Passes the Bechdel test

Traffic

Name: Traffic
Released: 2001

2001. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Simon Moore and Stephen Gaghan.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
26 women characters. 11 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 246.
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

An intertwined drama about the United States' war on drugs, seen through the eyes of a once conservative judge, now newly-appointed drug czar, his heroin-addicted daughter, two DEA agents, a jailed drug kingpin's wife, and a Mexican cop who begins to question his boss's motives.

Released: 05 Jan 2001
Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.5 / 10
Metascore: 86 / 100
Awards: Won 4 Oscars. 73 wins & 86 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Robert 120 lines, man
Helena 90 lines, woman
Javier 70 lines, man
Caroline 57 lines, woman
Gordon 50 lines, man
Seth 46 lines, man
Barbara 37 lines, woman
Arnie 34 lines, man
Salazar 30 lines, man
Castro 28 lines, man

Full cast, 139 people

Michael Douglas as Robert Wakefield
Benicio del Toro as Javier Rodriguez
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Helena Ayala
Erika Christensen as Caroline Wakefield
Don Cheadle as Montel Gordon
Jacob Vargas as Manolo Sanchez
Miguel Ferrer as Eduardo Ruiz
Luis Guzmán as Ray Castro
Topher Grace as Seth Abrahms
Tomas Milian as Gen. Arturo Salazar
Clifton Collins Jr. as Francisco Flores
Amy Irving as Barbara Wakefield
Dennis Quaid as Arnie Metzger
D.W. Moffett as Jeff Sheridan
Steven Bauer as Carlos Ayala
Albert Finney as Chief of Staff
James Brolin as General Ralph Landry
Enrique Murciano as DEA Agent - Trailer
Peter Riegert as Attorney Michael Adler
Benjamin Bratt as Juan Obregón
Yul Vazquez as Tigrillo / Obregón Assassin
Majandra Delfino as Vanessa
Alec Roberts as David Ayala
James Pickens Jr. as Prosecutor Ben Williams
Viola Davis as Social Worker
Andrew Chavez as Desert Truck Driver
Michael Saucedo as Desert Truck Driver
Jose Yenque as Salazar Soldier / The Torturer
Emilio Rivera as Salazar Soldier #2
Michael O'Neill as Lawyer Rodman
Russell G. Jones as Mark
Lorene Hetherington as State Capitol Reporter #1
Eric Collins as State Capitol Reporter #2
Beau Holden as DEA Agent - CalTrans
Peter Stader as DEA Agent - CalTrans
James Lew as DEA Agent - CalTrans
Jeremy Fitzgerald as DEA Agent - CalTrans
Russell Solberg as DEA Agent - CalTrans
Don Snell as DEA Agent - Trailer
Gary Carlos Cervantes as DEA Agent - Trailer
Leticia Bombardier as Ruiz's Secretary
Carl Ciarfalio as Ruiz's Assistant
Steven Lambert as Van Driver
Gilbert Rosales as Van Passenger
Rick Avery as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Mario Roberts as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Eileen Weisinger as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Keii Johnston as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Mike Watson as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Kurt D. Lott as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Lincoln Simonds as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Steve Tomaski as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Buck McDancer as DEA Agent - Public Storage
John Callery as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Ousaun Elam as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Brian Avery as DEA Agent - Public Storage
Corey Spears as F*****-up Bowman
Rena Sofer as Helena's Friend
Stacey Travis as Helena's Friend
Jennifer Barker as Helena's Friend
Dean Faulkner as Parking Valet
Daniella Kuhn as Tourist Woman
Brandon Keener as Tourist Man
Bill Weld as Governor Bill Weld
George Blumenthal as Partygoer #1
Stephen Dunham as Lobbyist
Don Nickles as Senator Don Nickles
Margaret Travolta as Economist
Harry Reid as Senator Harry Reid
Jeff Podolsky as Jeff Podolsky
Jewelle Bickford as Partygoer #2
Barbara Boxer as Senator Barbara Boxer
Orrin Hatch as Senator Orrin Hatch
Chuck Grassley as Senator Charles Grassley
Dave Hager as Partygoer #3
Tucker Smallwood as Partygoer #4
Marisol Padilla Sánchez as Ana Sanchez
Víctor Quintero as Salazar Soldier
Toby Holguin as Salazar Soldier
Ramiro González as Salazar Soldier
Elaine Kagan as Judge Reed
John Slattery as ADA Dan Collier
Jimmy Ortega as Arrested Man in Apartment
Greg Boniface as Tackled Man #1
Thomas Rosales Jr. as Tackled Man #2
Rudy M. Camacho as Customs Official
Vonte Sweet as Dealer
Ed Breving as Hotel Deskman
Jack Conley as Agent Hughes
Eddie Velez as Agent Johnson
Craig N. Chretien as Director of EPIC
John Brown as Assistant Director of EPIC
Mike Siegel as DEA Representative
Joel Torres as Porfilio Madrigal
Stephen J. Rose as Marty
Kimber Fritz as Rehab Counselor
Harsh Nayyar as Witness #1
Mary Pat Gleason as Witness #2
Vincent M. Ward as Man on Street
Jsu Garcia as Pablo Obregón
Gregory Estevane as Polygraph Administrator
Alex Procopio as Polygraph Assistant
Rita Gomez as Mrs. Castro
Kaizaad Kotwal as Teacher
David Jensen as John
Krymis J Fernando as Waiter #1
Mike Malone as Waiter #2
René Pereyra as Doctor
Kymberly Newberry as Press Secretary
Carroll Schumacher as Ayala Security #1
Ben Scott as Ayala Security #2
Michael Showers as Meeting Leader
Salma Hayek Pinault as Rosario (uncredited)
Fred Anderson as TV Reporter (uncredited)
David Bickford as Stan (uncredited)
Adam Clark as FBI Agent (uncredited)
Chic Daniel as DEA Agent (uncredited)
Sonia Debreczeni as Reporter (uncredited)
Alan Easley as Junkie (uncredited)
Choel Evans as Photo Journalist (uncredited)
Rod Fielder as Newspaper Photographer (uncredited)
Tony Guma as Detective (uncredited)
Valerie Hanna as Witness #3 (uncredited)
Dominic Koulianos as Reporter (uncredited)
Zachary Lindsey as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
Meagan Lopez as Cocktail Party Attendee (uncredited)
Ambrit Millhouse as Cincinnati Hooker (uncredited)
Ken Miyamoto as Guy by Swimming Pool (uncredited)
David Pittinger as Cincinnati Police Officer (uncredited)
Christopher Rogers as Businessman (uncredited)
Leo Rogstad as Stand-In (uncredited)
Laurent Schwaar as Art Appraiser (uncredited)
Joey Sotello as DEA Agent / Attorney (uncredited)
William-Christopher Stephens as Drug Dealer (uncredited)
Clyde Tull as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
Fairly Tull as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
Jim Cody Williams as FBI Agent (uncredited)
Anthony Hawkins Woods as Junkie (uncredited)
William 'Shorty' Young as Court Room Participant (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 6 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 14% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 246

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 6	0	13
7 to 12	0	3
13 to 18	0	37
19 to 24	0	7
25 to 30	4	22
31 to 36	15	18
37 to 42	4	34
43 to 48	4	15
49 to 54	21	15
55 to 60	11	11
61 to 66	20	4
67 to 72	8	11
73 to 78	15	22
79 to 84	1	10
85 to 90	4	27
91 to 96	0	13
97 to 102	8	16
103 to 108	6	19
109 to 114	4	9
115 to 120	12	20
121 to 126	9	15
127 to 132	6	27
133 to 138	12	4
139 to 144	0	3
145 to 150	1	12
151 to 156	13	18
157 to 162	0	19
163 to 168	2	7
169 to 174	2	4
175 to 180	0	13
181 to 186	7	7
187 to 192	17	17
193 to 198	3	9
199 to 204	11	12
205 to 210	6	10
211 to 216	1	13
217 to 222	4	7
223 to 228	0	18
229 to 234	0	11
235 to 240	3	23
241 to 246	2	6

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.

TWO WOMEN IN UNISON: Polyunsaturated. HELENA: And now there's a good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Everything they tell you completely changes every other week. I don't know why they …

VANESSA: It's three a.m. I'm not supposed to be here. I snuck out -- CAROLINE: Are you kidding... I'm staying with you --

SOCIAL WORKER: ...How old are you? CAROLINE: Sixteen SOCIAL WORKER: Live with your parents? CAROLINE: Yes.

BARBARA: Honey, we'd like to talk alone. CAROLINE: Like always.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 29 are women's.

236 lines from women, 581 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

26 women and 82 men in the cast. 11 women and 33 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 78 of 951. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 77 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 27% of the words (3,210), men 73% (8,650). Women have 29% 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

3 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh (man)
Written by: Stephen Gaghan (man)
Produced by: Laura Bickford (woman), Marshall Herskovitz (man), Edward Zwick (man)
Shot by: Steven Soderbergh (man)
Edited by: Stephen Mirrione (man)
Music by: Cliff Martinez (man)
Production design by: Philip Messina (man)
Costumes by: Louise Frogley (woman)
Cast by: Debra Zane (woman)