Bechdel Test Movie List

/bech·del test/ n.
1. It has to have at least two [named] women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

[[3]] Avengers: Infinity War (2018) [imdb]

This movie passed 3 of 3 tests. It was entered by ejp83 on 2018-04-28 14:05:24.

Reviews

Comments

Lionheart disagreed with the rating and said:
If you consider two female characters are talking about extracting a stone from Vision's head when he's at Shuri's lab and if you consider Vision to be male (well, technically, he is) then I don't think that counts.
Message posted on 2018-04-28 16:06:56
Princiell said:
Okoye, Natasha and Proxima Midnight exchange words while fighting during the battle in Wakanda. I don't remember if Wanda takes part of this conversation, but she is there too.
Message posted on 2018-04-28 18:24:52
Derek Williams disagreed with the rating and said:
I agree with Lionheart. The women are talking about The Vision and that's effectively talking about a man.
Message posted on 2018-04-29 07:49:03
Shuria said:
Proxima Midnight tells Scarlet Witch she will die alone and no one will be there for her before Black Widow pops in and says she is there. It is a small moment but there are no men involved in this conversation
Message posted on 2018-04-29 11:55:26
B disagreed with the rating and said:
@shuria lol that can hardly count as a conversation ?
Message posted on 2018-04-29 16:52:21
Brian said:
Gamora and his sister talk (in a flashback) about hiding the infinity stone.
Message posted on 2018-04-30 00:54:50
Synestri disagreed with the rating and said:
Effectively the conversations held are mostly referring to the Infinity Stones and Vision. When you examine the dialogue in a larger context, it's about Thanos potentially obtaining the stones, which is more or less about a male regardless of Vision's inclusion.
Message posted on 2018-04-30 02:25:49
Lena disagreed with the rating and said:
The moment where Proxima Midnight, Scarlet Witch, Okoye and Black Widow are fighting, is ultimately still about men, as Proxima Midnight is attacking Scarlet Witch because she is the main obstacle guarding Vision (male) from Thanos (male). The entire fight is about those two men. As such, I don't believe it passes the Bechdel test.
Message posted on 2018-04-30 08:26:38
Laura disagreed with the rating and said:
Proxima Midnight tells Wanda something among the lines of "You're gonna die alone just like him" then Natasha says she's not alone, but it's still regarding The Vision
Message posted on 2018-04-30 15:50:10
Jax disagreed with the rating and said:
That conversation is literally about a man who is not there with her- so no.

This movie unequivocally does not pass Bechdel test.

Additionally, we only know Proxima Midnight's name because it's listed in the credit. She is an unnamed woman throughout the movie. Whatever your feelings on the Avengers Infinity War, it does not pass the Bechdel test.
Message posted on 2018-04-30 19:02:08
Kriegspiel said:
The Proxima Midnight conversation definitely does not pass.

Gamora and Nebula do have a conversation in flashback that's not entirely about Thanos himself, but the location of the Soul Stone and whether Gamora found it. Might be enough to squeak by? Not really, since the subtext is that Gamora's not telling Thanos. The conversation is absolutely about a man.

But there's also a bit of conversation between Gamora and her mom in a different flashback, concerning not any specific *person* (there's no indication that either of them even know who Thanos is), but rather their own safety during the invasion. Gamora's mother tells her daughter to "stay close to me," etc.

(Yes, the invasion is of Thanos's making, but does talking about a cake mean that you're talking about the baker?)

What clinches it is that Gamora called her "Mother," which in this context is not a descriptive but a child's *name* for her parent, like "Mum" or "Mommy." The Bechdel Test does not mandate the use of a birth name, so this brief moment allows the film to pass the test.

Really though, the fact that we even have to pick the film apart at such a minute level should really tell you something here.
Message posted on 2018-05-01 15:23:49
sebastian disagreed with the rating and said:
im pretty sure most of the verbal interactions in this movie between women are all one-liners, which usually do not count as conversations. most arguments here are all pretty far-reaching and that's... pretty sad.
Message posted on 2018-05-03 00:34:42
Jess disagreed with the rating and said:
I see no significant conversations between two women not about a man in this movie. To me one or two words to one another does not constitute a conversation (such as Black Widows "she isn't alone.) The whole point of Wanda in this film is to protect/destroy Vison.
Message posted on 2018-05-05 17:04:01
Portia said:
@B The scene where Black Widow answers Proxima Midnight right after Proxima tells Scarlet Witch that "she will die alone" is the third part of an extended conversation that Proxima and Black Widow have. Black Widow repeatedly takes the lead in speaking for her group in the scenes she's in. When Proxima's friend is downed during the fight in Scotland, Widow is the only one in the group who speaks to Proxima, telling her that "she will kill her if necessary" which Proxima responds that "she will never get the chance" then leaves back to their spacecraft. Next, Widow walks to the Wakanda force barrier where Proxima is testing the barrier with her sword. Widow is yet again the first to speak to Proxima, who tells Widow that she will pay for what she did.

Throughout the scene Proxima is shown with agency, commanding the actions of her group, whether releasing the zergling-like creatures or ordering the attack on Shuri's lab once Scarlet Witch is seen outside on the field. Is it some kind of crab mentality that lead others to dismiss or negate agency in any woman they see?

People might dismiss Nebula's call to Mantis since you don't see Mantis responding on screen, but Nebula takes action and never gives up on her goals no matter how many times Gamora wins or Thanos or any other setback, which happen often. She's not the type to spend most of her time on social media.
Message posted on 2018-05-09 06:30:56
Portia said:
@Jax You might only know Proxima Midnight's name from the credits, but Proxima Midnight is named in the comics and has the same distinctive appearance.
Message posted on 2018-05-09 06:37:27
Bianca disagreed with the rating and said:
Black Widow and Proxima Midnight exchange a conversation upon the Black Order's arrival in Wakanda. Black Widow asks about the whereabouts of Corvus Glaive, who happens to be a man and Proxima's husband.
Message posted on 2018-05-11 09:37:50
K said:
Proxima and Scarlet talk during the fight in Scotland. Something like "we don't want to kill you - you will not have another chance". This counts, in my opinion. There is no "man subtext".
Message posted on 2018-05-11 21:56:04
K said:
...sorry, not Scarlet, but Black Widow.
Message posted on 2018-05-11 21:57:07
Jen said:
Shuri and Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximov say one line to each other (paraphrased because it was a lot of technical jargon):

"The stone will need to be extracted from each individual synapse."
"But can you do it?"

*In context* Vision is involved, but in the actual dialogue, he is not mentioned. Pass.

(Don't come at me with "barely" passing, if the object is to get at least one point on a quiz, a nonzero grade is a pass.)
Message posted on 2018-05-13 21:05:41
@Phanie_fb disagreed with the rating and said:
Okoye asks to Black Widow why Scarlet Witch wasn't down with them but BW doesn't answer.

Midnight talks to Scarlet Witch but she doesn't talk back.

BW talks to Midnight but she doesn't say anything.

Any other lines pronounced by female characters concern men.
Message posted on 2018-05-16 19:59:34
Vapid Koala said:
Okoye asking Natasha why Wanda was standing in the sidelines all along.
Message posted on 2018-05-17 11:25:13
Amy said:
Okay.. vision is not a man, vision is not of any gender.
Message posted on 2018-05-17 20:44:19
Lilshaqq said:
The conversation between Okoye,Proxima Midnight,Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow counts. A lot of people are talking about how they're talking about Vision so it doesn't count however, Vision is in fact genderless so it isn't a man.
Message posted on 2018-06-02 21:50:03
sassycassie disagreed with the rating and said:
The argument that vison is genderless is not valid as he is a masculine being. He is not referred to as "they/them" therefore HE is a man and HE prevents that conversation from passing the Bechdel Test. Still a great movie with lots of strong females, but doesn't pass. Also I agree with the earlier comments, that interaction hardly counts as a conversation.
Message posted on 2018-06-20 00:44:30
Julian said:
If we consider Vision genderless then the movie passes with flying colors, since literally every conversation on Earth is about him/it.

If we don't then... the movie still passes as there's one conversation on Earth and one in space that isn't (entirely) about a male:

The one on Earth is Black Widow telling Proxima that they will kill her if they have to, to which Proxima Midnight replies that they won't get another chance. However, Proxima Midnight is only named in the credits so this instance could be dismissed.

The one in space is between Gamora and Nebula about Thanos and the map to the Soul Stone. In here, "talking about the stones doesn't cut it because Thanos is looking for them" is not a valid dismissal, if talking about objects doesn't count because males want those objects, then literally every conversation in history could be dismissed on those grounds:

"hey what a beautiful picture."
"I know right?"

"Well, some guy climbed that mountain once so this conversation doesn't pass the Bechdel test."
Message posted on 2018-06-22 17:00:08
emma said:
while i agree that most of the subtext of the conversations is about thanos is some way and is therefore not exactly female-oriented, the point of the bechdel test is that it is completely simple and literal. infinity war is not great in terms of female interaction but i think it technically passes the test with the conversation between natasha, okoye, wanda and proxima midnight
Message posted on 2018-06-30 22:25:24
Jacky said:
When Scarlet Witch throws Proxima Midnight into a giant spinning blade and kills her, Black Widow turns to Scarlet Witch and says 'that was really rough'. More of a one-liner than a conversation though. All other conversations involve a unnamed female character or some male subtext - i.e. Thanos' ability/inability to get the soul stone, or the synapses in Vision's mind.

Vision mightn't be a cisgendered human man, but he's chosen a male form and uses male pronouns. Any reference to removing the stone from his head is talking about a man.

I guess it depends how much weight the viewer puts on the subtext on a few different conversations.
Message posted on 2018-08-22 11:53:04
Woke said:
Nebula calls mantis and tells her to meet her on titan. Ok oye also asks why Wanda was up there this whole time and only black widow and Wanda are there.
Message posted on 2018-09-01 16:18:21
C said:
People need to understand the test. It doesn’t have to be an extended conversation. In the original comic, “Alien” passed because of Sigourney Weaver yelling at the Alien! So if THAT is the original standard, then you better believe short exchanges between women pass.

Also, the idea that “because they are trying to keep the stones from Thanos, then everything said about the stones is about Thanos” is also terribly missing the point. If that’s the bar. No movie with a male villain would EVER be able to pass. That’s nonsensical. A tangential association is not at all the same as someone being the SUBJECT of a conversation. IW passes due to numerous conversations previously mentioned between several of the female characters, both on earth and in space.
Message posted on 2018-09-28 23:55:16
Luis said:
Of course it is passed! The movie has strong female characters and the dialogs(even the ones about Thanos) are not in a "romantic" context(they do not want to be with Thanos), it is all about the possibility of him getting the stones, but that doesn't mean is about a man, but the security of, actually, THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

And also, the test says the characters must have name but not exactly be named.

Sorry if my English is poor.
Message posted on 2019-02-15 06:43:54
Drew said:
The conversations about the stones count.

Remember, the Bechdel test is not meant to be extremely difficult to pass. The original example was of two women talking about a monster whose character design was literally based on a penis (Alien, 1979).
Message posted on 2019-04-26 14:16:37
Drew Olds said:
@Luis- It actually doesn't matter if the dialogue about a man is in a romantic way.

The Bechdel test shows us that most films have all of the choices and agency revolve around men, and that women are generally used to support the men's plans and motives.

It doesn't matter if women talk to each other about a male love interest or about their father or boss- it still shows that the women do not have their own agendas and motives as much as the men do (since it is very easy to find scenes of two men talking about topics that aren't women).

Still, I feel that Infinity War passes- though barely.
Message posted on 2019-04-30 17:40:06
Drew Olds said:
I find it significant how much different the pass for this is as compared with Endgame.

Even with half the population gone (many of the MCU women are missing) Endgame passes easily with conversations between Gamorra, Nebula, Captain Marvel and Black Widow (and possibly others as well) who talk about the fate of humanity, the universe, friendship, sisterhood, time travel and trying to kill each other (in addition to talking about Thanos or other male centered topics).

While Infinity War was a dubious pass, Endgame is a very clear pass.

I wonder if that's the effect the Bechdel Test has had on screenwriting.
Message posted on 2019-04-30 17:44:31
Ved said:
According to me this movie has one hundred percent passed the Bechdel test because there are strong female characters. Like Nebula , Gamora , Natasha and many more. Although they have spoken about men they did not talk in a romantic tone.
Message posted on 2020-04-27 03:13:55
Ved said:
According to me this movie has one hundred percent passed the Bechdel test because there are strong female characters. Like Nebula , Gamora , Natasha and many more. Although they have spoken about men they did not talk in a romantic tone.
Message posted on 2020-04-27 03:14:06
cassiopeia said:
If we consider Vision genderless then the movie passes with flying colors, since literally every conversation on Earth is about him/it.

If we don't then... the movie still passes as there's one conversation on Earth and one in space that isn't (entirely) about a male:

The one on Earth is Black Widow telling Proxima that they will kill her if they have to, to which Proxima Midnight replies that they won't get another chance. However, Proxima Midnight is only named in the credits so this instance could be dismissed.

The one in space is between Gamora and Nebula about Thanos and the map to the Soul Stone. In here, "talking about the stones doesn't cut it because Thanos is looking for them" is not a valid dismissal, if talking about objects doesn't count because males want those objects, then literally every conversation in history could be dismissed on those grounds:

"hey what a beautiful picture."
"I know right?"

"Well, some guy climbed that mountain once so this conversation doesn't pass the Bechdel test."
Message posted on 2020-05-05 12:17:46
Sanders said:
I agree with the rating, y’all forgot that in the beginning of the movie, when Cap and Black Widow fight the Black Order, Natasha clearly tells Proxima Midnight that she doesn’t want to kill her, but she will, to which Midnight responds that she will never get the chance again.
Message posted on 2021-04-03 10:57:18
Crystal said:
if we consider Thanos and the stones as a male-oriented onversation topic then I'm pretty sure absolutely no one in the movie would pass because the whole film revolves around saving the universe from Thanos.

Even all the men are talking about how to save the world from Thanos or about self-sacrifice to save others.

There's not much downtime for characters to interact.
Message posted on 2021-04-18 17:32:26

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