Fox Apologizes for 'X-Men' Billboard

[nightflight]

As 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Apocalypse stormed theaters over the long weekend, critics took aim at billboards featuring Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse choking Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique.

Among them was Rose McGowan, who elaborated on a May 25 Facebook post to THR: “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.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/rose-mcgowan-calls-out-x-men-billboard-that-162518329.html

Thoughts?

 

[MennoSota]

Today's super hero's and villains are gender neutral in their ability to fight. Hollywood has made women out to be nearly invincible as they fight men. Since both are equals, it stands to reason that choking, grabbing, kicking, etc, will happen to all involved. In Marvel world, no one dies, they just lock their wounds to fight again.

All that to say, "It's a science fiction fantasy movie. Nothing is real and movie goers understand that. The folks who are complaining should recognize this and stop trying to make this into more than it is.
Anyway, the movie will be gone in a week or two anyhow.

 

[Hetta]

I don't think there is any need for an apology. I know that the image upset some people, but almost everyone was bludgeoned or otherwise beaten up by the main baddie in that movie. I didn't see the billboard myself, but you know, these are super powerful mutants. They do a lot of bad things to each other. Mystique has done bad things to other people too. I didn't see it as "Jennifer Lawrence being strangled by a man" because, hey, she's an actress and she's not Jennifer Lawrence, she's Mystique/Raven.

I enjoyed the movie, but then I enjoy Marvel movies a lot, and I never once felt like "hey they're treating women badly." I sometimes thought they were under-dressing women, I mean this thousands of years old baddie immediately puts his "bad girl" followers into scanty clothing? Hmmm. But that's par for the course in Hollywood.

 

[Blondepudding]

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/rose-mcgowan-calls-out-x-men-billboard-that-162518329.html

Thoughts?

Blue scaly ginger fictional women everywhere should be terribly offended. And then feel redeemed when that particular blue scaly ginger fictional woman kicks serious backsides in the fictional movie.

Casual violence?
IT'S AN X-MEN FILM! Sequel number what? Women characters have been synonymous with major violence since the first install. A billboard is condemned because it depicts the casual violence? Yeah, a big blue gray square thing with its hand around a throat is casual.

Casual. Like that, hi, what er ya doin with that trachea in the near future? Nothing? Can I have it? Type casual. Yeah.

She's BLUE!
Are women actually offended?
Darlin if yer that blue you have about two seconds to be offended before you die of oxygen deprivation. Prioritize!

Thoughts? Yes, pretty soon we'll see a studio apologize for a cartoon movie because the animated females in the film are objectified as pixels. And that's just demeaning and sets feminism back a few X's and 0's dagnabit.

Bit! Get it? Uh oh, the Mac is calling the APCLU. I take it back .Seriously!

 

[MehGuy]

Just another case of seemingly progressive feminists wanting to continue the tradition of coddling women. Even when said women possesses super powers.

What I find disturbing is that these same people probably would not make a peep if the billboard instead featured a man strangling a man, or even a woman strangling a man. Sends the message that violence is somehow worse when the victim happens to be female. For a group of people claiming to want to break past gender roles, they sure seem to go out of the way to enforce the same status quo often being purported by the conservative right. Another time among countless times where men can only scratch their head and wonder what feminism is really about. Something we can't engage in because the whole movement makes little sense other than from the lens of a group of people who want special treatment.

Not to mention shallow outcries like this may even further limit the number of ways women are able to see themselves portrayed on the big screen. Men will continue to have depth of character range, while women will have to be content with Mary sues and depictions of strong women that seem all too cartoonish and forced.

 

[Sketcher]

Gender equality in practice, comic-style.

 

[Chesterton]

Blue lives don't matter. There's only like one of them. Me and my homies are, however, going to break into the local pharmacy to steal narcotics in protest anyway.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Context?... It's X-Men.

That's all you need to know.

 

[Gadarene]

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/rose-mcgowan-calls-out-x-men-billboard-that-162518329.html

Thoughts?

"Women are as strong and resilient and capable as men!"

*5 minutes later*

"WAAAAAAH I DONT LIEK THE BILLBOARD TAKE IT DOWN"

also this

 

[Gadarene]

Just another case of seemingly progressive feminists wanting to continue the tradition of coddling women. Even when said women possesses super powers.

What I find disturbing is that these same people probably would not make a peep if the billboard instead featured a man strangling a man, or even a woman strangling a man. Sends the message that violence is somehow worse when the victim happens to be female. For a group of people claiming to want to break past gender roles, they sure seem to go out of the way to enforce the same status quo often being purported by the conservative right. Another time among countless times where men can only scratch their head and wonder what feminism is really about. Something we can't engage in because the whole movement makes little sense other than from the lens of a group of people who want special treatment.

Precisely. What this stuff illustrates is that women being the target of violence...is shocking. Contrast that with the milquetoast reaction violence against men gets. This is not disadvantaging women, not by a long shot. The overreaction to women being treated the same as men in film plots however might be.

Not to mention shallow outcries like this may even further limit the number of ways women are able to see themselves portrayed on the big screen. Men will continue to have depth of character range, while women will have to be content with Mary sues and depictions of strong women that seem all too cartoonish and forced.

And this is why we can't have nice things, like diversity in media. These plebs are never happy

 

[lasthero]

Today's super hero's and villains are gender neutral in their ability to fight. Hollywood has made women out to be nearly invincible as they fight men. Since both are equals, it stands to reason that choking, grabbing, kicking, etc, will happen to all involved. In Marvel world, no one dies, they just lock theirwounds to fight again.

Tell that to Quicksilver.

 

[nightflight]

 

[GoldenBoy89]

I was feeling a little under the weather today and this really cheered me up right now.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Wow, a thread where I agree with every post....even Blondepudding's.

Will wonders never cease.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Wow, a thread where I agree with every post....even Blondepudding's.

Will wonders never cease.

I'm glad we can all agree that sexism in a fictional universe with invincible, fighting mutants is not any kind of serious issue to debate as a country.

I feel like we've passed some kind of test.

 

[Kenny'sID]

I'm glad we can all agree that sexism in a fictional universe with invincible, fighting mutants is not any kind of serious issue to debate as a country.

I feel like we've passed some kind of test.

Insignificant as it may or may not be...I'll take it too.

 

[revanneosl]

We are going to have to navigate a rather large number of strange cul-de-sacs as our society continues to advance toward actual gender equality. Pretending that billboards are hugely important is one of those cul-de-sacs. Putting up with morons who assume that gender equality has already been achieved is another one.

 

[Nithavela]

It depends, really.

Just one picture of a character (that character being female) being choked used as advertisement is okay.

Posters of a variety of characters of both genders being chocked used as advertisement is also okay.

What would not be okay would be a poster of every single female character being choked used as advertisement, and no male characters getting the same treatment.

It's not a big deal, either way.

 

[Vylo]

I always thought the point of villains was to be evil. So if violence against helpless women is evil, wouldn't that be something that a villain would do? Especially one named Doomsday? Pretty sure choking naked women is going to be one of the nicer things he will do that day.

 

[TheBear]

We are going to have to navigate a rather large number of strange cul-de-sacs as our society continues to advance toward actual gender equality. Pretending that billboards are hugely important is one of those cul-de-sacs. Putting up with morons who assume that gender equality has already been achieved is another one.

Women have access to colleges and universities, (and actually do better than a lot of men). Women can enter the military. Women have the right to vote. Women hold political positions from councilwomen to mayors, to congresswomen and senators, all the way to top White House cabinet positions, including one woman who is now running for president. Women are CEO's of corporations. Where I work, over 90% of management are female, including the top management position. Many court judges, all the way to the Supreme Court, are women. These are just a few examples of gender equality in this country.

Other than Hollywood, can you follow my lead and give specific examples demonstrating gender inequality? Thanks.