Passes the Bechdel test
I Saw the TV Glow
2024. Directed by Jane Schoenbrun, written by Jane Schoenbrun.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 149. -
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
Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs, when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show-one which conveys a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen's view of reality begins to crack.
- Released
- 17 May 2024
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Mystery
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 5.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 86 / 100
- Awards
- 13 wins & 95 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Maddy 136 lines, woman
- Adult Owen 85 lines, man
- Teen Owen 31 lines, man
- Young Owen 30 lines, man
- Owen 20 lines, man
- Tara 20 lines, woman
- Brenda 17 lines, woman
- Isabel 17 lines, woman
- Dave 7 lines, man
- Fun Center Employees 5 lines
Full cast, 28 people
- Justice Smith as Owen
- Jack Haven as Maddy
- Ian Foreman as Young Owen
- Helena Howard as Isabel
- Lindsey Jordan as Tara
- Danielle Deadwyler as Brenda
- Fred Durst as Frank
- Conner O'Malley as Dave
- Emma Portner as Amanda / Mr. Melancholy / Marco / Evil Clown
- Madaline Riley as Polo
- Amber Benson as Johnny Link's Mom
- Albert Birney as Mr. Sprinkly
- Michael C. Maronna as Neighbor 1
- Danny Tamberelli as Neighbor 2
- Timothy Allan as Lance
- Tyler Dean Flores as Cade
- Elizabeth Scopel as Drive-Thru Kid
- Marlyn Bandiero as Brenda's Friend
- Haley Dahl as Sloppy Jane Band Member
- Raina Block as Sloppy Jane Band Member
- Bailey Wollowitz as Sloppy Jane Band Member
- Lily Rothman as Sloppy Jane Band Member
- Phoebe Bridgers as Phoebe Bridgers
- Kris Esfandiari as King Woman Band Member
- Wilson Flores as King Woman Band Member
- Thommy Northcut as King Woman Band Member
- Julie Lodhy as King Woman Band Member
- Kenneth Kyle Martinez as Charlie's Father (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 149
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 | 5 | 2 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 to 12 | 4 | 2 |
| 13 to 16 | 5 | 1 |
| 17 to 20 | 21 | 14 |
| 21 to 24 | 2 | 1 |
| 25 to 28 | 6 | 1 |
| 29 to 32 | 17 | 16 |
| 33 to 36 | 1 | 5 |
| 37 to 40 | 0 | 14 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 2 |
| 45 to 48 | 2 | 0 |
| 49 to 52 | 5 | 8 |
| 53 to 56 | 1 | 1 |
| 57 to 60 | 19 | 3 |
| 61 to 64 | 13 | 10 |
| 65 to 68 | 6 | 8 |
| 69 to 72 | 12 | 13 |
| 73 to 76 | 5 | 6 |
| 77 to 80 | 16 | 4 |
| 81 to 84 | 5 | 6 |
| 85 to 88 | 0 | 3 |
| 89 to 92 | 2 | 6 |
| 93 to 96 | 4 | 0 |
| 97 to 100 | 4 | 2 |
| 101 to 104 | 1 | 3 |
| 105 to 108 | 1 | 2 |
| 109 to 112 | 4 | 2 |
| 113 to 116 | 2 | 3 |
| 117 to 120 | 3 | 2 |
| 121 to 124 | 6 | 0 |
| 125 to 128 | 30 | 6 |
| 129 to 132 | 3 | 4 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 4 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 6 |
| 141 to 144 | 4 | 8 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 8 |
| 149 to 149 | 0 | 3 |
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.
ISABEL: Tara is my imaginary best friend. And I'm hers. AMANDA: Your suitor has arrived. MADDY: Shut up. It's starting. ISABEL: We met at sleepaway camp and discovered we had an ancient psychic connection.
MARCO: MARCO! POLO: POLO!
MARCO: MARCO! POLO: POLO!
MARCO: We can help you... POLO: You just have to follow... the moon.
ISABEL: Tara? Tara?! TARA: Isabel?! TARA: Isabel?!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 53 are women's.
209 lines from women, 184 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
13 women and 10 men in the cast. 9 women and 6 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 426.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 25 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 57% of the words (2,328), men 43% (1,749). Women have 53% 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
9
Two men
7
Exhibit F: behind the camera
8 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 40% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jane Schoenbrun (non-binary) (non-binary)
- Written by
- Jane Schoenbrun (non-binary) (non-binary)
- Produced by
- Luca Intili (non-binary) (non-binary), Dave McCary (man), Emma Stone (woman), Ali Herting (woman), Sarah Winshall (woman)
- Shot by
- Eric K. Yue (man)
- Edited by
- Sofi Marshall (woman)
- Music by
- Alex G (man)
- Production design by
- Brandon Tonner-Connolly (man)
- Costumes by
- Rachel Dainer-Best (woman)
- Cast by
- Abby Harri (woman), Salome Oggenfuss (woman), Geraldine Barón (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
11 women, 1 men, 1 non-binary, 27 not listed
-
Sound
4 women, 14 men, 1 non-binary, 19 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 2 men, 24 not listed
-
Other crew
4 women, 7 men, 1 non-binary, 10 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 3 men, 16 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 2 men, 13 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 9 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men, 10 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Non-binary
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 30 on average. Men: 39 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Lindsey Jordan 24, Helena Howard 25, Emma Portner 29, Danielle Deadwyler 42
Men
Justice Smith 28, Conner O'Malley 37, Fred Durst 53
Exhibit H: the money
It made 54% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $10 million
- Box office
- $5.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 149 scenes and 426 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
