Passes the Bechdel test
The Color Purple
2023. Directed by Blitz Bazawule, written by Marcus Gardley and Alice Walker and Marsha Norman.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
16 women characters. 32 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 20 scenes out of 183. -
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
In 1909 Celie a black American girl is given away in marriage by her abusive father to a local farmer Albert who treats her cruelly. Celie is God fearing and deliverance comes in the form of jazz singer who takes her away to another city far away from her misery. She now gets her long due happiness.
- Released
- 25 Dec 2023
- Genres
- Drama, Musical
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 72 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 40 wins & 100 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Celie 171 lines, woman
- Mister 91 lines, man
- Shug 88 lines, woman
- Sofia 68 lines, woman
- Nettie 60 lines, woman
- Harpo 50 lines, man
- Alfonso 17 lines, man
- Ol Mister 17 lines, man
- Reverend Avery 15 lines, man
- Ensemble 12 lines
Full cast, 41 people
- Fantasia Barrino as Celie
- Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery
- Danielle Brooks as Sofia
- Colman Domingo as Mister
- Corey Hawkins as Harpo
- Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as Young Celie
- Halle Bailey as Young Nettie
- Ciara as Nettie
- H.E.R. as Squeak
- David Alan Grier as Reverend Avery
- Deon Cole as Alfonso
- Jon Batiste as Grady
- Louis Gossett Jr. as Ol' Mister
- Tamela Mann as First Lady
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Mama
- Elizabeth Marvel as Miss Millie
- Stephen Hill as Henry (Buster) Broadnax
- Adetinpo Thomas as Mary Ellen
- Tiffany Elle Burgess as Olivia
- Terrence J. Smith as Adam
- Aba Arthur as Abena
- Jeffrey Marcus as Immigration Officer
- Jamaal Avery Jr. as Young Harpo
- Ailani Flowers as Lil Cat
- Emana Rachelle as Corrine
- Charles Green as Mayor
- Brad Raymond as Big Slim
- P. Kofi McDonald as Domino Player
- L. Warren Young as Domino Player
- Zakiya Boyd as Deaconess
- David Vaughn as Postman (Mr. Edmonds)
- Chase Steven Anderson as Ticket Booth Operator
- John L. Adams as Sharecropper
- Ashton Maxwell as Harpo's Buddy
- Marvin Laviolette as Harpo's Buddy
- Raphael Thomas as Harpo's Buddy
- MaCai Arrington Griffin as Bub
- James Carey as Debuty
- Whoopi Goldberg as Midwife (uncredited)
- Matthew James Gulbranson as Domino Player (uncredited)
- Latasha Bryant as Dancer
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 183
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 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 10 | 0 |
| 9 to 12 | 4 | 7 |
| 13 to 16 | 19 | 4 |
| 17 to 20 | 8 | 8 |
| 21 to 24 | 5 | 3 |
| 25 to 28 | 19 | 11 |
| 29 to 32 | 1 | 8 |
| 33 to 36 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 to 40 | 15 | 3 |
| 41 to 44 | 9 | 0 |
| 45 to 48 | 8 | 6 |
| 49 to 52 | 3 | 4 |
| 53 to 56 | 11 | 23 |
| 57 to 60 | 15 | 21 |
| 61 to 64 | 16 | 5 |
| 65 to 68 | 6 | 0 |
| 69 to 72 | 8 | 6 |
| 73 to 76 | 4 | 2 |
| 77 to 80 | 1 | 1 |
| 81 to 84 | 1 | 3 |
| 85 to 88 | 2 | 1 |
| 89 to 92 | 3 | 2 |
| 93 to 96 | 28 | 11 |
| 97 to 100 | 16 | 1 |
| 101 to 104 | 10 | 0 |
| 105 to 108 | 2 | 1 |
| 109 to 112 | 38 | 12 |
| 113 to 116 | 22 | 0 |
| 117 to 120 | 9 | 1 |
| 121 to 124 | 3 | 3 |
| 125 to 128 | 10 | 1 |
| 129 to 132 | 5 | 4 |
| 133 to 136 | 11 | 3 |
| 137 to 140 | 11 | 0 |
| 141 to 144 | 5 | 3 |
| 145 to 148 | 21 | 18 |
| 149 to 152 | 3 | 0 |
| 153 to 156 | 12 | 1 |
| 157 to 160 | 5 | 7 |
| 161 to 164 | 32 | 3 |
| 165 to 168 | 0 | 7 |
| 169 to 172 | 0 | 5 |
| 173 to 176 | 22 | 9 |
| 177 to 180 | 1 | 0 |
| 181 to 183 | 24 | 4 |
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.
CELIE: Hey, sista, whatcha gon' do? NETTIE: Goin' down by the river, gonna play with you!
NETTIE: "...the girl returned to work in the field. But it was so hot she could barely stand. The overseer yelled at her till she got to her feet. F… CELIE: Let me say it. This my favorite part. The girl said... "Now Ma, can I do it now?"
CELIE: I broke my water! NETTIE: Hold still! I'll get the midwife.
NETTIE: There's so much to explore I hear a big big big world Knocking at the door Getting a little taste Just leave s you wanting more We can't be … NETTIE: Nothing's gonna ta ke you down But oh NETTIE & CELIE: Wherever we go Life can never break our soul.
NETTIE: Fine! I'm going! CELIE MISTER: Please, suh. Please. I beg You ain't never gonna see or you. Anything you want, suh. hear from her again! `Thanks For God sake... please. I … CELIE: Nettie, write me!!! NETTIE: I'll write you every day! Nothin' but death can keep me from it!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 69 are women's.
465 lines from women, 212 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
16 women and 18 men in the cast. 32 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 759.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 32 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 72% of the words (6,203), men 28% (2,413). Women have 69% 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
56
Two men
4
Exhibit F: behind the camera
5 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 43% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Blitz Bazawule (man)
- Written by
- Marcus Gardley (man)
- From the novel by
- Alice Walker (woman)
- Produced by
- Steven Spielberg (man), Quincy Jones (man), Oprah Winfrey (woman), Scott Sanders (man)
- Shot by
- Dan Laustsen (man)
- Edited by
- Jon Poll (man)
- Music by
- Kris Bowers (man)
- Production design by
- Paul D. Austerberry (man)
- Costumes by
- Francine Jamison-Tanchuck (woman)
- Cast by
- Bernard Telsey (man), Tiffany Little Canfield (woman), Destiny Lilly (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
10 women, 12 men, 8 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 5 men, 12 not listed
-
Production
8 women, 9 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 4 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 1 men, 7 not listed
-
Writing
2 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 36 on average. Men: 52 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Halle Bailey 23, H.E.R. 26, Danielle Brooks 34, Ciara 38, Fantasia Barrino 39, Taraji P. Henson 53
Men
Corey Hawkins 35, Colman Domingo 54, David Alan Grier 67
Exhibit H: the money
It made 77% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $90 million
- Box office
- $68.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 183 scenes and 759 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
