Passes the Bechdel test
Rustin
2023. Directed by George C. Wolfe, written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
19 women characters. 15 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 115. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
In 1963 Bayard Rustin, a political activist is influenced by the speeches, thoughts and actions of Martin Luther King. When given the task of organizing and coordinating a freedom march of around 100,000 people to the White House he puts his heart and soul into it. His enthusiasm and infectious energy motivates his co workers to put in their best, resulting in a successful walk for Civil rights.
- Released
- 17 Nov 2023
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, History
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 68 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 14 wins & 66 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Bayard 323 lines, man
- Elias 56 lines, man
- Tom 54 lines, man
- Martin 43 lines, man
- Roy Wilkins 36 lines, man
- Randolph 34 lines
- Adam Clayton Powell 23 lines, man
- Cleve 20 lines, man
- Rachelle 20 lines, woman
- Joyce 18 lines, woman
Full cast, 87 people
- Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin
- Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Glynn Turman as A. Philip Randolph
- Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins
- Gus Halper as Tom
- Johnny Ramey as Elias Taylor
- CCH Pounder as Dr. Anna Hedgeman
- Michael Potts as Cleve Robinson
- Audra McDonald as Ella Baker
- Jeffrey Wright as Rep. Adam Clayton Powell
- Lilli Kay as Rachelle
- Jordan-Amanda Hall as Charlene
- Jakeem Dante Powell as Norm
- Ayana Workman as Eleanor
- Grantham Coleman as Blyden
- Jamilah Rosemond as Dorie
- Jules Latimer as Joyce
- Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as John Lewis
- Frank Harts as Jim Farmer
- Kevin Mambo as Whitney Young
- Carra Patterson as Coretta Scott King
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Mahalia Jackson
- Adrienne Warren as Claudia Taylor
- Bill Irwin as A. J. Muste
- Jamar Williams as Tyrone
- Hope Clarke as Lucille Randolph
- Zuri Starks as Girl One
- Delmiko Blair as Man One
- Rashad Edwards as Medgar Evers
- Gab Cody as Female Staffer
- Dan Sauer as Male Staffer Jim
- Johanna McGinley as TN Mother
- Jeff Hochendoner as TN Officer
- Phoenix Southwood as Dexter
- Isabela Spurlock as Yolanda
- Amir Carr as Martin III
- Jeffrey Jordan as Courtney
- Melissa Rakiro as Yvette
- Cotter Smith as Chief Wells
- Ivan Moore as Bill Johnson
- Jimmy Bopp as Engineer One
- Michael Alban as March Journalist
- Dan De Luca as March Journalist
- John Judy as March Journalist
- Robert S. Gregory as Union Guy
- Scott Deal as TN Bus Driver
- Drayton Walker as Little Stevie Wonder
- Chris Blunt as Charles
- Ashton Rogers as Pasadena Boy #1
- George Kelly as Pasadena Boy #2
- Rob Pfleghardt as Joachim Prinz
- Christopher Anglim as Rev. Eugene Carson Blake
- Devin Doolan as Walter Reuther
- Marlon Bradley Ray as Floyd McKissick
- Gemma Davimes as Team Member
- Alexis Evangelista as Team Member
- Alexis Hester as Team Member
- Mario Latronica-Gerlach as Team Member
- Marissa Lily as Team Member
- Mia Sterbini as Team Member
- Valena Zitello as Team Member
- Chelsie Grant as Team Member
- Janet K. Lawrence as Team Member
- Corvynne Mikell as Team Member
- Jana Glover as Team Member
- Alexis Holt as Petite Black Girl
- Emily H. Gilson as Little Rock White Girl
- Jackie Diehl as Little Rock White Girl
- Kyra Radomsky as Little Rock White Girl
- Cadence Reese as Little Black Girl
- Chanel Minnifield as Lunch Counter Activist
- Zoë Bowen Smith as Lunch Counter Activist
- Hunter Ringsmith as Lunch Counter Activist
- Alexander Ramirez as Hooligan
- Declan Thomas Desmond as Hooligan
- Taylor Isaac Gray as Hooligan
- Collin Antrim Miller as Hooligan
- Jordan Aaron Hall as Teen Boy Singing
- Cal Mitchell as Teen Boy Singing
- Kedrick Faulk as Teen Boy Singing
- Kobe Brown as Teen Boy Singing
- Eli Derby as Teen Boy Singing
- Jordan McNeal as Teen Boy Singing
- Deryck Tynes as Gospel Pianist
- Sam McCrea as Reporter (uncredited)
- Wain Jenkins as Harlem Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Ivy Lightsey as Mean Girl (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 115
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 | 4 | 23 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 17 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 13 |
| 16 to 18 | 4 | 18 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 32 |
| 22 to 24 | 7 | 21 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 42 |
| 28 to 30 | 5 | 23 |
| 31 to 33 | 2 | 8 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 24 |
| 37 to 39 | 8 | 22 |
| 40 to 42 | 1 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 3 | 4 |
| 46 to 48 | 3 | 29 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 24 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 21 |
| 55 to 57 | 5 | 41 |
| 58 to 60 | 21 | 22 |
| 61 to 63 | 3 | 17 |
| 64 to 66 | 4 | 26 |
| 67 to 69 | 7 | 1 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 1 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 2 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 5 |
| 82 to 84 | 2 | 21 |
| 85 to 87 | 1 | 22 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 28 |
| 91 to 93 | 9 | 44 |
| 94 to 96 | 10 | 25 |
| 97 to 99 | 8 | 31 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 15 |
| 103 to 105 | 3 | 4 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 3 |
| 109 to 111 | 1 | 3 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 5 |
| 115 to 115 | 2 | 7 |
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.
JOYCE: I'd like to share with you what it was like growing up in Hattiesburg-- DORIE: ...As a young girl in Mississippi, JOYCE: ...Where regardless of how smart you were, or loved to read-- DORIE: Or never missed Sunday School--
RACHELLE: We got another bus! JOYCE: 2 trains down, 38 to go.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 15 are women's.
117 lines from women, 652 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
19 women and 29 men in the cast. 15 women and 29 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 7 of 869.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 82 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 15% of the words (1,532), men 85% (8,964).
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
7
Two men
78
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- George C. Wolfe (man)
- Written by
- Dustin Lance Black (man), Julian Breece (man)
- Story by
- Julian Breece (man)
- Produced by
- Bruce Cohen (man), Tonia Davis (woman), George C. Wolfe (man)
- Shot by
- Tobias A. Schliessler (man)
- Edited by
- Andrew Mondshein (man)
- Music by
- Branford Marsalis (man)
- Production design by
- Mark Ricker (man)
- Costumes by
- Vanessa Nirode (gender not listed), Toni-Leslie James (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Avy Kaufman (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
4 women, 24 men, 17 not listed
-
Production
11 women, 9 men, 15 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 9 men, 22 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 3 men, 25 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 8 men, 17 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 23 men, 2 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 3 men, 16 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 62 on average. Men: 52 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Audra McDonald 53, CCH Pounder 70
Men
Gus Halper 31, Aml Ameen 38, Johnny Ramey 40, Colman Domingo 53, Jeffrey Wright 57, Chris Rock 58, Michael Potts 61, Glynn Turman 76
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 115 scenes and 869 lines of dialogue. How the test works
