bechdel: The Bechdel test

In speegled/fosdata: Data for use with the book "Probability, Statistics, and Data: A Fresh Approach Using R", by Darrin Speegle and Bryan Clair

The Bechdel test

Description

A simple tool for detecting gender bias in Hollywood movies is the Bechdel test, which originated in Alison Bechdel's comic strip "Dykes To Watch Out For". A movie passes the test if it has:

1. at least two women in it

2. who talk to each other about

3. something besides a man

This data set contains information about movies, whether they pass or fail the Bechdel test, and financial information for those movies.

Usage

bechdel

Format

A data frame with 1794 observations of 15 variables

year

Movie release year.

imdb

Movie ID number at imdb.com.

title

Movie title.

test

The full Bechdel test status of the film, as rated by BechdelTest.com.

clean_test

A simplified Bechdel test status. Contains levels dubious, men, notalk, nowmen, and ok.

binary

The Bechdel test stautus simplified to PASS/FAIL.

budget

The film's budget, in US dollars, when made.

domgross

Domestic earnings (US, Canada, PR, Guam).

intgross

International earnings.

code

Combination of year and binary variables.

budget_2013

The film's budget, in 2013 US dollars.

domgross_2013

Domestic earnings in 2013 US dollars.

intgross_2013

International earnings in 2013 US dollars.

period_code

Movie release year segmented into five periods, 1=2010-2014, 2=2005-2009, etc.

decade_code

Movie release year segmented into three decades, 1=2010s, 2=2000s, 3=1990s.

Details

From the authors: "Audiences and creators know that on one level or another, there’s an inherent gender bias in the movie business — whether it’s the disproportionately low number of films with female leads, the process of pigeonholing actresses into predefined roles (action chick, romantic interest, middle-aged mother, etc.), or the lack of serious character development for women on screen compared to their male counterparts. What’s challenging is quantifying this dysfunction, putting numbers to a trend that is — at least anecdotally — a pretty clear reality."

Source

"The Dollar-And-Cents Case Against Hollywood's Exclusion of Women", Walt Hickey, FiveThirtyEight, April 1, 2014.

https://github.com/fivethirtyeight/data/tree/master/bechdel

speegled/fosdata documentation built on Feb. 8, 2025, 8:17 a.m.