Passes the Bechdel test

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Name: Avatar
Released: 2009

2009. Directed by James Cameron, written by James Cameron.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
16 women characters. 4 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 10 scenes out of 165.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers knowledge, of the Indigenous Race and their Culture, for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

Released: 18 Dec 2009
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.9 / 10
Metascore: 83 / 100
Awards: Won 3 Oscars. 93 wins & 131 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Jake 266 lines, man
Grace 130 lines, woman
Neytiri 70 lines, woman
Quaritch 62 lines, man
Norm 40 lines, man
Selfridge 38 lines, man
Trudy 34 lines, woman
Mo'At 27 lines, woman
Tsu'Tey 26 lines, man
Max 22 lines, man

Full cast, 68 people

Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri
Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine
Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch
Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon
Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge
Joel David Moore as Norm Spellman
CCH Pounder as Mo'at
Wes Studi as Eytukan
Laz Alonso as Tsu'Tey
Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel
Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
Sean Anthony Moran as Private Fike
Jason Whyte as Cryo Vault Med Tech
Scott Lawrence as Venture Star Crew Chief
Kelly Kilgour as Lock Up Trooper
James Patrick Pitt as Shuttle Pilot
Sean Patrick Murphy as Shuttle Co-Pilot
Peter Dillon as Shuttle Crew Chief
Kevin Dorman as Tractor Operator
Kelson Henderson as Dragon Gunship Pilot
David Van Horn as Dragon Gunship Gunner
Jacob Tomuri as Dragon Gunship Navigator
Michael Blain-Rozgay as Suit #1
Jon Curry as Suit #2
Julene Renee as Ambient Room Tech / Troupe
Luke Hawker as Ambient Room Tech
Woody Schultz as Ambient Room Tech / Troupe
Peter Mensah as Horse Clan Leader
Sonia Yee as Link Room Tech
Jahnel Curfman as Basketball Avatar / Troupe
Ilram Choi as Basketball Avatar
Kyla Warren as Na'vi Child
Lisa Roumain as Troupe
Debra Wilson as Troupe
Taylor Kibby as Troupe
Jodie Landau as Troupe
Chris Mala as Troupe
Julie Lamm as Troupe
Cullen B. Madden as Troupe
Joseph Brady Madden as Troupe
Frankie Torres as Troupe
Austin Wilson as Troupe
Sara Wilson as Troupe
Tamica Washington-Miller as Troupe
Lucy Briant as Op Center Staff
Nathan Meister as Op Center Staff
Gerry Blair as Op Center Staff
Matthew Chamberlain as Op Center Staff
Paul Yates as Op Center Staff
Wray Wilson as Op Center Duty Officer
James Gaylyn as Op Center Staff
Melvin Leno Clark III as Dancer
Carvon Futrell as Dancer
Brandon Jelkes as Dancer
Micah Moch as Dancer
Haniyyah Tahirah as Dancer
Christopher Nolen as Dancer
Christa Oliver as Dancer
April Marie Thomas as Dancer
Bravita A. Threatt as Dancer
Alicia Vela-Bailey as Ikran Clan Leader (uncredited)
Larry Rew as Crematorium Tech (uncredited)
Dina Morrone as TV Voice Over Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Rodney Cook as Trooper (uncredited)
Nicole Dionne as Na'vi
Rowan Bettjeman as Soldier (uncredited)
Paul Kingdom as Miner (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 165

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 4	0	6
5 to 8	0	12
9 to 12	0	0
13 to 16	0	32
17 to 20	20	35
21 to 24	3	3
25 to 28	11	19
29 to 32	4	4
33 to 36	12	9
37 to 40	16	13
41 to 44	22	24
45 to 48	9	14
49 to 52	5	21
53 to 56	7	9
57 to 60	15	7
61 to 64	20	30
65 to 68	3	9
69 to 72	12	9
73 to 76	2	20
77 to 80	28	22
81 to 84	3	0
85 to 88	1	3
89 to 92	7	15
93 to 96	3	3
97 to 100	0	3
101 to 104	9	22
105 to 108	10	13
109 to 112	4	17
113 to 116	4	7
117 to 120	3	6
121 to 124	5	5
125 to 128	13	19
129 to 132	0	11
133 to 136	8	25
137 to 140	2	8
141 to 144	0	7
145 to 148	0	1
149 to 152	0	10
153 to 156	2	6
157 to 160	0	20
161 to 164	0	4
165 to 165	0	1

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.

TRUDY: Sturmbeest herd, one o'clock. GRACE: Looks like a bull, six cows and some juveniles.

MO'AT: Step back! MO'AT: I will look at this alien. NEYTIRI: That is Mother. She is Tsahik -- the one who interprets the will of Eywa.

TRUDY: It only takes tiny inputs. Here, put your hand on the cyclic -- TRUDY: Feel how small the moves are? You barely have to think it, and the aircraft reacts. GRACE: See these magnetic formations. We're getting close. TRUDY: Yeah we are. Look at my instruments.

GRACE: I See you, Neytiri Mo'at'ite. NEYTIRI: I See you, Doctor Grace Augustine.

GRACE: The Great Leonopteryx is the apex aerial predator. Not only rare, but the sightings tend not to get reported. TRUDY: There usually isn't time to key the mike.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 34 are women's.

263 lines from women, 504 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

16 women and 35 men in the cast. 4 women and 15 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 59 of 779. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 58 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 34% of the words (2,823), men 66% (5,447).

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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

6 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 22% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: James Cameron (man)
Written by: James Cameron (man)
Produced by: James Cameron (man), Jon Landau (man)
Shot by: Mauro Fiore (man)
Edited by: John Refoua (man), Stephen E. Rivkin (man), James Cameron (man)
Music by: James Horner (man)
Production design by: Rick Carter (man), Robert Stromberg (man)
Costumes by: Deborah L. Scott (woman), Mayes C. Rubeo (woman)
Cast by: Margery Simkin (woman), Miranda Rivers (woman), Mali Finn (woman), Liz Mullane (woman)