Why Do Audiences Turn to Women-Centered Films... 'Bechdel Day 2020' and the Film Industry's Move Toward Gender Equality [Kim Ga-yeon's Perspective Twist]

'Bechdel Day 2020' Selects 10 Gender Equality Films... Growing Interest Among Movie Fans
Audience Movement Demanding Diverse Female Works... Expanding to OTT Platforms
KOFIC: "Audience Voices Supporting Female-Directed and Starring Films Become Visible... Reducing Prejudice"

Still cut from the movie "House of Hummingbird," released in August last year. It was selected for the "Bechdel Choice 10" announced last month by the Korean Film Directors Association. Photo by Naver Movie

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "Are there at least two named female characters?", "Do they have conversations with each other?", "Are the topics of their conversations about things other than men?"

These are the questions used as criteria for determining gender equality in films, known as the 'Bechdel test.' The Bechdel test was devised by American cartoonist Alison Bechdel and was first used in her 1985 comic strip 'Dykes to Watch Out For.'

With the 'Bechdel Day 2020' event promoting gender-equal films, interest in female-centered movies is growing. The Korean Film Directors' Guild held an event during Gender Equality Week (from the 1st to the 7th) and selected films that contributed to promoting gender equality and diversity, announcing the 'Bechdel Choice 10.' Selected films include 'Kim Ji-young, Born 1982,' 'Maggie,' 'House of Hummingbird,' 'Our Body,' 'Baseball Girl,' 'Our House,' 'Moonlit Winter,' 'Chan-sil Is Missing,' and 'French Woman.'

Interest in female-centered films has increased alongside the rise of feminism movements in Korea. As awareness of feminism and misogyny has grown, there has been a greater demand for content featuring female characters or voices, instead of male-centered content that excludes women or contains misogynistic expressions.

Misogyny includes prejudice, contempt, disparagement, physical and mental violence, sexual commodification, and objectification of women arising from male-centered culture. In particular, in creative works such as films and dramas, depictions where female characters exist merely for men or are used to awaken male characters fall under this category.

This phenomenon is also referred to as 'Women in Refrigerators,' a term derived from a scene in issue 54 of DC Comics' 'Green Lantern' in 1994.

A still cut from the movie "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982," starring actress Jung Yu-mi, which was released in October last year. It was selected for the "Bechdel Choice 10" announced last month by the Korean Film Directors Association. Photo by Naver Movie

As a result, the box office success of films passing the Bechdel test is also increasing. According to the '2018 Korean Film Industry Report' by the Korean Film Council's Film Policy Research Institute, among 39 live-action films with a production budget over 3 billion KRW in 2018, only 10 films (25.6%) passed the Bechdel test.

The Korean Film Council pointed out in the report, "Even if films passing the Bechdel test exceed 50%, gender imbalance is not resolved. Rather, the Bechdel test is a minimum condition that most narrative films should meet. It simply verifies whether female characters have separate narratives not dependent on male characters. However, the fact that only 25.6% pass this test is problematic."

According to the '2019 Korean Film Industry Report' released by the Korean Film Council's Film Policy Research Institute in March, 13 out of the top 30 domestic box office films last year (43.3%) passed the Bechdel test. The council analyzed, "All five films with female leads passed the Bechdel test, while only 8 out of 25 films with male leads passed. Films with male leads had a relatively lower pass rate."

This trend has been observed not only in Korea but also in other countries. According to the American media Deadline in December 2018, an analysis of 350 films from 2014 to 2017 by management company CAA and tech company Shift7 showed that female-led films outperformed male-led films at the box office.

The study categorized films by production budget into five groups: 'under $10 million,' '$10 million to $30 million,' '$30 million to $50 million,' '$50 million to $100 million,' and 'over $100 million.' In the '$50 million to $100 million' category, female-led films earned an average of $318 million, while male-led films earned $243 million. In the 'over $100 million' category, female-led films earned $586 million, surpassing the $514 million average for male-led films.

Notably, since 2012, all films that earned over $1 billion globally passed the Bechdel test.

Still cut from the movie "Baseball Girl," starring actor Lee Joo-young, released last June. It was selected for the "Bechdel Choice 10" announced last month by the Korean Film Directors Association. Photo by Naver Movie

The increasing demand for diverse female content is expanding beyond the screen to OTT (Over The Top) services like Netflix and Watcha.

Netflix original contents such as 'The Old Guard' and 'Warrior Nun: God's Will' gained great popularity immediately after release, and upcoming releases this month like 'The School Nurse Files' and 'Enola Holmes' are also attracting fans' attention. Additionally, Watcha exclusive contents like 'Killing Eve,' 'The Little Drummer Girl,' 'My Brilliant Friend,' 'Why Women Kill,' and 'Mrs. America' are popular as female-centered content.

Meanwhile, the Korean Film Council emphasized the need to establish support policies for producing diverse films as demand for female-centered movies rises.

In the previously mentioned '2019 Korean Film Industry Report,' the council analyzed, "The number of female directors slightly increased compared to the previous year. As the voices of audiences supporting female directors and female-led films grow louder and become visible, stereotypes and prejudices against female directors in commercial film production and investment are gradually weakening."

They added, "The emergence of many critically acclaimed female directors and their consistent work weakens both conscious and unconscious biases held by audiences, investors, and producers against female directors. To maintain this upward trend, steady and bold support policies are necessary."