A billboard is intended to be an objective piece of art to its audience. Itâs meant to draw your eye, spark your interest, and ultimately take money from your wallet. When X-Men fans see this ad, Iâm sure they think, âWow, cool! Mystiqueâs getting her ass kicked by Apocalypse! I canât wait to see that!â And thatâs all fine and dandy, because youâre 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 itâs not one of my own personal interests. Which is also fine and dandy.Â
But when I look at this ad, I donât 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 isnât part of my radical feminist agenda. Itâs 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 donât understand the context or meaning behind the ad. Well, ideally, people would tell their kids itâs not real, itâs just a movie, we donât do that in real life. (Because everyone sits down and talks to their kids about important issues, right?) Yeah, okay, but hereâs the thing: we totally do condone abuse and itâs 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 doesnât. It can only lead to further harm by exposing those who donât know any better to casual abuse and gratifying those who do know better.Â
This image makes me uncomfortable because itâs another flagrant depiction of violence I donât want to see being forcibly shoved in my face. âWell, why donât you just look away?â 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, thatâs the show! We donât condone violence, weâre just telling a story! Yeah, a story that glorifies someoneâs pain for shock value and ratings, then never gives them justice for it. What an inventive and compelling plot. As if itâs not one that occurs every. damn. day.Â
Look, I get it. Weâre being sensitive and this wasnât meant to be taken so seriously. Do I truly believe the image is intentionally and maliciously depicting violence against women? No. But itâs not about intentions, itâs 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 wonât 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. Theyâll see a female character getting choked out on an advertisement with the words âOnly the strong surviveâ 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 werenât strong enough, huh? They faced the person who intended violence towards them and didnât 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 arenât hurt by their abusers.Â
So okay, fine. It doesnât offend you and has no bearing on your own view of violence, domestic or otherwise. But you canât say that about every single person who sees the poster. You canât say thereâs not one kid out there who will see this and think physically assaulting people is okay. You canât say thereâs not one abuser out there who will see this and think it justifies their actions. You canât say that because you canât possibly know. And by sweeping it under the rug or just ignoring it altogether by claiming itâs not there in the first place, we become part of the problem. Our silence is violence. Every time we donât speak out against the careless and irresponsible way we regard abuse and violence in our community, another victim is told that their pain doesnât 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, âThat is not okay.â