Avengers Fail the Bechdel Test

I saw the Avengers yesterday and enjoyed it very much. I was pleased to see a black man as the leader as well as three strong female characters.  However, when I left the theater, I realized that the movie did not pass the Bechdel test. 

“How does a movie pass the Bechdel Test?” you ask.  Well, it is really quite simple actually.  You just have to watch a movie and then answer “yes” to three questions.  The questions are listed here at www.bechdeltest.com as well as below.

1.      Are there at least two women in it and do they have names?
2.      Do they talk?  To each other?
3.      When they to talk, is it about something besides a man?

Unfortunately, the movie did not pass the second question.  I wonder what makes it so difficult for movies to answer “yes” to these three questions.  Perhaps much has changed, but more work needs to be done.

Speaking of needing work, I stumbled upon an interesting picture of the movie poster on www.feministing.com and thought it wise to post it with this entry.  The poster highlights the menacing masculinity of the male heroes, while exposing the female ass-ets.  What if the guys were ex-posed in the same way?  Take a look below.


What do you think?  Please comment below.

Redesign by Kevin Bolk