Bechdel Test: New Girl Season 1

All right, so I've kind of become obsessed with the Bechdel Test lately, and while there's an awesome website that chronicles this test for films, there isn't really one for television, so I thought I'd give it a shot (it'll give me something new to look for in shows that I've watched a thousand times).  The rules of the test are fairly simple:

1. The film/TV show has to have two named female characters.
2. They have to talk to each other.
3. They have to talk to each other about something other than a man.

After this, arguably it gets a bit fuzzy, so I'm adding a fourth criterion to this, as I think that, since the goal of this isn't to be arbitrarily including a woman saying one or two sentences to someone else, I'm going to include a 30-second rule.  The women have to talk to each other for longer than thirty seconds about one of the billion topics that doesn't include a man (there can even be a man around for the conversation, they just can't be talking about him)-that's all it takes, sounds simple, doesn't it?  I'll be going through, season-by-season, different shows that I own the DVDs of, and giving each show a grade based on the number of episodes that pass this simple test.  Should be fun, right?

For our premiere installment, I'm going to go with the first season of New Girl for a couple of reasons, chiefly that I haven't seen it for a while.  It also was created by a woman, and of its five main characters, two of them, Jess and Cece (Zooey Deschanel and Hannah Simone, respectively), are female.  Theoretically, this should mean the show should pass on a regular basis-let's investigate...

Pilot (#1.1)
Does it pass? The only two interactions between between two women is Jess and Cece talking about her upcoming date and Jess talking to a waitress that doesn't get a name, so I'm giving this a FAIL.

Kryptonite (#1.2)
Does it pass? Jess and Rochelle briefly interact, but that lasts about seven seconds, so no.  Cece and Jess share several scenes, but they spend them entirely talking about men or speak less than thirty seconds to each other-FAIL.

Wedding (#1.3)
Does it pass? Caroline and Jess talk to each other, but about Nick.  Jess also talks to Brooke, but again, about Schmidt and Nick. FAIL

Naked (#1.4)
Does it pass? Cece and Jess talk about Nick, but that's their only conversation.  Jess talks to Amanda, but Amanda doesn't speak back, so that one doesn't count either.  Once again, FAIL.

Cece Crashes (#1.5)
Does it pass? I cannot believe this, but no.  The first episode of the show to really feature Cece, and while there are conversations between Jess and Cece, they either revolve around men or don't last long enough.  I didn't have the stopwatch out for the guys, but there's a possibility that the guys also don't pass the test.

Thanksgiving (#1.6)
Does it pass? Once again, nope.  Cece and Jess both feature, but their only protracted conversation is about Schmidt and Paul. FAIL

Bells (#1.7)
Does it pass? For the first time, yes-Desiree and Jess discuss the broken toilet, and Jess also converses with the other girls (Bianca and Krystal converse with Jess throughout the episode). PASS

Bad in Bed (#1.8)
Does it pass?  Nope-despite them attending a baby shower and Jess and Cece going shopping together, the shopping excursion is entirely focused on Paul, and the women don't actually address each other at the shower, just Schmidt (for the record, the men easily pass the test in this episode, despite this being a very Jess-dominated installment). FAIL

The 23rd (#1.9)
Does it pass? Cece and Jess converse quite a bit throughout the episode, but only twelve seconds (I timed it) was not about boys, so yes, it FAILS our Bechdel Test.

The Story of the 50 (#1.10)
Does it pass? Jess and Tanya talk about the confiscation station and locker-searching, before finally discussing the surprise party that Schmidt was getting, but they never discuss men, so we officially have our second PASS!

Jess and Julia (#1.11)
Does it pass? Leave it to the perfect Lizzy Caplan to not only get the show to pass the Bechdel Test, but to get it to give Jess a true story line that doesn't involve one of the guys (in this case, Jess trying to get out of a speeding ticket).  The show passed the Bechdel Test on six separate occasions (discussing each other, the speeding ticket case, tampons, and crocheting, amongst other things), and for the first time ever, Jess and Cece (with an assist from Dr. Sadie), passed the test.  Hugely successful PASS!

The Landlord (#1.12)
Does it pass? Not even a little bit-though Cece, Jess, and Kim have scenes throughout the show, they never share a conversation together, and therefore FAIL the test.

Valentine's Day (#1.13)
Does it pass? I'm going to call this one a PASS, though it's a bit of a tossup-Jess and Cece discuss a one-night stand, which would normally qualify under the man clause, but it was primarily focused on Jess's needs and her quirks in relationships rather than a guy, so I say it counts.  For the record, this is one of my favorite episodes of the first season-Ryan Kwanten is so much fun, and freakishly ageless.

Bully (#1.14)
Does it pass? Once again, we have another PASS, as Brianna, Jess, and Tanya discuss the science fair, Brianna and Jess for a good chunk of the episode.

Injured (#1.15)
Does it pass? Jess and Sadie do talk during this episode, but it's primarily talking about Nick and his potential thyroid tumor.  So it's a FAIL, but since this is one of the first episodes that Cece interacts with the guys in a non-goddess-y sort of way (well, Winston and Nick, at least), it's a bit of a step up from earlier episodes.

Control (#1.16)
Does it pass? Nope-Jess and Cece don't even share a scene in the episode, though they do both show up.  All-in-all, after a few weeks of the show both passing and taking some strides with their female characters, this took a huge step back, with Schmidt regularly being referred to as the show's "mom" and Cece essentially just being in two scenes where she exists simply as the girl Schmidt is sleeping with (yes, she's the one in control, but the show ends with Schmidt in charge there too, so the message is pretty sad).  FAIL

Fancyman, Part 1 (#1.17)
Does it pass? Tanya and Jess have one conversation, Jess and Cece have another, but both are about Russell, so we've got another FAIL.

Fancyman, Part 2 (#1.18)
Does it pass? Once again, Jess and Cece spend their only interactions discussing Russell.  And like "Control," we're taking a huge step backwards here-Cece and Jess are both changing to fit a man, and Nick and Dirk both spend a good chunk of the episode preying on college-age women. FAIL

Secrets (#1.19)
Does it pass? After four big fails, the show passes the Bechdel Test in the first thirty seconds, with Cece and Jess discussing their upcoming charity run.  They PASS it one more time later (when they are discussing Cece's secrets).

Normal (#1.20)
Does it pass? Cece and Jess have two conversations in the show, but they are both once again about Russell. FAIL

Kids (#1.21)
Does it pass? Jeanne Tripplehorn alert!  Sara, Ouli, Jess, Cece, and Chloe all add up to three Bechdel Test PASSes.  This is also one of the best illustrations of how, despite the fact that Cece is the only person who doesn't live in the lot, Winston is the outsider in the group-they don't even feel the need to return him to the loft before the end of the episode to involve everyone else in his journey.  He is very much the Phoebe of the group-still liked by fans, but the character that most easily lifts themselves out of the rest of the characters' drama.

Tomatoes (#1.22)
Does it pass? We get another dose of Jeanne, but she doesn't help too much with the Bechdel Test this episode.  There are definitely conversations between Jess/Ouli, Cece/Nadia, and Jess/Caroline, and for brief seconds they're even about things other than Russell, Schmidt, and Nick, respectively, but not enough to hit thirty seconds.  If you added them all up you might get to thirty seconds, but again, not in the spirit of the Bechdel Test and you shouldn't be able to add together the conversations to get to a pass, so it's a FAIL.

Backslide (#1.23)
Does it pass? An episode that starts with Joni Mitchell's classic "River" had better pass the Bechdel test, right?  Jess and Jen are a grey area, but there's enough of their conversation related to infidelity and to Jess thinking she's similar to Jen to qualify as a PASS.

See Ya (#1.24)
Does it pass? Jess and Cece have a quick conversation about Schmidt and Neil, but that's about it.  If I had proof that the coyote was a woman, it might count (as Jess oddly talks to the coyote for longer than she talks to her best friend), but without proof I cannot give it a pass, so the season finale FAILs.

Final Scorecard
Bechdel Test: 8/24 (33%)
Bechdel Grade: F

It should be noted that nearly every single episode passed the reverse-Bechdel (I believe "Cece Crashes" barely hit, which is the only one I'm not completely certain on).  Unlike Jess and Cece, the guys regularly discuss things other than women (their jobs, lives, friendships with each other, their respective quirks).  It's so sad, considering that in a show where the lead is a woman (and the title character!) and a show that was created by a woman, the show couldn't even hit 50%, much less a passing grade.  That said, I still like the show (clearly, I bought the DVDs), but am hoping that when at some point I grade Season 2, that our female characters grow a little bit to not just be about the guys.

And that's where I'll leave it for now-what do you think about the Bechdel Test, our new blog series, and the results?  Are you a fan of New Girl?  What other shows do you think we should investigate?  Share in the comments!