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People are calling out this 'X-Men: Apocalypse' ad for promoting violence against women

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Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is under attack from Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac). 20th Century Fox/YouTube

Is 20th Century Fox downplaying misogyny in its "X-Men: Apocalypse" marketing campaign?

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"X-Men: Apocalypse" pits the super-powered mutants against Apocalypse, an ancient Egyptian god trying to destroy and remake the world. The heroes go to battle against the original mutant in a dramatic clash in Egypt in the film's climax. As all heroes and villains show off their full strength in this epic battle, most of the marketing clips and imagery are from this important scene. 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Rose McGowan ("Charmed") criticizes 20th Century Fox's decision to highlight one shot from this scene in particular, Apocalypse strangling Mystique:

The image appears on several posters and billboards promoting the film. McGowan says the poster downplays violence against women:

"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."

Feminist site The Mary Sue posted its own critique of the poster, saying, in a movie full of capable and powerful female characters, it's problematic to choose a single moment of inbalance and violence to promote the entire movie: 

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It’s one thing to have this imbalance of power featured in the film itself as part of the plot, but it’s a whole other ball game to pick this single visual out of 144 minutes of film and use it as a representation of your entire movie. There’s an indulgent, gross, and exploitative quality to this decision, where the promotion of the film relies on images of abuse. With Mystique at the mercy of Apocalypse’s destructive will, this poster reinforces a narrative that commandeers and reduces women into a position of helplessness through violence.

Similar criticism is all over social media, as comic fans, particularly women, were disturbed by the violence in the poster:

 

 

20th Century Fox has since apologized for the images, releasing a statement to online publication, The Wrap: “In our enthusiasm to show the villainy of the character Apocalypse we didn’t immediately recognize the upsetting connotation of this image in print form. Once we realized how insensitive it was, we quickly took steps to remove those materials. We apologize for our actions and would never condone violence against women.”

Fox made headlines earlier this year when it revealed zero women were tapped to direct its upcoming slate of films. As pay inequality and feminism continue as huge parts of the pop culture conversation, McGowan says 20th Century Fox has let down all its fans, young girls especially. 

"I’ll close with a text my friend sent, a conversation with his daughter. It follows: ‘My daughter and I were just having a deep discussion on the brutality of that hideous X-Men poster yesterday," she said. "Her words: 'Dad, why is that monster man committing violence against a woman?' This from a 9-year-old. If she can see it, why can’t Fox?" 

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