Passes the Bechdel test

Okja

Name: Okja
Released: 2017

2017. Directed by Bong Joon Ho, written by Bong Joon Ho and Jon Ronson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 10 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 9 scenes out of 106.
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

For 10 idyllic years, young Mija (An Seo Hyun) has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja-a massive animal and an even bigger friend-at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when a family-owned multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where image obsessed and self-promoting CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) has big plans for Mija's dearest friend. With no particular plan but single-minded in intent, Mija sets out on a rescue mission, but her already daunting journey quickly becomes more complicated when she crosses paths with disparate groups of capitalists, demonstrators and consumers, each battling to control the fate of Okja...while all Mija wants to do is bring her friend home. Deftly blending genres, humor, poignancy and drama, Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host) begins with the gentlest of premises-the bond between man and animal-and ultimately creates a distinct and layered vision of the world that addresses the animal inside us all. Okja is a Plan B Entertainment, Lewis Pictures and Kate Street Picture Company production in association with Netflix.

Released: 28 Jun 2017
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama
Rated: TV-MA
IMDb: 7.3 / 10
Metascore: 75 / 100
Awards: 7 wins & 14 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Lucy 100 lines, woman
Mija 96 lines, woman
Jay 71 lines, man
Johnny 56 lines, man
Hee Bong 49 lines, man
Nancy 41 lines, woman
Mundo 29 lines, man
Frank 28 lines, man
K 24 lines
Jennifer 22 lines, woman

Full cast, 105 people

An Seo-hyun as Mija
Tilda Swinton as Lucy Mirando / Nancy Mirando
Paul Dano as Jay
Steven Yeun as K
Jake Gyllenhaal as Johnny Wilcox
Giancarlo Esposito as Frank Dawson
Byun Hee-bong as Hee-bong
Lily Collins as Red
Daniel Henshall as Blond
Devon Bostick as Silver
Yoon Je-moon as Mundo Park
Shirley Henderson as Jennifer
Choi Woo-shik as Kim
Sheena Kamal as Stylist 2007 / 2017
Michael Mitton as Make-Up Artist 2007
Colm Hill as Sarcastic British Reporter
Kathryn Kirkpatrick as Epicurean Reporter
Jose Carias as Señor Villacorta
Nancy Amelia Bell as Elderly Reporter
Lee Jung-eun as Okja (voice) / Woman In Wheelchair
Kim Jae-in as Young Mija
Moon Choi as Choi Female Interpreter
Jang Ji-woong as Chang Cameraman
Lee Bong-ryeon as Receptionist
Park Ki-seon as Elderly Security Guard
Yoon Kyung-ho as Mirando Employee
Cho Wan-ki as Mirando Employee
Kyul Hwi as Mirando Employee
Kwak Jin-seok as Mirando Employee
Park Ji-hoon as 6th ALF
Lee Jae-hyeok as Spectator With Camera
Clayton Elliot Jones as U.S. Soldier
Lim Seo-young as Pink Pig - Part Time Student
Park Jung-sook as Old Lady Pushing Wheelchair
Hong Joo-man as Underpass Police
Im Kyung-wook as Underpass Police
Lee Seung-chang as Underpass Police
Lee Byeong-hee as Underpass Police
Choi Hyun-woo as Underpass Police
Kim Moon-hak as Riverside Expressway Police
Park Keun-rok as Riverside Expressway Police
Kim Dae-hyun as Bulk Employee
Woo Gwang-jae as Bulk Employee
Jang Won-jin as Bulk Employee
Yu Hyun-zun as Bulk Employee
Kim Yang-won as Bulk Employee
Kim Yong-hee as Bulk Employee
Dylan Ratigan as American News Anchor
Milo Shandel as Mirando Executive
Mikaela Kingsbury as TV Reporter
Lee Sang-yoon as CNN Cameraman Korea
Bae Young-ran as Female Police
Park Jeong-gi as Reporter Jee
Yoon Jung-ro as Reporter Yoon
Kim Woo-hyeon as Reporter Kim
Kim Chul-moo as Fat Detective
Seo Woo-sik as Mirando Branch President
Shin Ye-rin as Cabin Attendant
Erik De Boer as Banana Guy in JFK
Stephen Clee as Man Who Spanks Okja in JFK
Pavel Hajek as Okja Transport
David Congourdeau Nicolas as Okja Transport
Lucas Körmer as Laboratory Worker
Ahn Seong-bong as Alfonso Transport
Timmo Polajev as Alfonso Transport
Steven Garr as Man in White Gown
David Bloom as Middle-Aged Man Taster
Cory Gruter-Andrew as Teenage Taster
Barbara Wallace as Middle-Aged Woman Taster
Frans Weterrings IV as Boy Eating Jerky
Boyd Ferguson as Translator
Niall Cunningham as ALF High School Student
Marian Volk as ALF Woman in 20s
Conor Reeves as Employee Next to Silver
Adam Auslander as Balloon Pig Holder
Waris Ahluwalia as Waris
T. Sahara Meer as ALF Middle-aged Woman
J.C. Williams as Black Chalk Mercenary
Yu Hye-jo as Female Japanese-American Nurse
Lorne Edward Oliver as Old Security Guard at Feedyard
Alex Kabel as Feedyard Worker
Amir Ardalan Latifi as Feedyard Worker
Jose Vargas as Slaughterhouse Worker
Elizabeth Urrea as Slaughterhouse Worker
Luis Javier as Slaughterhouse Worker
Phillip Garcia as Diego Alejandro
Andreas Fronk as Black Chalk Mercenary
Jack Lyons as Black Chalk Mercenary
Bettina Skye as Pig Balloon Handler (uncredited)
Kristoffe Brodeur as NYPD (uncredited)
Myles Humphus as Black Chalk Mercenary (uncredited)
Lena Avgust as Parade Goer (uncredited)
Jamar Greene as Commanding Officer (uncredited)
Michael D. Joseph as Protestor (uncredited)
Eha Urbsalu as Lucy Mirando Double (uncredited)
Rebecca Husain as Jennifer's Assistant (uncredited)
Carl Montoya as Blond Double (uncredited)
Martin Lo Rimorin as ALF Soldier (uncredited)
Amber Snow as Nancy Mirando's Personal Stylist (uncredited)
Ann Evans as Nancy Mirando's Personal Hair Stylist (uncredited)
Rickland Powell as Pig Balloon Handler (uncredited)
Michelle Clarke-Brown as Supervisor (uncredited)
Justin McGriff as Parade Patron (uncredited)
Lynn Marocola as NYPD Police Officer (uncredited)
Jason Scott Nelson as Translator (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 106

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	34	8
4 to 6	11	2
7 to 9	2	0
10 to 12	3	1
13 to 15	9	5
16 to 18	30	45
19 to 21	1	0
22 to 24	3	12
25 to 27	7	0
28 to 30	1	2
31 to 33	0	4
34 to 36	0	2
37 to 39	0	1
40 to 42	0	2
43 to 45	0	0
46 to 48	1	18
49 to 51	1	3
52 to 54	17	45
55 to 57	0	2
58 to 60	46	34
61 to 63	3	6
64 to 66	1	2
67 to 69	3	2
70 to 72	0	5
73 to 75	11	22
76 to 78	1	9
79 to 81	13	11
82 to 84	11	11
85 to 87	13	9
88 to 90	2	3
91 to 93	0	2
94 to 96	24	7
97 to 99	13	15
100 to 102	23	7
103 to 105	2	2
106 to 106	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 scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

LUCY: Ten years. ELDERLY REPORTER: Ten years?! Jesus Christ. I'll be dead by then!

MIJA: Wait! RECEPTIONIST: Oh my God! Are you okay?

JENNIFER: Right! The Best Super Pig Fest will continue as planned! LUCY: I know what they call me. They call me a psychopath. JENNIFER: YOU'RE not a psychopath! THEY'RE the psychopaths, right, Ms. Mirando? They're narcissists. LUCY: Do narcissists wear balaclavas?

LUCY: While my sister was dumping so much toxic waste into Moose Lake it EXPLODED... the only lake ever to explode, well done, Nancy... I was visu… LUCY: I took science... LUCY: And nature... LUCY: And I synthesized.

LUCY: And there it is! The image that's going to destroy us! Who are those idiots? LUCY: Find out and fire them. JENNIFER: Sure! Leave it with me! LUCY: Abusing that adorable girl in the uniforms I personally designed! What are we famous for?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 49 are women's.

286 lines from women, 301 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

21 women and 45 men in the cast. 10 women and 14 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 648. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 27 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 47% of the words (3,092), men 53% (3,552). Women have 49% 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

4 of the 19 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Bong Joon Ho (man)
Written by: Bong Joon Ho (man), Jon Ronson (man)
Story by: Bong Joon Ho (man)
Produced by: Seo Woo-sik (gender not listed), Jeremy Kleiner (man), Lewis Taewan Kim (man), Bong Joon Ho (man), Choi Doo-ho (man), Dede Gardner (woman) and 1 more
Shot by: Darius Khondji (man)
Edited by: Yang Jin-mo (man)
Music by: Jung Jae-il (man)
Production design by: Lee Ha-jun (man), Kevin Thompson (man)
Costumes by: Catherine George (woman), Choi Se-yeon (woman)
Cast by: Jenny Jue (woman)