is better for kids.
Love her acting talent.
The Bechdel test fails in every sense of the word
I respect her so much. I was in a play once as a kid where they didn’t have enough boys audition so they turned one of the boy parts into a girl and guess what? Did not change the story one bit! Always ask yourself - could this character be a girl?
what episode is this from?
offcamera.com/issues/jessica-chastain/watch/#.YIG5hS2cbUI
@@theoffcamerashow ♥️
She’s legendary
Wow, this comment section is terrifying...
@euhsha
Filled with degenerates that wouldn't know decency if it hurt them as children.
In a sexual way.
I hate myself for saying that.
@@alienboy1322 That is a weird thing to say.
@@alienboy1322 It did
@@alienboy1322 I think some people just think in terms of “does this entertain me?” It’s not a personality flaw to not be interested in social justice issues or gender politics in entertainment. The people in these films are the elite of the elite, richer than most humans throughout history and it’s hard to care about their pet issues. Most people think about things like how they’re going to afford a car repair or if they’re doing a good job parenting. The kind of idealism presented here is reserved for those who have nothing better to worry about. Many successful women in leadership roles grew up watching 90210 and playing with skinny barbies. They had a good upbringing and something called perspective.
@@BB-ed4om Exactly they are self-centered and don't want to put energy in it because they don't care. They have no respect for women as people and it shows in their scripts. Then they make their wives and daughter watch their movies through their perverted male gaze and don't even see what is wrong. They're sending the message "this is what women are to me, I can't even imagine a script in which women are people".
I've got a great idea for RUclips comments sections - let's everybody miss the point!!
legit lol'd
Legend
love this woman . I will view film differently , thank you Jessica
Wow
Ohhh Jessica 😍😍😍
!En fuego, no!
god this women... makes my heart wanna to stop... ouch💔💔💔💔
Technically the test is does the movie have at least two women, who talk to each other about something other than a man. (One scene not two).
Zero Dark Thirty. Enough said....
My top 5 movies of all time are Brazil, Unforgiven, Ran, The Thing and Children of Men. I think the last one may pass the test (not sure), but I always feel a little bad, as a straight white man, that my choices are so narrow. I seek out more varied material these days, but I don't think any films will have the same effect as those did when I was younger.
That's pretty odd because I'm a straight Hispanic man and I don't feel bad about my film choices at all
I like the patriot they should remake that with only women. Same with 300. It’s silly because historical movies go to lengths to make things accurate. It’s not about passing someone’s gender politics test. It’s telling a story and not all stories can fit within these boundaries. This coming from someone who loves movies of all kinds. Even corny romantic ones and musicals and all female comedies.
She's hot AF!
lol
I’m a disabled Latina screenwriter/video editor and I HATE the bechdel test. WHO CARES? (My favorite movies are also romances so that probably has something to do with it. Lol)
Some people are born with beauty IQ
I do wonder if this could be a potential hindrance on a writer's creative process. If they feel led to fit they're work within a given set of parameters, it may inadvertently result in deviation from their original intentions and ideas.
Commenters, at times, are a little willfully naive. The test is just to ask: “when in movies do women talk together without referring to men, etc” and almost all recent movies, from Black Panther to Wonder Woman 1984 fail it. I dunno, I didn’t make the rules, but almost nothing passes it (okay, maybe LILO & STITCH) but they censored the 9/11 sequences so who the hell are they to tell us what to do, eh?.
it's realistic. Black Panther wasn't about women.
Love jessica chastain. She's so genuine. The wide eyed idealism, the slightly prudish persona. She's everything one might want in a life partner.
This is a public persona. While she may be one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen, she could be a different person entirely.
@@BB-ed4om Possible. I'm just going off several interviews that I've seen of her. She starts to blush the moment the conversation goes towards anything related to sex. She is a feminist and a liberal, but not an obnoxious one, no offence.
Anyway, there's not a chance in hell she and I would ever get to interact or have anything to do with each other, so there's no harm in taking her at face value. Even if it is a fantasy. :)
She says Men and Women aren't that different, but changing the sex in movie like her example Interstellar did change the dynamic of the movie probably for the better. So she kind of contradicts herself here. It is ok to be feminist yet acknowledge the big differences between the sexes.
Money = Where mouth should be
No, he should be embarrassed.
Wokie
If you want better female roles or better roles for asians, write them.
You need the cash to make the movie and that cash comes from the studio.
She has great lips and the best mouth!
i would like to say that you can come up with a lot of these "tests", and they don't matter at the end. story, characters, setting etc. and this one can be passed by 2 women talking about the weather at the start or end of the movie, completely unrelated to the main story.
so good luck trying to make a good movie while trying to please/represent everyone, or at least not step on their sensitive toes.
Could you add some fking colour to these videos?
I don’t know, I am Asian and I don’t want to see Asian Super man for example.
People want to see something ideal or an idol on film and the sad truth is Asian man doesn’t have the “ideal physique” due to lack of testosterone.
That’s not someone’s fault, it’s just how the world is.
You think like that because you've never seen a handsome asian man in media because they have be desexualized by western media. As a white woman I actually prefer asian men. But asian countries have their own medias and movies with handsome people and good stories. I would love if a super hero were asian like spiderman or something.
Ew. Think I’ll just stick to watching her movies. I’ve got something better than the bechtel test. Find a movie where two women over 50 have prominent roles and they’re not just comic relief. Or find a movie made in recent history that features a man who is smart and capable alongside a woman who is also smart and capable. The only one I can think of is Wonder Woman. In today’s films women are smart, almost superhuman leaders but only at the expense of a stupid useless man.
How about we just let the story be the story and not fit an ideology? I mean wtf man...
Exactly! Movies should have characters as diverse and interesting as we see in real life, instead of just “beefy white square-jawed dude saves slim blonde female love interest”. Let the Lone Ranger be black as he was in real life instead of changing his story to fit an ideology. Or the blackjack card counters in 21 be Asian instead of changing them to white. Let the story be the story
"It is difficult for me to create a script with women in it because I am not used to think about them as people"
Scenarios with women in it should come naturally. They make 50% of the population they are not a minority. If you have to try to fit an ideology it means you're doing an effort, an effort to put women in your story, it shouldn't be an effort. It says a lot about men if it is difficutl for them to put women in their story other than for male gaze. When women write stories with men in it they don't have to think hard about how a man can possibly be a person. The test proves how low the bar is for how men write women.
Until there are more women on the money side of the film industry women's roles won't change much. Men are driven by sex money and power not always in that order. The few successful female directors currently out there understand this. Jessica got a strong dose of gender-free casting on Zero Dark Thirty. A beautiful woman will always drop a man to his knees. Knowing men are simple creatures is a woman's greatest weapon. Currently, women are the most compelling actors in TV and movies.
most of this is false.
Many men are driven by a need for stability, acceptance and meaning. Many are driven by creative impulse or problem solving. I think money is something everyone is driven by because it equates to comfort. That’s why most women won’t date someone who makes less money. It’s just survival. Saying men are simple based on your experience doesn’t make it true. The men you’re talking about just tend to end up in places where they get all of those things they are after.
Plenty of AMAZING films/stories don't follow some arbitrary "test" its a stupid pointless I guess Sara Conner and Ripley are bad character because their movies dont pass this sjw test?
I dont think you understand the point of the test
fun fact: ripley was originally written as a man.
@@nickmason15 so explain how a movie about an all male army fighting another all male army would shoehorn these conversations in when it has nothing to do with the story being told…
@@BB-ed4om failing the Bechtel test does not mean a movie is sexist. That's not what the test is for.
So there's no reason to shoehorn that conversation.
The test is a measure of womens representation in all of film. Meaning if no movies at the theater, or no movies nominated for an academy award, etc, pass the test then there's an overall issue with women's representation.
It's a very low bar and women make up half the population, so it should be a pretty commonly passed test, yet it isn't. That doesnt mean Saving Private Ryan for example was supposed to shoehorn that conversation just for the sake of passing the test. It just informs the overall understanding that womens representation and opportunities for actresses is poor.
@Kasha O'Basha right, because no one has ever made a good point when telling a joke.
What specifically did I say that you think is incorrect?
look at her face when she says 'it's really important that test' lmao easy girl. then goes on to say she will participate in movies that don't pass the test... so how important is it?
Because so few pass it, she would be out of a job.
@@jamesabel9332 if it's so important why not make an example... Be part of a solution or part of a problem... Or if she finds it so horrible find a new line of work. It's a joke man.
You disagree with society, and yet you participate in society... curious...
i AM very intelligent ;D
@@jamesabel9332 $40 million would hold her over she could take a stand and still be rich. A job to her isn’t as important as it is to you and me. We wouldn’t be able to pay bills. She would be the media/twitter darling of the decade.
“It sounds like you’re complaining”. Yup, it does Ms millionaire worth $40 million dollars from being in movies.
So only poor actors should complain? Odd logic. Seems like it makes sense to leverage your power on the behalf of others who aren't making 40 million dollars.
@@Rachel-sv9pq in truth, gratitude goes much farther.
@@jackiemartello7970 She should be grateful that there aren't as many character-driven, interesting about women than men? Nah.
@@Rachel-sv9pq well, best of luck to her with incessant complaining, ingratitude and victim hood.
@@jackiemartello7970 Well she's worth 40 million dollars so I think she's doing ok being outspoken and empowered
This is a ridiculous concept
why would asian american actors care for the feminist test?
Lol. Anybody who knows anything about storytelling knows this stupid test holds no water.
Reverse the situation. Imagine if 75% of movies feautured NO scenes with men that held a conversation not about a woman. Seems ridiculous, right?
It just points out a general problem about representation of women in movies. It doesn't mean "just because this movie didn't pass the test, it's automatically bad". Not at all. I have no idea why some men get indignant the second a sexist issue is brought up and immediatly work to discredit it.
@@AllyMemes It's not indigitation...it's merely pointing out how flimsy this "test" is. utterly fails to take into account the actual content of the film and is incredibly shallow.
(Oh, and I love how you just assume only men find the test stupid...nice.)
Using the Bechdel test, Transformers 4 passes. And I highly doubt anyone would agree Michael Bay is a paragon of dimensional female protagonists.
You know what film doesn't pass the test? Run Lola Run - a seminal indie thriller featuring an iconic female lead. Well, going by the tests standards...it's sexist.
Gravity. One woman and one man in the entire film. By the criteria of the test? Sexist.
You what else passes? The Twilight movies. Need I say more?
@@alienboy1322 Not an argument.
@@alienboy1322 Ah so you have no actual rebuttal you just want to spout off. Ok. Bye bye.
@@nope5657
No hard feelings?