Fails the Bechdel test
The X Files
1998. Directed by Rob Bowman, written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
4 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
With problems appearing between FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, a dangerous conspiracy is starting to appear. A deadly virus, which appears to be of extraterrestrial origin has appeared, which could destroy all life on Earth. With the help of a paranoid doctor, Alvin Kurtzweil, Mulder and Scully must act fast in order to save everyone on the planet.
- Released
- 19 Jun 1998
- Genres
- Adventure, Drama, Mystery
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 6 wins & 11 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Mulder 238 lines, man
- Scully 139 lines, woman
- Well-Manicured Man 51 lines, man
- Kurtzweil 50 lines, man
- Cassidy 19 lines, woman
- Cigarette Smoking Man 19 lines, man
- Dr. Bronschweig 18 lines, man
- Skinner 15 lines, man
- Strughold 14 lines, man
- 2nd Boy 8 lines, man
Full cast, 47 people
- David Duchovny as Fox Mulder
- Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
- Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner
- William B. Davis as Carl Busch
- John Neville as The Well-Manicured Man
- Martin Landau as Kurtzweil
- Jeffrey DeMunn as Bronschweig
- Tom Braidwood as Frohike
- Blythe Danner as Cassidy
- Terry O'Quinn as Michaud
- Dean Haglund as Langly
- Bruce Harwood as Byers
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Strughold
- Lucas Black as Stevie
- Christopher Fennell as 2nd Boy
- Cody Newton as 3rd Boy
- Blake Stokes as 4th Boy
- Don S. Williams as Group Elder
- George Murdock as 2nd Elder
- Michael Shamus Wiles as Black-Haired Man
- Darrell Davis as Primitive #1
- Carrick O'Quinn as Primitive #2
- Tom Woodruff Jr. as Creature #1
- Greg Ballora as Creature #2
- Ted King as FBI Agent on Roof
- Luis Beckford as FBI Agent
- Steve Rankin as Field Agent
- Gary Grubbs as Fire Captain Cooles
- Steven M. Gagnon as Last Agent Out
- Larry Joshua as DC Cop
- Glendon Rich as DC Cop #2
- Gunther Jenson as Security Guard
- Scott Alan Smith as Technician
- Ian Ruskin as Well-Manicured Man's Valet
- Paul Welterlen as Control Room Operator
- Joel Traywick as Young Naval Guard
- Milton Johns as British Valet
- Michael Krawic as 2nd Paramedic
- Larry Rippenkroeger as Towncar Driver
- Josh McLaglen as Buzz Mihoe
- Randy Hall as Windbreakered Agent
- T.C. Badalato as Fireman
- Amine Zary as Tunisian
- David Paris as Pilot
- Vanessa Morley as Young Samantha Mulder (archive footage)
- Jason Beghe as FBI Man at Bomb Site (uncredited)
- Glenne Headly as Barmaid (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 128
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 | 0 | 11 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 to 12 | 17 | 18 |
| 13 to 15 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 to 18 | 4 | 3 |
| 19 to 21 | 5 | 3 |
| 22 to 24 | 6 | 13 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 to 30 | 8 | 4 |
| 31 to 33 | 16 | 25 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 38 |
| 37 to 39 | 6 | 7 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 2 |
| 43 to 45 | 8 | 33 |
| 46 to 48 | 3 | 4 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 5 |
| 52 to 54 | 1 | 34 |
| 55 to 57 | 10 | 22 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 10 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 8 |
| 67 to 69 | 11 | 59 |
| 70 to 72 | 13 | 14 |
| 73 to 75 | 3 | 3 |
| 76 to 78 | 6 | 6 |
| 79 to 81 | 3 | 4 |
| 82 to 84 | 15 | 20 |
| 85 to 87 | 14 | 17 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 8 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 34 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 6 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 46 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 0 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 0 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 0 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 0 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 4 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 0 |
| 118 to 120 | 5 | 8 |
| 121 to 123 | 1 | 1 |
| 124 to 126 | 10 | 0 |
| 127 to 128 | 0 | 4 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 26 are women's.
168 lines from women, 483 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
4 women and 38 men in the cast. 4 women and 27 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 25 of 662.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 97 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 29% of the words (2,074), men 71% (5,065). Women have 26% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: 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
2
Two men
29
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Rob Bowman (man)
- Written by
- Chris Carter (man)
- Story by
- Frank Spotnitz (man), Chris Carter (man)
- Produced by
- Daniel Sackheim (man), Chris Carter (man)
- Shot by
- Ward Russell (gender not listed)
- Edited by
- Stephen Mark (man)
- Music by
- Mark Snow (man)
- Production design by
- Christopher Nowak (man)
- Costumes by
- Marlene Stewart (woman)
- Cast by
- Meg Liberman (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 36 men, 18 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 6 men, 16 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 8 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 14 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 11 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 5 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 4 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 6 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 42 on average. Men: 54 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Gillian Anderson 29, Blythe Danner 55
Men
David Duchovny 37, Terry O'Quinn 45, Mitch Pileggi 46, Tom Braidwood 49, Jeffrey DeMunn 51, William B. Davis 60, Martin Landau 69, John Neville 73
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $66 million
- Box office
- $189 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 128 scenes and 662 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
