Passes the Bechdel test
The Postman
1997. Directed by Kevin Costner, written by David Brin and Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
20 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 168. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
2013,Post-Apocalyptic America. An unnamed wanderer retrieves a Postman's uniform and undelivered bag of mail. He decides to pose as a postman and deliver the mail to a nearby town, bluffing that the United States government has been reinstated and tricking the town into feeding him. However, he reluctantly becomes a symbol of hope to the townspeople there who begin to remember the world that once was and giving them the courage to stand up to a tyrannical warlord and his army.
- Released
- 25 Dec 1997
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 29 / 100
- Awards
- 7 wins & 8 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- The Postman 350 lines, man
- Bethlehem 131 lines, man
- Abby 70 lines, woman
- Ford 64 lines, man
- Briscoe 34 lines, man
- Idaho 24 lines, man
- B.C. Mayor 22 lines
- Bandit #20 21 lines, man
- Gibbs 18 lines, man
- Ponytail 18 lines, woman
Full cast, 75 people
- Kevin Costner as The Postman
- Will Patton as Bethlehem
- Larenz Tate as Ford
- Olivia Williams as Abby
- James Russo as Idaho
- Daniel von Bargen as Sheriff Briscoe
- Tom Petty as Bridge City Mayor
- Scott Bairstow as Luke
- Giovanni Ribisi as Bandit #20
- Roberta Maxwell as Irene March
- Joe Santos as Getty
- Ron McLarty as Old George
- Peggy Lipton as Ellen March
- Brian Anthony Wilson as Woody
- Todd Allen as Gibbs
- Rex Linn as Mercer
- Shawn Hatosy as Billy
- Ryan Hurst as Eddie
- Charles Esten as Michael
- Annie Costner as Ponytail
- Ty O'Neal as Drew
- Kirk Fox as Gangly Recruit
- Korey Scott Pollard as Thin Recruit
- Ellen Geer as Mrs. Thompson
- Randle Mell as Villiage Mayor
- Cooper Taylor as Tony
- Dylan Haggerty as Slow Recruit
- Jeffery Thomas Johnson as Rope Bridge Soldier
- Jeff McGrail as Rope Bridge Soldier
- Lily Costner as Lily March
- Gregory Avellone as Pineview Man
- Susan Brightbill as Pineview Woman
- Elisa Daniel as Pineview Woman
- Jenny Buchanan as Pineview Woman
- Ann Manning as Pineview Woman
- Tom Novak as Benning Gatekeeper
- George Wyner as Benning Mayor
- Brooke Becker as Benning Woman
- Eva Gayle Six as Benning Woman
- Joe Costner as Letter Boy
- Kathi Sheehan as Mother of Letter Boy
- Amy Jo Weinstein as Elvis Woman
- Betty Moyer as Elvis Woman
- Shiree Porter as Bridge City Woman
- Judy Herrera as Carrier
- Greg Serano as California Carrier
- Michael Doherty as Elvis Man (uncredited)
- Mary Stuart Masterson as Hope (uncredited)
- Ken Linhart as Disappointed Recruit
- Kayla Lambert as Shakespeare Girl
- Austin Howard Early as Shakespeare Boy
- Michael Milgrom as Holnist Projectionist
- Keith C. Howell as Holnist Scout
- H.P. Evetts as Holnist Soldier
- Andy Garrison as Pineview Sentry
- Rusty Hendrickson as Pineview Minister
- Marvin Winton as Pineview Old Man
- Jono Manson as Pineview Band
- John Coinman as Pineview Band
- Vernon T. Williams as Pineview Band
- Mark Clark as Pineview Band
- Blair Forward as Pineview Band
- Robyn Pruitt-Hamm as Pineview Band
- Michelle Ramminger as Pineview Band
- Richard Joel as Benning Gatekeeper
- Todd Lewis as Benning Man
- Joseph McKenna as Holnist Captain
- Neal Preston Coon as Bridge City Boy
- Rick Wadkins as Bridge City Man
- Anthony Guidera as Bridge City Guard
- Derk Cheetwood as Carrier Twelve
- Mark Thomason as Adult Letter Boy
- Stanton Barrett as California Carrier (uncredited)
- Joseph the Lion as Lion (uncredited)
- Caleb as The Lion
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 168
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 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 29 |
| 9 to 12 | 3 | 74 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 38 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 28 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 8 |
| 25 to 28 | 0 | 18 |
| 29 to 32 | 7 | 31 |
| 33 to 36 | 5 | 22 |
| 37 to 40 | 15 | 55 |
| 41 to 44 | 8 | 18 |
| 45 to 48 | 1 | 13 |
| 49 to 52 | 1 | 33 |
| 53 to 56 | 1 | 19 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 2 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 12 |
| 65 to 68 | 3 | 5 |
| 69 to 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 to 76 | 7 | 16 |
| 77 to 80 | 2 | 3 |
| 81 to 84 | 1 | 0 |
| 85 to 88 | 5 | 7 |
| 89 to 92 | 19 | 31 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 16 |
| 97 to 100 | 4 | 21 |
| 101 to 104 | 0 | 6 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 7 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 18 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 3 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 4 |
| 121 to 124 | 7 | 24 |
| 125 to 128 | 1 | 17 |
| 129 to 132 | 2 | 5 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 1 |
| 137 to 140 | 5 | 38 |
| 141 to 144 | 1 | 25 |
| 145 to 148 | 3 | 6 |
| 149 to 152 | 0 | 13 |
| 153 to 156 | 10 | 12 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 5 |
| 161 to 164 | 0 | 11 |
| 165 to 168 | 5 | 44 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ELLEN: That's not a toy, honey. That's very important. Give it back. ABBY: Would you like to dance?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.
118 lines from women, 740 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
20 women and 51 men in the cast. 9 women and 26 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 172 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 17% of the words (1,485), men 83% (7,180). Women have 14% 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
3
Two men
61
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 13% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Kevin Costner (man)
- Written by
- Eric Roth (man), Brian Helgeland (man)
- Produced by
- Kevin Costner (man), Jim Wilson (man), Steve Tisch (man)
- Shot by
- Stephen F. Windon (man)
- Edited by
- Peter Boyle (man)
- Music by
- James Newton Howard (man)
- Production design by
- Ida Random (woman)
- Cast by
- Mindy Marin (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
1 women, 8 men
-
Production
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Directing
0 women, 2 men
-
Art
1 women, 0 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 1 men
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 43 on average. Men: 37 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Olivia Williams 29, Roberta Maxwell 56
Men
Larenz Tate 22, Giovanni Ribisi 23, Scott Bairstow 27, Kevin Costner 42, Will Patton 43, James Russo 44, Daniel von Bargen 47, Tom Petty 47
Exhibit H: the money
It made 22% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $80 million
- Box office
- $17.6 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 168 scenes and 911 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
