Does #Hamiltonfilm pass the Bechdel test?

I was so excited when Disney + released the #hamiltonfilm. I was a fool and choose not to even try to get tickets to the Broadway show when the original cast was in it. Simply put, I did not believe the hype...I definitely do now. Wow! What an amazing show!

While the show centers on Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr's rivalry, there are two women featured prominently as well: Elizabeth and Angelica Schuyler. The former marries Alexander Hamilton and the latter pines over him for the entire musical. After the 3rd watch, I started thinking about how they are represented as female characters.

What is a Bechdel test?

The Bechdel test or the Bechdel-Wallace test is a measure of representation of women in fiction. This test can call to attention the gender-inequality in fiction. There are three rules that determine if the women in a piece of fiction pass the Bechdel-Wallace test:

1. The movie has to have at least 2 women in it.

2. The women must talk to each other.

3. The women must talk to each other about something other than a man.

**You may be saying, but Hamilton isn't fiction...it's based on a true story. Well, yes, it's BASED on a true story, but it is highly fictionalized; therefore, the Bechdel test CAN be used to determine representation.

Summer Activity: Watch the Hamilton Film on Disney + and determine if the film passes the Bechdel test. You can also watch any other film, and you can then calculate how many films actually pass this test. Are the films that pass written by men or women? Were you surprised by the results? Why or why not?