Less spoiler-rific AVENGERS comment, about Joss Whedon's Problem

[xiphias]

Yeah. The movie doesn't pass the Bechdel Test. At all.

See, this is the disappointing thing about Joss Whedon. He so totally wants to be a feminist. But he just . . . misses. And I feel so bad for him. I'm always rooting for him to get it right, because he WANTS to get it right, and WE want him to get it right and he just doesn't.

He's got multiple female characters with agency. It would be so easy to actually put some of them in the same room at the same time and talk about things, other than men, that move the plot forward. But he doesn't. Even though he writes female characters with agency, they're usually interacting with men, reacting to men. His worlds are patriarchal, even though it's not his intention, or his desire, and he WANTS to do better.

Please, Joss. Get it right. You want to. We want you to. It just hurts that you don't. We're pulling for you, Joss! Please.

Comments

[sethg]

I’ve lost track of the link, but I saw an essay explaining that from the POV of Hollywood executives, big-budget feature films SHOULD NOT pass the Bechdel test (presumably they don’t call it that); there is a widespread belief that women will see “men’s movies” but not vice versa, and therefore any suggestion that female characters are more than accessories to the men contaminates the film with revenue-inhibiting cooties.