Films are the easiest for information and knowledge to permeate to the masses. Films have been used as a tool for propaganda as early on as the Second World War. Although propaganda has a negative and pejorative connotation to it, one cannot help but agree with the mass appeal a film can garner. While a film like 'Gone with the Wind' in 1939 could hope to reinstill beliefs of the Lost Cause in the Confederate sympaths, a film like 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' (2017) could also increase awareness for rights to dignity and safety. A famous South Korean movie 'Dogani' (Silenced) (2011) with its strong message on child sexual abuse garnered immense favour among the public and catalyzed strong legislation to be penned down against child sex offenders in the country. Hence, the point I make is convincing and even rhetoric, that films can be a mirror of the society and can also work to chide and correct social wrongs.
However, socially degrading messages can do equal harm and perpetuate social inequalities and render the weak even more weaker. To ensure that the marginalized and societal imbalances that prevail do not get reflected in films, a number of tests were created. The very first conspicuously marginalized faction that received recognition was women in 1985 when one of its kind Bechdel-Wallace Test. This test was inspired by the cartoonist Alicia Bechdel. For a film to pass this test it posed the conditionality that the film must have at least two (named) women characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. Some films that have successfully passed the test are 'Chak De! India' (2007), 'Bend it Like Beckham' (2002), 'Hunger Games' (2012), 'Hidden Figures' (2016), 'Frozen' (2013), 'Lipstick under my Burkha' (2016) and 'Tumhari Sulu' (2017). However, despite the increased frequency of movies that pass the test, there are many more that do not. Gendered depictions and idolization of patriarchal tropes continue to receive validation on the silver screen (viz. Kabir Singh (2019)).
In the recent past the social fabric has been in a state of flux as debates over distinctions between gender and sexual orientation have moved to the fore. Cultural and religious dogmatism may have attempted to thwart the growing dissent in favour of the expansive and inclusive gender spectrum, but legal precedents have enabled an atmosphere of tolerance (albeit at a fledgling state). The Pride Movement dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ social group validated and designated dignity to all who would otherwise have been rendered a social pariah.
Given the increasing favourable circumstances, portends films to be more representative of the community. Hence, in alignment with the Bechdel Test the GLAAD introduced the Vito Russo Test in 2018 which would vet how queer community is represented in films and what narratives are assigned to queer characters. For a film to pass the test, a film must have a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer. The person must have unique traits (that are commonly attributed to cis-gendered individuals) and should not be defined by their gender identity or sexual orientation. Finally, their character should be etched in a way that their removal would have significant ripple effects on the plot of the film and they are simply not their to establish certain social commentary or to make the audience crack up.
Surprisingly, these well defined conditions have been passed by many films in general and continue to feature in film festivals across the globe. Although, 'A Fantastic Woman' took away the oscar in 2017 and we do not see too many transgender characters in films. Films like 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' (2019) received immense critical acclaim and yet is not quite heard outside film circles. In India very few movies make it to being commercially successful like 'Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan' (2020). The OTT platforms provide some protection against outright rejection by audience and has seen certain plots like 'His Story' (2021) feature. We have received an undeniably high dose of offensive and queer unfriendly films for the past few decades. The tide is turning, but things will take much longer.
Race and caste form the other social groups that beg representation and recognition for prevention of social ills. While the issue of race has been dealt by Hollywood time and time again, films that cast a shadow on caste of characters are few and far between. Anubhav Sinha's 'Article 15' (2019) paved the way for this. Ever since, characters with an angle of caste have been portrayed a few times, the most recent one being in 'Grahan' (2021). However, it is too little to create ripples and question the hegemonic way of being.
The point of this article was not to but the sheer degree of change that has come about in the historicity of films across the world and in India. The Bechdel Test and Vito Russo Test provide us with measures to check and recheck where we stand as a society. Testing for and acknowledging intersectionality is one of the few ways we can try to allay the evils that our predecessors have inflicted.
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