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Is the British poster for Couples Retreat racist?

Posted by Team Boxwish 4 months ago

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Forget the lapping waves of the Pacific Ocean as tropical rom-com Couples Retreat is in hot water. The flick which looks at the holiday hijinks of four couples as they head to an isolated South Pacific resort boasting special “couples skills building” has come under fire for removing two of its black actors from the British promotional poster. So, let’s examine the evidence, Boxwishers. One look at the US poster (pictured left) reveals four couples: Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis and Faizon Love and Kali Hawk, however the British one (pictured right) has somehow lost two of them, its numbers dwindling to just six. And it’s not just visually that the black performers are omitted, as their names have also been cut.

So, why the change? A spokesman for Universal, the studio behind the hit comedy, has defended the decision, saying it was made “to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognisable in international markets.” The studio went onto to apologise for any offense taken and pledged to shelve the poster for all other countries, yet it seems the damage is already done.

Certainly, Love and Hawk are much less established in the UK than co-stars such as Vaughn who have headlined numerous hits on these shores, with Love perhaps best known for playing the manager of Gimbel’s store in 2003’s Elf and Hawk for her budding music career. And even on the US poster, they’re positioned right at the back with both of their names listed last in gender order (Love being the fourth of the men and Hawk the fourth of the women), however it’s proving to be an issue greater than star-billing and the clout of your Hollywood agent and more about the industry’s general tone towards black performers.

Complaints have been logged against Universal from disgruntled folks such as Londoner Caspar Salmon who wrote in a letter to the studio: “My hackles are up. I would like to ask what the thinking was behind this move to gaz-ump [Love and Hawk] from the promotional material.”

Critics are also weighing in on the issue with Jason Solomons commenting: “We don’t cater much for the black cinema-going audience in this country, which is a great shame, so it seems strange that when there are black stars in a major feature film this fact isn’t promoted. And, in terms of business decisions, this seems a pretty counter-productive one.” While Vivienne Pattison, the director of Mediawatch-UK, conceded that the decision was “ill-conceived”, adding: “We celebrate diversity in Britain and we could have coped with seeing the same poster used in America.”

It’s certainly not the best publicity for the film and we wonder how promotions will follow when it’s released on DVD next year. Will the lesson truly be learned and can we see the rest of Hollywood following suit?

[via Mail on Sunday]

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