X-Men: Apocalypse wasn't as successful as X-Men: Days of Future Past was in box office numbers, which raked in $65 million and $90.8M, respectively. However, the film did provide healthy competition for its summer movie contemporaries. That said, despite the movie's success, there is one thing that's wrong with the movie, according to actress Rose McGowan, and it has nothing to do with sales.
Well according to the 42-year-old actress, it's the movie, or rather 20th Century Fox's marketing, that has to change, citing the ad of Mystique being choked by Apocalypse as particularly offensive and with no context.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, McGowan said:
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 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?
As noted by THR, McGowan's statement echoes that of writer and editor Jay Edidin's statements, who's also an X-Men fan and podcaster, calling the ad "gratuitous." She adds:
It's offensive in completely useless ways. Offensive isn't always necessarily bad, but this is offensive in ways that serve absolutely no purpose, and while it does depict a scene from the actual film, it's also a terrible representation of the movie as a whole.
McGowan's comments are warranted. Looking at an ad with such a scene, the context sure is lost. Of course after seeing the film, you'll learn how the scene happens at a time when Mystique and the young X-Men are outpowered by Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen. The powerful villain grabs Mystique by the throat to threaten Professor X out of hiding. It's not new to films, but it doesn't seem to point out anything else other than violence happening in the movie. It shouldn't be the focus of an advertising campaign.
What can you say about the ad?
Read: A Mystique Standalone Film Can Still Happen
Read: Wolverine Has Killed This Many Characters In All X-Men Films
Read: Bryan Singer on How Long He'll Stay in The X-Men Franchise
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