Oppenheimer: Does Christopher Nolan’s $100M Biographical Thriller Pass The Bechdel Test
In the current times, Hollywood or anything related to media holds inclusivity and representation in very high regard. The bigger the film, the more critique and intrigue it inspires for all. So has been the case with Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller Oppenheimer. The movie has been long awaited by sci-fi and history fans around the globe. In the ways of pop culture, the film has been put through something called a Bechdel Test. The results of which don’t seem favorable to the film. As the results create a division of opinion among the fans, read ahead to get the details.
Oppenheimer Fails The Bechdel Test
Oppenheimer: the latest genius of British director Christopher Nolan although, educational and informative has managed to fail a test. The Bechdel Test. The eighties were the moment of women’s rights and empowerment. A graphic novelist at the time, named Alison Bechdel was struck by this idea which she used to decide if she’d watch a movie or not and caused the birth of what we call the Bechdel Test.
The test, more of a criteria has three simple conditions. A movie is progressive and passes the test if firstly, the movie should have at least two female actors. Secondly, They should talk to each other. Lastly, the conversation should be about anything but a man. Not very hard to achieve. And yet Oppenheimer didn’t.
The movie has two female characters in prominence. Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer and Jean Tatlock. Played by Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh respectively. They both act as J. Robert Oppenheimer’s love interests in the film, who is played by Cillian Murphy. All of their dialogue exchange and marginal character development has been primarily around the titular, male character. Causing the film to fail the Bechdel test.
Social Media Has Variant Takes On The Matter
Since the news of the release date made it to the streets, people started noticing that Oppenheimer makes it to the theater the same weekend as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. As the themes and stories could not have been different, the whole of the internet was very Barbie versus Oppenheimer. The weekend itself was called the Barbenheimer Weekend.
When the observation of Oppenheimer failing the Bechdel test was drawn and splashed in the news, denizens started stating their opinions. And let’s just say they varied quite a bit.
Nolan has never made a movie that passes the bechdel test why do you think Oppenheimer would lol https://t.co/9WWP20kFJZ
— jenny (@clarkjoes) July 22, 2023
Applying the Bechdel test on Oppenheimer when this is what his academic sphere looked like at the time is actually insane to me pic.twitter.com/8bnIthZmik
— namakpyaru (@fruityashtray) July 24, 2023
Read More: Oppenheimer: Every Actor Who Has Worked With Christopher Nolan More Than Once
The masses are torn between the mosaic of relevance in the light of past and present. The subject matter and the subject matter more than allow Oppenheimer to fail the test. If anything, it could be interpreted as Nolan’s honesty towards getting things right and not manipulating a script to fit some marketing propaganda.
It is a fair point that Oppenheimer is, but a period drama. It did not have to be fair to the norms and rules that were created after its time. However, the idea of modernizing the story to an extent that, where it loses its gravitas isn’t as appealing. And yet the script developers could have done a better job with both Blunt and Pugh’s characters.
Source: Daily Mail
