Out of Africa (1985 #5 Box Office and Oscar Winner)

 Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes.  There’s Baroness Karen von Blixen, Felicity Spurway, Lady Belfield, and Lady Byrne.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes, Karen has several conversations with various female characters, most notably with Felicity.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • While Karen and Felicity mostly discuss men and their relationships with them, they also sometimes segue into discussions of the African environment, the war, and Karen’s independence.  These conversations are minimal (only a few lines before going back to the subject of men), but they do count.

The Color Purple (1985 #4 Box Office and Oscar Nominee)

 Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes, there are several female characters.  The majors ones are Celie Johnson, Shug Avery, and Nettie Harris.  Other notable supporting characters include Sofia, Squeak, Miss Millie, and Olivia.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes, there are several conversations between the aforementioned women.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • Yes.  Nettie teaches Celie to read.  Celie and Shug talk about the former’s relationship with Nettie, among other things.

Witness (1985 Oscar Nominee)

 Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes, Rachel Lapp and Elaine.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes.  Their conversation lasts less than 10 seconds, but its a dialogue nevertheless.  A second conversation lasts maybe 30 seconds.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • Yes and no.  The extent of their conversation is three lines and six words:
     • Elaine – “John says you’re Amish.”
     • Rachel – “Yes.”
     • Elaine – Oh.

While Rachel and Elaine’s conversation covers Rachel’s Amish identity, I would argue that it ultimately centers on whether John was telling the truth or not.  Rachel and Elaine do talk again later, but that conversation also revolves around John and the consequences of his actions.

Prizzi’s Honor (1985 Oscar Nominee)

 Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes.  The two major ones are Irene Walker and Maerose Prizzi, but other notable, albeit supporting, female characters include Amalia Prizzi, Beulah, and Peaches Altamot.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes.  Maerose and Amalia talk, as do Maerose and Beulah.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • Yes, Maerose and Beulah’s conversation revolves around the latter’s sighting of Irene “turning tricks.”

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 Oscar Nominee)

 Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes.  Sônia Braga plays multiple female characters–namely Leni Lamaison, Marta, and the Spider Woman.  There’s also Michelle, played by Denise Dumont.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes, Leni and Michelle have one conversation.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • No, they talk about the Michelle’s lover.

Rocky IV (1985 #3 Box Office)

 To see my analysis of the first three Rocky films, click here.

Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes–Adrian Balboa and Mary Ann Creed (credited only as Mrs. Creed) are back, and we have a new character in Ludmilla Drago.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes, “Mrs. Creed” and Ludmilla speak briefly before their husbands’ match.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • No, it revolves around their husbands.

Further Analysis

1. Does the movie have at least one female employed behind-the-scenes in a position of power (director, executive producer, producer, or writer)?
   • No.
2. Are the named female characters in leading or supporting roles?
   • Supporting roles.  As in the previous film, each woman can be characterized solely by her marital relationship to a male boxer.
3. How important is the female-female conversation to the overall plot?
   • No.

Commentary

I’ve never been a betting person, but these past four posts suggest Sylvester Stallone doesn’t have the greatest track record with the Bechdel-Wallace Test.  Rocky IV came the closest by far, but it was not quite enough.  That being said, Adrian, “Mrs. Creed”, and Ludmilla all personify the idiom that “behind every great man [or in this case, boxer] is a great woman.”  There can be no doubt that Rocky, Apollo, and Ivan would be nothing without the emotional support of their wives.

Final Verdict: 

Rambo: First Blood – Part II (1985 #2 Box Office)

“Did not expect a woman, no?”

 Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • No.  This film is a slight improvement over First Blood in that it has at least one named character, Co Bao.  There is also a female prostitute at the POW camp, but she is nameless and (apparently) faceless.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • No.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • N/A

Further Analysis

1. Does the movie have at least one female employed behind-the-scenes in a position of power (director, executive producer, producer, or writer)?
   • No
2. Are the named female characters in leading or supporting roles?
   • Bao is a supporting character and Rambo’s love interest.
3. How important is the female-female conversation to the overall plot?
   • N/A

Commentary

To be fair, Bao is a pretty badass character in this movie.  She’s quick thinking and resourceful, and she doesn’t easily fall into the Damsel-in-Distress archetype you typically see in male-driven action movies.  If anyone was going to be a match for Rambo, it would be her.  The fact that (Spoilers!) she dies so suddenly seems to undermine her potential, reducing her to a haunting tragedy.

Final Verdict: 

Back to the Future (1985 #1 Box Office)

Bechdel-Wallace Test

1. Does the movie have at least two named female characters?
   • Yes – Lorraine McFly (née Baines), Jennifer Parker, and Linda McFly.
2. Do the female characters talk to each other on-screen?
   • Yes, Lorraine and Linda talk.  Lorraine also talks to her girlfriends in 1955, but none of them are named.
3. Does their conversation revolve around something other than a man?
   • No.  Lorraine and Linda’s conversation revolves around “chasing boys” as well as George McFly and how Lorraine fell in love with him.

Further Analysis

1. Does the movie have at least one female employed behind-the-scenes in a position of power (director, executive producer, producer, or writer)?
   • Yes, Kathleen Kennedy is one of the executive producers. (SIDE NOTE: Remember this name.  She works closely with Stephen Spielberg, so her name will come up often in the years to come.)
2. Are the named female characters in leading or supporting roles?
   • All three women are supporting characters who can easily be characterized by their relationship to Marty McFly (e.g., his mother, his girlfriend, etc.).
3. How important is the female-female conversation to the overall plot?
   • Pretty important.  The story of how Lorraine and George first met and, subsequently, fell in love, sets up the framework for Marty’s actions and mistakes once he travels back to 1955.

Commentary

So close, yet so far!  As much fun as Back to the Future still is 30  years later, that fun seems to be for men only.  Lorraine and Linda, for one, appear to have no aspirations beyond shopping, dating, and supporting the men in their lives.  This much is clear in the 2 family meal scenes that bookend Marty’s time travel adventure.  While audiences are given decent insight into George’s meek, nerdy nature and Dave’s job situation, we learn next to nothing about Lorraine and especially Linda’s aspirations.  Even Marty has little to say about his mother besides her appearance (“But you’re so thin!”).

What’s even more disturbing is the lack of agency Lorraine has in 1955.  Parhaps this is just a reflection of the time period (1980s or 1950s, take your pick), but aside from one failed slap she does little to defend herself from her suitors.  It falls to George or Marty to “rescue” her on several occasions.

Final Verdict: 

Introduction to 1985

Top U.S. Box Office Films

1. Back to the Future . . . . . . . . . $210,609,762
2. Rambo: First Blood Part II . . . $150,415,432
3. Rocky IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$127,873,716
4. The Color Purple . . . . . . . . . . .$94,175,854
5. Out of Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$87,071,205

Academy Award Nominees

• The Color Purple
• Kiss of the Spider Woman
• Out of Africa (Winner)
• Prizzi’s Honor
• Witness

Side Note:  According to the Academy Awards Rules, a movie is deemed eligible for consideration if it begins its “Los Angeles County qualifying run” anytime between January 1 and December 31 of the year prior to the awards ceremony.  As such, while the above list is from the 58th Academy Awards, which aired in 1986, all of the movies above premiered in 1985 (in Los Angeles, at least) and therefore coincide with the Box Office list.

Other Factors to Be Aware Of

• The Color Purple and Out of Africa made both lists.
• Anjelica Huston won Best Supporting Actress for Prizzi’s Honor.
• Whoopi Goldberg and Margaret Avery were nominated for Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, for The Color Purple, though neither won.
• Meryl Streep’s nomination for Out of Africa was her sixth of 19 (as of 2015).