Passes the Bechdel test
American Fiction
2023. Directed by Cord Jefferson, written by Cord Jefferson and Percival Everett.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 15 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 9 scenes out of 109. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write his own outlandish "Black" book--that propels him into the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
- Released
- 22 Dec 2023
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 81 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 65 wins & 174 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Monk 427 lines, man
- Cliff 93 lines, man
- Arthur 74 lines, man
- Coraline 72 lines, woman
- Lisa 47 lines, woman
- Lorraine 33 lines, woman
- Wiley 30 lines, man
- Agnes 29 lines, woman
- Sintara 28 lines, woman
- Paula 26 lines, woman
Full cast, 56 people
- Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison
- John Ortiz as Arthur
- Erika Alexander as Coraline
- Leslie Uggams as Agnes Ellison
- Sterling K. Brown as Clifford Ellison
- Skyler Wright as Brittany
- John Ales as Leo
- Patrick Fischler as Mandel
- Carmen Cusack as Gilda
- Joseph Marrella as Matthew Wilson
- Stephen Burrell as Jordan Phillips
- Issa Rae as Sintara Golden
- Nicole Kempskie as Sintara's Moderator
- Becki Dennis as Clinic Receptionist
- Tracee Ellis Ross as Lisa Ellison
- Myra Lucretia Taylor as Lorraine
- Ryan Richard Doyle as Ned
- Kate Avallone as Woman on Patio
- Dustin Tucker as Phillip
- Michael Jibrin as Jelani
- Michele Proude as Bulger's Nurse
- David De Beck as Dr. Bulger
- Okieriete Onaodowan as Van Go Jenkins
- Keith David as Willy the Wonker
- Miriam Shor as Paula Baderman
- Raymond Anthony Thomas as Maynard
- Greta Quispe as Luz Borquez
- J.C. MacKenzie as Carl Brunt
- Elle Sciore as Layne
- Adam Brody as Wiley Valdespino
- Justin Andrew Phillips as Arthur's Intern
- Neal Lerner as Wilson Harnet
- Jenn Harris as Ailene Hoover
- Bates Wilder as Jon Daniel Sigmarsen
- Jason Armani Martinez as Nursing Home Orderly
- Michael Cyril Creighton as John Bosco
- Celeste Oliva as Dr. Tiefel
- Megan Robinson as Kenya Dunston
- Christopher Barrow as Burt
- Alexander Pobutsky as Kenny
- Tokunbo Joshua Olumide as Alvin
- Chhoyang Cheshatsang as Wiley's Assistant
- Michael Malvesti as Plainclothes Cop
- Samantha Gordon as Gaby (uncredited)
- Jason Armani Martinez as Nursing Home Orderly
- Anu Bamidele as Teen (uncredited)
- Russell J. Gannon as Man At Book Fair (uncredited)
- Heidi Garza as Coffee Customer (uncredited)
- Josh Habib as Lunch Patron (uncredited)
- Nahna James as Book Convention Attendee (uncredited)
- Emily Kokidko as Student (uncredited)
- Erin McAnespie as College Student (uncredited)
- Adrian M. Mompoint as Jeff (uncredited)
- Kevin Pitcairn as Boston Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
- Anne Reardon as Waitress (uncredited)
- Cheryl Lee Thorup as Personal Assistant (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 109
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 4 to 6 | 2 | 40 |
| 7 to 9 | 7 | 3 |
| 10 to 12 | 3 | 3 |
| 13 to 15 | 30 | 19 |
| 16 to 18 | 14 | 15 |
| 19 to 21 | 17 | 26 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 54 |
| 25 to 27 | 6 | 11 |
| 28 to 30 | 21 | 46 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 28 |
| 34 to 36 | 5 | 25 |
| 37 to 39 | 5 | 5 |
| 40 to 42 | 1 | 46 |
| 43 to 45 | 25 | 37 |
| 46 to 48 | 8 | 17 |
| 49 to 51 | 7 | 19 |
| 52 to 54 | 6 | 56 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 10 |
| 58 to 60 | 2 | 2 |
| 61 to 63 | 9 | 11 |
| 64 to 66 | 21 | 44 |
| 67 to 69 | 12 | 37 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 14 |
| 73 to 75 | 9 | 12 |
| 76 to 78 | 19 | 34 |
| 79 to 81 | 1 | 1 |
| 82 to 84 | 6 | 9 |
| 85 to 87 | 4 | 23 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 15 |
| 91 to 93 | 21 | 27 |
| 94 to 96 | 7 | 13 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 1 |
| 100 to 102 | 3 | 22 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 2 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 14 |
| 109 to 109 | 0 | 6 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
RECEPTIONIST: Oh, there she is. LISA: Hello, Monk.
LORRAINE: You ready to go to dinner, Mrs. Ellison? AGNES: I just need my purse, and my black cardigan. LORRAINE: Alright. I'll get it. AGNES: Are you alright? You overeat when you're depressed.
LISA: No. I wasn't going to blow up our lives. She's coming back. Mom. Mom. LISA: Hi. How ya doin? AGNES: Our waitress isn't wearing a bra.
LORRAINE: Welcome. CORALINE: Hello.
AGNES: Hello, dear. I'm Agnes. CORALINE: Such a pleasure to meet you. I brought you these. AGNES: Dahlias are my favorite. There's a whole world inside them. AGNES: Lorraine.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 27 are women's.
275 lines from women, 754 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 23 men in the cast. 15 women and 19 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 4 of 1,054.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 68 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 28% of the words (2,859), men 72% (7,484). Women have 27% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
16
Two men
10
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Cord Jefferson (man)
- Written by
- Cord Jefferson (man)
- From the novel by
- Percival Everett (man)
- Produced by
- Nikos Karamigios (man), Cord Jefferson (man), Ben LeClair (man), Jermaine Johnson (man)
- Shot by
- Cristina Dunlap (woman)
- Edited by
- Hilda Rasula (woman)
- Music by
- Laura Karpman (woman)
- Production design by
- Jonathan Guggenheim (man)
- Costumes by
- Rudy Mance (man)
- Cast by
- Jennifer Euston (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
9 women, 15 men, 15 not listed
-
Camera
5 women, 13 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
8 women, 11 men, 9 not listed
-
Art
5 women, 5 men, 17 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 3 men, 15 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 3 men, 15 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 1 men, 12 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 53 on average. Men: 53 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Skyler Wright 26, Carmen Cusack 52, Erika Alexander 53, Leslie Uggams 80
Men
Sterling K. Brown 47, Patrick Fischler 53, John Ales 54, John Ortiz 55, Jeffrey Wright 57
Exhibit H: the money
It made 1.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $16 million
- Box office
- $22.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 109 scenes and 1,054 lines of dialogue. How the test works
