Some social media users are confused, turned off, and even outraged by a promotional poster and billboard for the new X-Men movie, charging that is normalizes violence against women.
In the ad for X-Men: Apocalypse, Mystique — played by Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence — is being choked by Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac.
But while superhero movie fans are used to seeing plenty of action and violence in movies based on their favorite comic book characters, some are saying that spotlighting a single act of violence against a woman in sexist and even potentially dangerous.
The angry and put-off tweets started popping up in May as fans stumbled across the ad on billboards, phone booths, and the internet.
Why is it that the main drawing point for the new X-Men movie is Apocalypse choking Mystique. Like, it was seriously on a billboard,' wrote a Georgia man named Paul.
This #XMenApocalypse billboard of Oscar Isaac choking Jennifer Lawrence is a pleasant backdrop for date night,' Yahoo Canada editor Allan Shifman wrote sarcastically, adding a picture of the offending billboard.
Forget the X-Men movie, let's talk about this terrible poster. What's up with that nonchalant choke and baby arm？' added a man named Justin.
Though some supporters of the franchise are arguing that critics are making a big deal out of nothing — after all, don't they expect to see violence in a superhero flick？ — the critics themselves are pointing out that past X-Men posters haven't featured violent acts, but group shots of the X-Men.
One California woman, Kelly Morgen, touched on the fact that violence against women is a pressing issue in particular, and the scene painted on the posters too closely reflects what so often happens in real life — as opposed to, say, a super villain tossing a superhero off a building or throwing cars.
I recently passed two billboards for the new X-Men: Apocalypse movie along 880-N, and IT WAS NOT OKAY,' she wrote. 'I felt angry, uncomfortable, and shocked to see a frightened woman being choked by a man.
Given this freeway usually sports anti-domestic violence billboards, it was jarringly out of place... The producers show know this sort of marketing is profoundly NOT OKAY.'
Kelly's post has been shared just over a thousand times, but one of those shares was by someone with a bigger audience: actress Rose McGowan, who seemed completely ticked off by the ad.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, she elaborated on her frustration, saying: 'There is a major problem when the men and women at 20th Century Fox think casual violence against women is the way to market a film. There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled.
The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid. The geniuses behind this, and I use that term lightly, need to to take a long hard look at the mirror and see how they are contributing to society. Imagine if it were a black man being strangled by a white man, or a gay male being strangled by a hetero？ The outcry would be enormous.
So let's right this wrong. 20th Century Fox, since you can't manage to put any women directors on your slate for the next two years, how about you at least replace your ad？' she went on, highlighting another area in which there has been public outcry about this particular studio.
Addressing those who claim that the poster isn't problematic and feminists are looking for issues where there are none, Rose noted that her friend had been talking to his nine-year-old daughter about the poster when she asked: 'Dad, why is that monster man committing violence against a woman？'
In the ad for X-Men: Apocalypse, Mystique — played by Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence — is being choked by Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac.
But while superhero movie fans are used to seeing plenty of action and violence in movies based on their favorite comic book characters, some are saying that spotlighting a single act of violence against a woman in sexist and even potentially dangerous.
The angry and put-off tweets started popping up in May as fans stumbled across the ad on billboards, phone booths, and the internet.
Why is it that the main drawing point for the new X-Men movie is Apocalypse choking Mystique. Like, it was seriously on a billboard,' wrote a Georgia man named Paul.
This #XMenApocalypse billboard of Oscar Isaac choking Jennifer Lawrence is a pleasant backdrop for date night,' Yahoo Canada editor Allan Shifman wrote sarcastically, adding a picture of the offending billboard.
Forget the X-Men movie, let's talk about this terrible poster. What's up with that nonchalant choke and baby arm？' added a man named Justin.
Though some supporters of the franchise are arguing that critics are making a big deal out of nothing — after all, don't they expect to see violence in a superhero flick？ — the critics themselves are pointing out that past X-Men posters haven't featured violent acts, but group shots of the X-Men.
One California woman, Kelly Morgen, touched on the fact that violence against women is a pressing issue in particular, and the scene painted on the posters too closely reflects what so often happens in real life — as opposed to, say, a super villain tossing a superhero off a building or throwing cars.
I recently passed two billboards for the new X-Men: Apocalypse movie along 880-N, and IT WAS NOT OKAY,' she wrote. 'I felt angry, uncomfortable, and shocked to see a frightened woman being choked by a man.
Given this freeway usually sports anti-domestic violence billboards, it was jarringly out of place... The producers show know this sort of marketing is profoundly NOT OKAY.'
Kelly's post has been shared just over a thousand times, but one of those shares was by someone with a bigger audience: actress Rose McGowan, who seemed completely ticked off by the ad.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, she elaborated on her frustration, saying: 'There is a major problem when the men and women at 20th Century Fox think casual violence against women is the way to market a film. There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled.
The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and frankly, stupid. The geniuses behind this, and I use that term lightly, need to to take a long hard look at the mirror and see how they are contributing to society. Imagine if it were a black man being strangled by a white man, or a gay male being strangled by a hetero？ The outcry would be enormous.
So let's right this wrong. 20th Century Fox, since you can't manage to put any women directors on your slate for the next two years, how about you at least replace your ad？' she went on, highlighting another area in which there has been public outcry about this particular studio.
Addressing those who claim that the poster isn't problematic and feminists are looking for issues where there are none, Rose noted that her friend had been talking to his nine-year-old daughter about the poster when she asked: 'Dad, why is that monster man committing violence against a woman？'
