A billboard is intended to be an objective piece of art to its audience. It’s meant to draw your eye, spark your interest, and ultimately take money from your wallet. When X-Men fans see this ad, I’m sure they think, “Wow, cool! Mystique’s getting her ass kicked by Apocalypse! I can’t wait to see that!” And that’s all fine and dandy, because you’re a fan. You have context, you understand what the ad is conveying to its demographic. But I, and millions of other people, am not a fan of X-Men and have zero intention of seeing this movie. Not just because I hate shitty superhero movies or even because I hate going to the movies in general, but because it’s not one of my own personal interests. Which is also fine and dandy.
But when I look at this ad, I don’t see two opposing mutants battling it out for our entertainment. I see it from an objective point of view. I see a male character dominating a female character in a disturbingly violent manner that happens all too frequently in my society. This isn’t part of my radical feminist agenda. It’s a matter of responsible capitalism/consumerism. What does it say when we as a community condone this imagery in a public space? Imagery that will be seen by impressionable youth who don’t understand the context or meaning behind the ad. Well, ideally, people would tell their kids it’s not real, it’s just a movie, we don’t do that in real life. (Because everyone sits down and talks to their kids about important issues, right?) Yeah, okay, but here’s the thing: we totally do condone abuse and it’s very real. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men are abused in their lives, and nothing is being said or done about it on a grand scale. How does promoting this representation help that? It doesn’t. It can only lead to further harm by exposing those who don’t know any better to casual abuse and gratifying those who do know better.
This image makes me uncomfortable because it’s another flagrant depiction of violence I don’t want to see being forcibly shoved in my face. “Well, why don’t you just look away?” How the hell can I when this is our every day lives? Prominent women like Amber Heard and Dylan Farrow try to speak out about their abuse, try to take action in the name of justice, and all they get in return is shame and misogyny, being told to shut up, called liars and attention whores and gold diggers. Our favorite female characters in film and television who experience abuse in their storylines are often stepped on or just completely glanced over because hey, that’s the show! We don’t condone violence, we’re just telling a story! Yeah, a story that glorifies someone’s pain for shock value and ratings, then never gives them justice for it. What an inventive and compelling plot. As if it’s not one that occurs every. damn. day.
Look, I get it. We’re being sensitive and this wasn’t meant to be taken so seriously. Do I truly believe the image is intentionally and maliciously depicting violence against women? No. But it’s not about intentions, it’s about the result of them. The result is that thousands, even millions of people are going to see this ad and everyone will have their own unique reaction to it. Most people won’t look twice. Some might decide they want to go see the movie. But others, and far too many of them, will look at this billboard and see a reflection of their own experience, their own pain. They’ll see a female character getting choked out on an advertisement with the words “Only the strong survive” super-imposed over the top. 3 women are murdered every day by a current or former male partner in the US, but I guess those women weren’t strong enough, huh? They faced the person who intended violence towards them and didn’t make it. No billboard for them. Probably no justice for them either. Certainly nothing will be done to stop domestic violence to ensure more victims aren’t hurt by their abusers.
So okay, fine. It doesn’t offend you and has no bearing on your own view of violence, domestic or otherwise. But you can’t say that about every single person who sees the poster. You can’t say there’s not one kid out there who will see this and think physically assaulting people is okay. You can’t say there’s not one abuser out there who will see this and think it justifies their actions. You can’t say that because you can’t possibly know. And by sweeping it under the rug or just ignoring it altogether by claiming it’s not there in the first place, we become part of the problem. Our silence is violence. Every time we don’t speak out against the careless and irresponsible way we regard abuse and violence in our community, another victim is told that their pain doesn’t matter, that they will never have justice for the crimes committed against them. And that is not okay. We, as a society, have to step up and altogether say, “That is not okay.”