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Sweden bring gender bias in films to light

nia.pike's picture

Some very interesting happenings in Sweden. Swedish cinemas have created a new rating scale for movies based on the absence of a gender bias. To pass the exam on the Bechdal Scale movies must have two named female characters who talk about something other than a man. This new system has only been in place for a few months, but already movie-goers are surprised at how few films pass the test. "The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Star Wars movies, The Social Network, Pulp Fiction and all but one of the Harry Potter movies fail this test," said Ellen Tejle, the director of Bio Rio, an art-house cinema in Stockholm. More about this system can be found at this link.