DuVernay Test Overview: 4 Movies That Pass the DuVernay Test

The DuVernay Test measures representation of people of color in film, television, books, video games, and other forms of storytelling to draw attention to tropes that reinforce racial inequality and prejudice in media representation. The brainchild of New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis, the test—named in honor of Black director Ava DuVernay—requires that a story features characters of color who have rich lives rather than existing only in relation to the white characters.

The DuVernay Test arose amid the controversy of the 2016 Oscar nominees, which featured minimal racial representation and spurred the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. The inspiration for the DuVernay Test came from Alison Bechdel’s well-known Bechdel Test (or Bechdel–Wallace Test), which requires that a story features two female-identifying characters who have a conversation about something other than a man. As a broad indicator of the active presence of people of color in film, books, TV shows, and other media as a whole, the DuVernay Test is one quantifiable metric for onscreen racial equality in the film industry.

Film critic Manohla Dargis introduced the test in an article about the 2016 Sundance Film Festival for the New York Times. Dargis outlined that for Hollywood films to pass the test, they must feature characters of color who have a fully realized existence rather than appearing only in support of white stories. Other proponents and filmmakers added optional criteria for the test. The major metrics are the test are:

1. 1. Complex characters: Stories that pass the test must feature at least two characters of color, and they must not be in a romantic relationship together. These characters must have complex lives rather than existing only in relation to white characters.
2. 2. Names: The people of color in a story must have names.
3. 3. Speaking parts: Characters of color must have dialogue, and their conversations must not be about supporting a white character.

Here are a few movies that pass the DuVernay Test:

1. 1. Black Panther (2018): Several of the Avengers films fail to pass the DuVernay Test, but Black Panther, one of the highest-grossing domestic hits of all time, features several strong Black characters with rich and varied lives and relationships.
2. 2. Parasite (2019): Academy Award–winner Parasite centers on a Korean family that slowly tries to take over the lives of their wealthy employers.
3. 3. Selma (2014): Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma takes place in 1965 and follows the voting rights activism of several key figures of the civil rights movement, including the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
4. 4. The Color Purple (1985): With a screenplay based on the Alice Walker novel, The Color Purple portrays the complex and intimate life of a young Black girl growing up in the early twentieth century, while also featuring several friends and family members with their own fully realized lives.

Become a better filmmaker with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Jodie Foster, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Shonda Rhimes, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, and more.