Bechdel math-flinging

As you know, I only really am interested in commercial movies. I like to see what messages are being delivered to people in the world. Obviously, series don't count, that would be too obvious to not have named women communicating with each other. So series are automatically on the Bechdel.

So let's fling some math.

I have watched 3400 films in four years. I watched all the movies I could remember watching. 600 or so passed the Bechdel - two named women speaking to each other about something other than a man. That's about 5500 hours of film, of which about 900 hours were films that contained at least a few words that were not about men and between two women.

Now let's not get excited, because only a tiny amount of minutes in those 900 hours devoted themselves to conversations between women. And the word conversation is an extreme description. Most were more like ten word exchanges in the whole film. Most of those conversations were fights, accusations, or denigrations.

I would estimate that SUPPORTIVE and CONSTRUCTIVE conversations between women account for maybe... maybe... an hour or so's worth of film out of those 5500 hours.

Two of my favorite are: In 'You've got Mail', Jean Stapleton, the accountant says that she is rich and could lend Meg Ryan money if she needs it. And in 'Alien Resurrection', Sigourney Weaver, the woman-crossbred-with alien, speaks to Winona Rider, feminine-form android. They couldn't even have the two women who speak to each other be really really unqualifiedly women.

Uniquely, these two characters, leader-women, don't have male controllers in the film. THAT is rare. Their lives are affected by men, but their actions underscore their independence.