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Passes the Bechdel test

Waves

2019. Directed by Trey Edward Shults, written by Trey Edward Shults.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    11 women characters. 8 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 7 scenes out of 220.
  3. 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, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

Poster for Waves

The film

Set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida, and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, Waves traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family - led by a well-intentional but domineering father - as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss. From acclaimed director Trey Edward Shults, Waves is a heartrending story about the universal capacity for compassion and growth even in the darkest of times.

Released
06 Dec 2019
Genres
Drama, Romance, Sport
Rated
R
IMDb
7.5 / 10
Metascore
80 / 100
Awards
14 wins & 43 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Emily 118 lines, woman
  2. Luke 98 lines, man
  3. Ronald 75 lines, man
  4. Tyler 71 lines, man
  5. Catherine 47 lines
  6. Alexis 35 lines, woman
  7. Boy 11 lines, man
  8. Grandma 10 lines, woman
  9. Luke Emily 10 lines, woman
  10. Emily Luke 8 lines
Full cast, 33 people
  • Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Tyler
  • Taylor Russell as Emily
  • Renée Elise Goldsberry as Catharine
  • Sterling K. Brown as Ronald
  • Lucas Hedges as Luke
  • Alexa Demie as Alexis
  • Neal Huff as Bill
  • Clifton Collins Jr. as Bobby
  • Krisha Fairchild as English Teacher
  • Ruben E. A. Brown as Wally
  • Joshua Brockington as Stan
  • Vivi Pineda as Elena
  • David Garelik as Ryan
  • Bill Wise as Coach Wise
  • Harmony Korine as Mr. Stanley
  • Holland Hayes as Doctor Steve
  • Justin R. Chan as Chang
  • Albert Link as Minister
  • David A Payton as Security Guard
  • Lulu Braha as Protestor
  • Avis-Marie Barnes as Doctor
  • Harlan Drum as Sophie
  • Jon Brudzinski as Cop 1
  • Jeffrey Hersh as Cop 2
  • Dennis Deveaugh as Cop 3
  • George Greer as Judge
  • Carter Harcek as Lip Sync Boy (uncredited)
  • Alan Fritz as Bailiff (uncredited)
  • Kristin Wollett as Park Mother (uncredited)
  • Nicholas Ryan Hernandez as Lip Sync Boy (uncredited)
  • Taisha Perez as Coroner Jessie (uncredited)
  • Ellen Marguerite Cullivan as Doctor (uncredited)
  • Ciarra Krohne as Core Friend (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 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 220

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 514
6 to 1010
11 to 1516
16 to 2020
21 to 2521
26 to 3012
31 to 3505
36 to 40112
41 to 4505
46 to 5004
51 to 55926
56 to 6014
61 to 65116
66 to 701014
71 to 751016
76 to 8059
81 to 8526
86 to 9002
91 to 9501
96 to 100810
101 to 10501
106 to 11000
111 to 11510
116 to 12000
121 to 12500
126 to 13000
131 to 13521
136 to 14011
141 to 14501
146 to 1503435
151 to 15501
156 to 16021
161 to 165126
166 to 17075
171 to 1754044
176 to 18032
181 to 1851418
186 to 1901313
191 to 19528
196 to 200916
201 to 20500
206 to 21000
211 to 21510
216 to 22000

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.
ALEXIS: Hmmm... I can’t pick. I love them both. TYLER ALEXIS Different- Shut up. BOBBY ELENA: It’s too much salt. I told It’s not too much! you- ALEXIS: No comment. BOBBY ALEXIS No comment? That’s a trap.
BOBBY ELENA: Yeah? Where do you think she Her mother. got it from- Lies! I taught you everything Oh please- We both know you you know- couldn’t cook anyt… ALEXIS: We call mom the iguana killer. BOBBY ELENA: She sits out there with her They’re an invasive species! pellet gun- Just committin iguana genocide on a daily- No, no- You’re blood thirsty…
EMILY: Tyler... Come on. TYLER EMILY: What’d I do? Where’s your sling? What’d I do?? Shhh, it’s okay... EMILY: Shhh, everything’s okay...
ALEXIS: You look beautiful. EMILY: Awww thank you! You look amazing!
EMILY BOY: No, no- I’m sorry- EMILY: It’s okay. It’s fine... I guess... I could eat something to grab.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 40 are women's.

196 lines from women, 296 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

11 women and 15 men in the cast. 8 women and 22 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 3 of 569. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 30 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 36% of the words (2,423), men 64% (4,318). Women have 40% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Trey Edward Shults (man)
Written by
Trey Edward Shults (man)
Produced by
Kevin Turen (man), Trey Edward Shults (man), James Wilson (man)
Shot by
Drew Daniels (man)
Edited by
Isaac Hagy (man), Trey Edward Shults (man)
Music by
Atticus Ross (man), Trent Reznor (man)
Production design by
Elliott Hostetter (man)
Costumes by
Rachel Dainer-Best (woman)
Cast by
Avy Kaufman (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Sound

    2 women, 10 men, 14 not listed

  • Production

    1 women, 8 men, 4 not listed

  • Other crew

    1 women, 4 men, 5 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 4 men, 5 not listed

  • Art

    0 women, 4 men, 4 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    2 women, 0 men, 4 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Editing

    0 women, 4 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 42 on average. Men: 35 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Taylor Russell 25, Alexa Demie 28, Renée Elise Goldsberry 48, Krisha Fairchild 68

Men

Lucas Hedges 22, Kelvin Harrison Jr. 25, Ruben E. A. Brown 38, Sterling K. Brown 43, Clifton Collins Jr. 49

Exhibit H: the money

It made 43% of what it cost.

Budget
$6 million
Box office
$2.6 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 220 scenes and 569 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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