Alison Bechdel has issued a passing score to Fire Island, after criticism claimed the film failed the Bechdel Test.
Hulu’s new LGBTQ+ spin on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is about a group of queer friends who gather for a week of love and fun in the hamlet of Fire Island Pines, New York. However, their friendship is jeopardised by a sudden change of events.
The Bechdel Test – which originated in Alison Bechdel’s 1985 comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For” – is used to measure the representation of women in a work of fiction.
It consists of three criteria: It must contain at least two women, they must interact with each other, and their conversation must be about something other than a man.
In a now-deleted tweet shared on Monday (6 June), reporter Hanna Rosin ignited a Twitter uproar when she called out the film for receiving what she considered an “F- on the Bechdel Test”.
“Do we just ignore the drab lesbian stereotypes bc cute gay Asian boys? Is this revenge for all those years of the gay boy best friend?” Rosin questioned.
Many fans argued against Rosin’s tweet, particularly taking issue with her mention of Asian men.
Now, Bechdel has shut down the debate, giving her final words on Tuesday (7 June) in a follow-up tweet.
“Okay, I just added a corollary to the Bechdel test: Two men talking to each other about the female protagonist of an Alice Munro story in a screenplay structured on a Jane Austen novel = pass,” she wrote.
Fire Island’s Twitter account retweetedBechdel’s approval, adding: “WE PASSED!!!!!”
Read The Independent’s full film review here.
Fire Island is available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney+ Star channel in the UK.
