Passes the Bechdel test

The Help

Name: The Help
Released: 2011

2011. Directed by Tate Taylor, written by Tate Taylor and Kathryn Stockett.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 20 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 43 scenes out of 196.
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 early-1960s Jackson, Mississippi, Skeeter (Stone) is a Southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives--and their hometown--upside-down when she decides to interview the Black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent Southern families. Aibileen (Davis), Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up--to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit Black community. Despite Skeeter's lifelong friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories--and it turns out that they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly--and unwillingly--caught up in the changing times.

Released: 10 Aug 2011
Genres: Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 8.1 / 10
Metascore: 62 / 100
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. 79 wins & 121 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Skeeter 262 lines, woman
Minny 158 lines, woman
Aibileen 156 lines, woman
Hilly 150 lines, woman
Charlotte 95 lines, woman
Celia 74 lines, woman
Stuart 58 lines, man
Elizabeth 41 lines, woman
Mae Mobley 27 lines, woman
Johnny 19 lines, man

Full cast, 55 people

Emma Stone as Skeeter Phelan
Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark
Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook
Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson
Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote
Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt
Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan
Anna Camp as Jolene French
Eleanor Henry as Mae Mobley
Emma Henry as Mae Mobley
Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth
Cicely Tyson as Constantine Jefferson
Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote
Sissy Spacek as Missus Walters
Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan
Wes Chatham as Carlton Phelan
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Yule Mae Davis
Ted Welch as William Holbrook
Shane McRae as Raleigh Leefolt
Roslyn Ruff as Pascagoula
Tarra Riggs as Gretchen
Leslie Jordan as Mr. Blackly
Mary Steenburgen as Elaine Stein
Tiffany Brouwer as Rebecca
Carol Lee as Pearly
Carol Sutton as Cora
Millicent Bolton as Callie
Ashley Johnson as Mary Beth Caldwell
Ritchie Montgomery as Bus Driver
Don Brock as White Bus Passenger
Florence "Flo" Roach as Maid #1
Nelsan Ellis as Henry The Waiter
David Oyelowo as Preacher Green
LaChanze as Rachel
Dana Ivey as Gracie Higginbotham
Becky Fly as Woman in Grocery Store
Sheerene Whitfield as Maid #2
Cleta Elaine Ellington as Donna The Receptionist
Henry Carpenter as Jameso
John Taylor as Missus Walters' Date
Charles Cooper as Tire Winner @ Ballroom #1
Diana Cooper as Tire Winner @ Ballroom #2
Coyt Bailey as Party Guest #3
Wade Cottonfield as Lead Singer of Band
Kelsey Scot as Sugar Jackson
Amy Beckwith as Bridge Club
Sloane Fair as Bridge Club
Anna Jennings as Bridge Club
Lauren Miller as Bridge Club
Elizabeth Smith as Bridge Club
Mary Taylor Killebrew as Bridge Club
Kathryn Ursy as Bridge Club
Stephanie Ward as Bridge Club
Lamar Lott as Bus Rider (uncredited)
Charles Orr as Bellhop (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 196

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 5	14	0
6 to 10	34	0
11 to 15	67	0
16 to 20	30	4
21 to 25	49	4
26 to 30	15	1
31 to 35	57	5
36 to 40	4	0
41 to 45	12	0
46 to 50	7	0
51 to 55	37	0
56 to 60	27	0
61 to 65	34	0
66 to 70	27	0
71 to 75	19	0
76 to 80	41	0
81 to 85	20	10
86 to 90	41	7
91 to 95	35	0
96 to 100	20	19
101 to 105	23	3
106 to 110	23	0
111 to 115	28	0
116 to 120	24	0
121 to 125	25	0
126 to 130	23	3
131 to 135	36	2
136 to 140	30	5
141 to 145	41	3
146 to 150	17	7
151 to 155	21	0
156 to 160	4	0
161 to 165	19	5
166 to 170	5	0
171 to 175	28	13
176 to 180	3	4
181 to 185	30	7
186 to 190	80	0
191 to 195	2	0
196 to 196	0	0

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.

AIBILEEN: You is kind. You is smart. You is important. ELIZABETH: Aibileen, bridge club's in an hour! Did you finish the chicken salad? ELIZABETH: Oh, and Hilly's deviled eggs. No paprika! ELIZABETH: Does this dress look homemade?

MAE MOBLEY: No! AIBILEEN: You drunk up two glasses a grape juice, I know you got to tee-tee. MAE MOBLEY: Nooo. AIBILEEN: I give you a cookie if you go.

HILLY: Put Momma in a chair before she breaks a hip. MISSUS WALTERS: I'm not deaf yet, Hilly. HILLY: Aibileen, I want you to have this coat. It's too big for Momma now and it's way too expensive to put in the coat drive. HILLY: All yours.

AIBILEEN: She having bridge club right now. May I take a message? CELIA: Please tell her Celia Foote called again. I'll call back tomorrow. AIBILEEN: Yes, ma'am. CELIA: Ah-hem. Miss?

CHARLOTTE: Oh, the irony of it all. Givin' advice on how to keep up a home when she... SKEETER: Oh! No, Pascagolua! You couldn't have known this...But, see, I'm allergic to almonds.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 91 are women's.

1052 lines from women, 102 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

21 women and 11 men in the cast. 20 women and 7 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 4 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 91% of the words (10,853), men 9% (1,070).

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

106

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Tate Taylor (man)
Written by: Tate Taylor (man)
From the novel by: Kathryn Stockett (woman)
Produced by: Chris Columbus (man), Michael Barnathan (man), Brunson Green (man)
Shot by: Stephen Goldblatt (man)
Edited by: Hughes Winborne (man)
Music by: Thomas Newman (man)
Production design by: Mark Ricker (man)
Costumes by: Sharen Davis (woman)
Cast by: Kerry Barden (man), Paul Schnee (man)