Now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has officially premiered, initial reports after the screening out in Hollywood on Dec. 14 seem fairly positive.
Then again, what person goes to the premiere of a new Star Wars flick and immediately bashes it afterward? One point to note: the movie reportedly passes the Bechdel test.
The Bechdel test, sometimes called the Bechdel-Wallace test, has taken on many permutations over the years since it first showed up in the comic Dykes to Watch Out For by cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Even so, the basics remain the same: if a movie has at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man, it is said to pass the Bechdel test. It sounds simple, but a shocking number of films don’t pass.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens passing the test itself is an incredibly welcome change. The original films — and even the prequel trilogy — are often criticized for their lack of women in general — let alone what two might speak to each other about. Then again, The Force Awakens was pretty good at casting a diverse cast of John Boyega (Finn), Daisy Ridley (Rey), Oscar Isaac (Poe) and more. Ridley herself is joined by Gwendoline Christie, Carrie Fisher and Lupita N’yongo, so it seems fair to speculate that some combination of their characters has a conversation about something other than a man.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens officially releases in theaters on Dec. 18, 2015.
Source: Time
