Passes the Bechdel test

The Hunger Games

Name: The Hunger Games
Released: 2012

2012. Directed by Gary Ross, written by Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
24 women characters. 6 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 12 scenes out of 169.
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 a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

Released: 23 Mar 2012
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.2 / 10
Metascore: 68 / 100
Awards: Won 1 BAFTA Award. 34 wins & 51 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Katniss 248 lines, woman
Peeta 122 lines, man
Haymitch 52 lines, man
Effie 42 lines, woman
Flickerman 34 lines, man
Gale 33 lines, man
Prim 27 lines, woman
Seneca 26 lines, man
Rue 23 lines, woman
Cinna 20 lines, man

Full cast, 53 people

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark
Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne
Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket
Lenny Kravitz as Cinna
Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman
Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow
Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane
Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith
Alexander Ludwig as Cato
Isabelle Fuhrman as Clove
Amandla Stenberg as Rue
Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen
Sandra Ellis Lafferty as Greasy Sae
Paula Malcomson as Asterid Everdeen
Rhoda Griffis as Registration Woman
Sandino Moya-Smith as Propaganda Film Tribute
Raiko Bowman as Peeta's Mother
Dwayne Boyd as Peacekeeper #1
Anthony Reynolds as Peacekeeper #2
Judd Lormand as Peacekeeper #3
Kimiko Gelman as Venia
Nelson Ascencio as Flavius
Brooke Bundy as Octavia
Dayo Okeniyi as Thresh
Leven Rambin as Glimmer
Jack Quaid as Marvel
Latarsha Rose as Portia
Ian Nelson as Tribute Boy District 3
Kalia Prescott as Tribute Girl District 3
Ethan Jamieson as Tribute Boy District 4
Jacqueline Emerson as Foxface
Mackenzie Lintz as Tribute Girl District 8
Imanol Yepez-Frias as Tribute Boy District 9
Annie Thurman as Tribute Girl District 9
Dakota Hood as Tribute Girl District 10
Amber Chaney as Avox Girl
Karan Kendrick as Atala
Shane Bissell as Birthday Boy
Kate Kneeland as Hovercraft Tech
Steve Coulter as Game Center Tech #1
Sharon Conley as Game Center Tech #2
Tim Taylor as Game Center Tech #3
John Ross as Game Center Tech #4
Phillip Troy Linger as Burdock Everdeen
Julie Ivey as Martha (uncredited)
Mark Meekins as Resident (uncredited)
Jeremy Marinas as Tribute Boy District 10 (uncredited)
Kelly Lynn Reiter as District 12 Tribute Girl (uncredited)
Rachel Huggins as Capital Extra
Jubal Strube as District 12 Teen (uncredited)
Steve D'Avria as Game Center Tech #5

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 169

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	2
5 to 8	7	11
9 to 12	38	8
13 to 16	28	3
17 to 20	25	13
21 to 24	4	0
25 to 28	13	19
29 to 32	33	23
33 to 36	8	10
37 to 40	8	12
41 to 44	26	58
45 to 48	0	3
49 to 52	0	6
53 to 56	0	0
57 to 60	0	2
61 to 64	2	4
65 to 68	2	1
69 to 72	1	3
73 to 76	0	0
77 to 80	0	4
81 to 84	1	3
85 to 88	0	12
89 to 92	25	15
93 to 96	10	1
97 to 100	16	2
101 to 104	1	0
105 to 108	2	5
109 to 112	5	8
113 to 116	20	16
117 to 120	0	1
121 to 124	12	10
125 to 128	3	4
129 to 132	9	8
133 to 136	14	10
137 to 140	6	13
141 to 144	7	3
145 to 148	0	0
149 to 152	13	17
153 to 156	3	4
157 to 160	3	2
161 to 164	5	10
165 to 168	2	11
169 to 169	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.

KATNISS: I'm gonna go catch PRIMROSE EVERDEEN, (11, barely hanging Prim quietly watches the Games. PRIM: Can I come? KATNISS: It's sweet that you keep asking - when you know I'm going to say no. PRIM: You're gonna have to teach me eventually, Katniss.

KATNISS: I'm home . PRIM: 10 •

MRS. EVERDEEN: I thought you might like to wear this, Prim. PRIM: Why do we have to dress up for the reaping? MRS. EVERDEEN: It's expected. PRIM: it? Prim takes the pin, tries but her trembling fingers steps in and does it for her. to fix won't co-operate. it So to

KATNISS: She's twelve. PRIM: They call your name - you run, okay? KATNISS: I'll see you at dinner. Dress casual.

PRIM: Katniss? KATNISS: lungs) KATNISS: I volunteer as tributet

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 51 are women's.

358 lines from women, 339 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

24 women and 24 men in the cast. 6 women and 13 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 19 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 42% of the words (2,853), men 58% (3,914). Women have 51% 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

6 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Gary Ross (man)
Written by: Gary Ross (man), Billy Ray (man), Suzanne Collins (woman)
From the novel by: Suzanne Collins (woman)
Produced by: Jon Kilik (man), Nina Jacobson (woman)
Shot by: Tom Stern (man)
Edited by: Juliette Welfling (woman), Stephen Mirrione (man), Christopher S. Capp (man)
Music by: James Newton Howard (man)
Production design by: Philip Messina (man)
Costumes by: Judianna Makovsky (woman)
Cast by: Debra Zane (woman)