The proportion of words spoken by women in Best Picture-winning films is extremely depressing

Spotlight wins Best Picture in 2016.
(Image credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

What film do you have winning Best Picture on Sunday night at the Academy Awards? Will it be Roma? Bohemian Rhapsody? A Star Is Born? Well, if there is one depressing metric shared by almost every Best Picture winner between 1996 and 2016, it's that male characters dominate the speaking roles:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.