Passes the Bechdel test
Nebraska
2014. Directed by Alexander Payne, written by Bob Nelson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
5 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 103. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
"NEBRASKA" is a father-and-son road trip, from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska that gets waylaid at a small town in central Nebraska, where the father grew up and has scores to settle. Told with deadpan humor and a unique visual style, it's ultimately the story of a son trying to get through to a father he doesn't understand.
- Released
- 24 Jan 2014
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 86 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 6 Oscars. 29 wins & 171 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- David 282 lines, man
- Woody 220 lines, man
- Kate 86 lines, woman
- Ross 32 lines, man
- Ed Pegram 31 lines, man
- Aunt Martha 27 lines, woman
- Cole 20 lines, man
- Bart 19 lines, man
- Uncle Ray 18 lines, man
- Peg Nagy 10 lines, woman
Full cast, 41 people
- Bruce Dern as Woody Grant
- Will Forte as David Grant
- June Squibb as Kate Grant
- Bob Odenkirk as Ross Grant
- Stacy Keach as Ed Pegram
- Mary Louise Wilson as Aunt Martha
- Rance Howard as Uncle Ray
- Tim Driscoll as Bart
- Devin Ratray as Cole
- Angela McEwan as Peg Nagy
- Glendora Stitt as Aunt Betty
- Elizabeth Moore as Aunt Flo
- Kevin Kunkel as Cousin Randy
- Dennis McCoig as Uncle Verne
- Ronald Vosta as Uncle Albert
- Missy Doty as Noel
- John Reynolds as Bernie Bowen
- Jeffrey Yosten as ER Doctor
- Neal Freudenberg as George Westendorf
- Eula Freudenberg as Jean Westendorf
- Ray Stevens as Dale Slaasted
- Lois Nemec as Kathy Slaasted
- Francisco Mendez as Mechanic
- Catherine Rae Schutz as Bartender
- Jose Muñoz as Mechanic
- Terry Kotrous as Sheriff
- Dennis McCave as Sheriff
- Rachel Lynn Leister as Waitress
- Melinda Simonsen as Receptionist
- Noah Matteo as Cub Photographer
- Scott Goodman as Mark
- Colleen O'Doherty as Janice
- Sherry Ristow as Karaoke Singer
- Roger Stuckwisch as Karaoke Singer
- Franklin Dennis Jones as Uncle Cecil
- Jason Speidel as Appliance Store Employee
- Bob Knollenberg as Used Car Salesman
- Robert Dach as Bar Patron
- Sherry Ferris as Bar Patron
- Anthony G. Schmidt as Biker (uncredited)
- Bob Nelson as Applauding Karaoke Patron (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 103
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 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 3 | 30 |
| 7 to 9 | 7 | 25 |
| 10 to 12 | 3 | 27 |
| 13 to 15 | 6 | 18 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 14 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 11 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 25 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 16 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 to 33 | 14 | 27 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 21 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 58 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 5 |
| 43 to 45 | 21 | 48 |
| 46 to 48 | 2 | 15 |
| 49 to 51 | 10 | 8 |
| 52 to 54 | 26 | 38 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 14 |
| 58 to 60 | 14 | 23 |
| 61 to 63 | 13 | 37 |
| 64 to 66 | 7 | 40 |
| 67 to 69 | 11 | 20 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 to 75 | 1 | 23 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 15 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 11 |
| 82 to 84 | 1 | 36 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 1 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 19 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 9 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 5 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 5 |
| 103 to 103 | 0 | 2 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
KATE: Peggy got knocked up again? At her age? That old cow must be fifty. AUNT MARTHA: She just looks fifty. That’s what pig farming will do to you.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 18 are women's.
139 lines from women, 650 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
5 women and 11 men in the cast. 4 women and 10 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 11 of 832.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 95 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 26% of the words (1,928), men 74% (5,435). Women have 18% 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
4
Two men
73
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 10 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Alexander Payne (man)
- Written by
- Bob Nelson (man)
- Produced by
- Albert Berger (man), Ron Yerxa (man)
- Shot by
- Phedon Papamichael (man)
- Edited by
- Kevin Tent (man)
- Music by
- Mark Orton (man)
- Production design by
- J. Dennis Washington (man)
- Costumes by
- Wendy Chuck (woman)
- Cast by
- John Jackson (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 10 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 7 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
0 women, 7 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 81 on average. Men: 60 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Angela McEwan 79, Mary Louise Wilson 81, June Squibb 83
Men
Devin Ratray 36, Will Forte 43, Bob Odenkirk 50, Stacy Keach 72, Bruce Dern 77, Rance Howard 84
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $12 million
- Box office
- $27.7 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 103 scenes and 832 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
