Full visualization: http://vis.mjs-svc.com/bechdel/
The "Bechdel Test" is one way to measure what's called the "male gaze", the tendency for cinema to focus on or around male characters, or to be told expecting a male audience. One measure of this was created in a 1985 comic strip by Alison Bechdel, in which a character stated she would only watch a movie if there were:
a) at least two (named) female characters, who...
b) ...talked to each other...
c) ...about something other than a man.
The website bechdeltest.com has pulled together results of these criteria applied to popular movies across more than a century, and I visualized them with protovis as a fun little way to get back into that mindset.
Link
Bering
So if I understand that correctly some of the earliest movies were actually more equal in gender-representation than they are now?