Passes the Bechdel test

Harriet

Name: Harriet
Released: 2019

2019. Directed by Kasi Lemmons, written by Gregory Allen Howard and Kasi Lemmons.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
8 women characters. 9 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 6 scenes out of 189.
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

Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Released: 01 Nov 2019
Genres: Action, Biography, Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.8 / 10
Metascore: 66 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 21 wins & 56 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Harriet 169 lines, woman
Gideon 82 lines, man
William Still 67 lines, man
Minty 39 lines, woman
Reverend Green 27 lines, man
Walter 27 lines, man
Ben 26 lines, man
Marie Buchanon 26 lines
John 24 lines, man
Eliza 21 lines, woman

Full cast, 44 people

Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman
Leslie Odom Jr. as William Still
Janelle Monáe as Marie Buchanon
Clarke Peters as Ben Ross
Vanessa Bell Calloway as Rit Ross
Omar J. Dorsey as Bigger Long
Henry Hunter Hall as Walter
Joseph Lee Anderson as Robert Ross
Antonio J Bell as Henry Ross
Zackary Momoh as John Tubman
Alexis Louder as Jane
Aria Brooks as Anger (8)
Joe Alwyn as Gideon Brodess
Tim Guinee as Thomas Garrett
Nick Basta as Foxx
CJ McBath as Junyah Ross
Frank Riley III as Joe
Daphne Maxwell Reid as Miz Lucy
Jenna Marie Hess as Phoebe
Kathryn Tkel as Tilly
Vondie Curtis-Hall as Reverend Green
Jennifer Nettles as Eliza Brodess
Deborah Ayorinde as Rachel Ross
Mike Marunde as Edward Brodess
Kamillah Matthews as Soph
Rakeem Laws as Jasper Marley
Tory Kittles as Frederick Douglass
Tia L. Davis as Linah
Mitchell Hoog as Vince (16)
Liam Searcy as Victor (16)
Keith Tyree as Sidney Howard Gay
Thomas Keegan as Sherriff Ned Utley
Jaben Early as John Clay
Don Hartman as Gus Vern
Pete Burris as Lawman
Damian Allen as Planter
David Dickson Reynolds as White Minister
William Flaman as A.C. Thompson
William L. Thomas as Senator Seward
James Hester as Farmer
Laureen E. Smith as Martha Coffin Wright
Brian K. Landis as Marshal
Morgan Mccoy as Jesse
Wain Jenkins as UGRR Passenger (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 11% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 189

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	9	6
5 to 8	10	21
9 to 12	1	0
13 to 16	5	4
17 to 20	0	10
21 to 24	5	8
25 to 28	5	19
29 to 32	1	7
33 to 36	0	0
37 to 40	2	1
41 to 44	2	3
45 to 48	17	19
49 to 52	5	5
53 to 56	8	3
57 to 60	8	6
61 to 64	5	0
65 to 68	15	14
69 to 72	1	0
73 to 76	19	16
77 to 80	1	5
81 to 84	10	34
85 to 88	0	6
89 to 92	5	6
93 to 96	10	11
97 to 100	3	8
101 to 104	19	27
105 to 108	5	0
109 to 112	0	0
113 to 116	0	0
117 to 120	4	3
121 to 124	12	10
125 to 128	10	12
129 to 132	4	8
133 to 136	1	6
137 to 140	1	7
141 to 144	7	7
145 to 148	11	13
149 to 152	0	1
153 to 156	10	3
157 to 160	12	6
161 to 164	7	2
165 to 168	3	6
169 to 172	0	2
173 to 176	9	10
177 to 180	4	4
181 to 184	0	4
185 to 188	12	6
189 to 189	2	0

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.

MINTY: I’m sorry I’m going to leave you, Farewell, oh farewell; But I’ll meet you in the morning... MINTY & SLAVES: Farewell, oh farewell! I’ll meet you in the morning, I’m bound for the promised land! On the other side of Jordan, Bound for the promised la…

HARRIET: Now I’m tellin’ you we cain’t. JANE: I don’t think I can go no further, Minty. Feel like we goin’ in circles. JUNYAH: Ain’t everybody strong like you, sister. HARRIET: Somebody tell you escapin’ slavery was easy?! If you strong enough to bear de lash, you strong enough to run from it!

PHOEBE: Dey comin’. We gotta go! HARRIET: We cain’t go on dat way. There’s danger!

HARRIET: Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land Tell all the Pharaohs to... SLAVES: Let my people go!

HARRIET: When Israel was in Egypt land Let my people go! Oppressed so hard they could not stand... SLAVES: Let my people go!

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 45 are women's.

280 lines from women, 349 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

8 women and 22 men in the cast. 9 women and 23 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 30 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 42% of the words (3,580), men 58% (4,950). Women have 45% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

5 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Kasi Lemmons (woman)
Written by: Gregory Allen Howard (man), Kasi Lemmons (woman)
Story by: Gregory Allen Howard (man)
Produced by: Kim Roth (woman), Daniela Taplin Lundberg (woman), Charles D. King (man), Debra Martin Chase (woman), Gregory Allen Howard (man)
Shot by: John Toll (man)
Edited by: Wyatt Smith (man)
Music by: Terence Blanchard (man)
Production design by: Warren Alan Young (man)
Costumes by: Paul Tazewell (man)