History of Inequality for Best Actress

A couple of class days ago, Professor Lawrence introduced us to the Bechdel test. In order to pass the Bechdel test, a film must have two women with a name and who speak to each other about something other than a man. 

Surprisingly, we all saw how many films don't pass this test. Way too many.

I stumbled upon an article on Jezebel.com titled, "This Year’s Best Actress Race: A History of Inequality." I thought this article was relevant to what we discussed about the Bechdel test and our current discussions about pop culture.

The article raises many questions during this Oscar-worthy film season, where the most outstanding creative endeavors are saved for the last months of the year to increase their nomination for Best Picture.

The author did a small analysis of the Best Actress nominees and winners throughout the past 20 years. He points out that women have received Best Actress nominations from Best Picture winners or nominees 29 times, while men have received Best Actor nominations from Best Picture nominees 47 times.

He also finds that in the last 20 years, the Best Picture of the year has won the Best Actress award twice while the film named Best Picture has also won the Best Actor award five times.

He argues that men have starred in bio-pics of famous politicians, filmmakers, activists, authors and athletes-- who are mainly men, so that's probably why there are less women winning Best Actress.