Avengers: Endgame's 3-Hour Runtime Is A Stark Reminder Of Hollywood’s Hidden Ableism

By Vilissa Thompson


The hype for Avengers: Endgame has been felt deeply within fandom and on social media for months. The massive, record-breaking opening weekend box office haul was a sheer symptom of the excitement for the film. For several, this movie symbolizes a closing to a chapter, however there really is a unspoken stumbling block that may prevent several fans from participating in the cultural phenomenon in theaters: the runtime of the film, which clocks in at 3 hours and 2 minutes.


The long runtime isn’t a large surprise; this is, immediately considering that, the conclusion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Infinity Saga and then some of our preference heroes’ journeys are expected to come to an end. Some fans even celebrate the hefty range, wanting to savor every last moment with the Avengers as we know them. For disabled fans, yet, particularly those whose disabilities interfere with their bladder control, the runtime can feel daunting and inhibitory.


Disability, within fandoms and in Hollywood, is constantly failed to notice, whether that’s in connection to casual tweets to "just deal" with the runtime and hold your pee up until the credits, or in regards to broader accessibility and inclusion issues, like limited (or no) captioning made obtainable to disabled moviegoers. The stark ableism of such remarks discounts the predicament disabled fans are faced with, and makes them feel invisible and isolated in spaces they occupy.


As in the event of Endgame, longer runtimes bring to the surface the discussion of #PeeMath, a hashtag created and used by the disability community within the past few years. "Pee math" is calculating how long we can be out and around — or, in this case, sitting in a dark theater — before we might require a washroom break.


"Being prone to kidney infections, [I] drink a lot of water, roughly ten glasses a day. Moreover, I have high blood pressure and take a diuretic among my other medications," Jenét M. Tells MTV News. "I have to time log events like concerts, plays, movies just right so I'm not uncomfortable."


For Jenét, having no access to a restroom for over two hours requires altering her medication schedule and limiting liquid intake for four or five hours prior to the event. Those barriers weren’t going to stop her from seeing Endgame in theaters, nevertheless did require her to cautiously map her schedule. In a task to minimize her discomfort and sustain as much of her wellness routine as possible, Jenét resolved to attend a 7:45 a.M. Screening, which would permit her to halt her liquid intake beginning at 7 p.M. The night before and wait up until immediately following the movie to take her morning pills.


Expecting disabled people (or anyone for that matter) to hold their pee for three hours is exclusionary, particularly as soon as you add into equation the entire dynamics of the moviegoing experience, which include not just the span of the film itself, however also the long-established mid- and post-credits scenes and the concessions a moviegoer looks forward to consuming.


"Having spina bifida does affect the bladder. If I'm going to a movie theater, I'm likely going to use the washroom before a movie begins at a theater," Drew C. Mentioned. Although if a movie is over two hours long and I purchase myself a medium or large drink for myself, the chances of needing to use the washroom are pretty good.”


The pee math goes behind just timing out your washroom breaks — it also includes the time it takes to get to an obtainable restroom in a society where public restrooms are not routinely as available as they legally should be.


as an example, some obtainable restrooms are deemed as such just for their installed grab bars, however moviegoers who use mobility aids encounter problems if they leave the stall, where they come upon sinks with handles and soap dispensers that are out of reach. However at least those folks are able to get into the stall in the initial place.


"More often than not, I've encountered able-bodied people using these stalls which makes the wait longer," Drew mentioned, adding that use of the available stalls has become so commonplace that almost all people don’t even recognize the holdup they’re causing. "Out all of the times I've gone to movie theaters in my teens and early twenties, I have only ever had one able bodied person come out of the stall look at me directly and apologize for using the obtainable stall."


Some have proposed that adding intermissions to longer movies like Endgame would be the solution — and that might be one segment of the puzzle — although members of the community still have concerns. “If a film is over three hours and includes an intermission, I am going to bet you anything lines to the washroom will be long and wheelchair users like myself will have to wait longer since we have fewer choices of obtainable stalls,” Alice Wong, Founder & Director of the Disability Visibility Project, says.


The reality that there really is no one solution because everyone’s needs are diverse. This is particularly so with the disabled community — what works for one individual might not directly work for others. Yet that does not mean we shouldn’t attempt to make various ways to make sure that each person feels included in the moviegoing experience.


Access and availability are key issues that affect disabled people day-to-day, and so they can only be resolved if they’re a segment of the mainstream consciousness. Otherwise, a key consumer base will continue be stymied from engaging in massive cultural moments, like Endgame.


The disabled community has raised its concerns with the intention to be heard; will this be the time the world’s largest minority group is taken seriously, or will we be dismissed by the industry once again?