I am speaking out as a victim of the Deadpool fake trailer. For those of you you didn’t hear about it, Deadpool, an action filled Marvel superhero movie, released a fake trailer making the movie look like a romcom. You can compare it to the real trailer here. The whole idea was a ploy so that boyfriends could trick their ladies into seeing a “good” movie on Valentine’s Day. I am ashamed to say that I fell right into the trap. It’s not important how it happened or what I could have done differently; what is important is what it means for couples, singles, and women.
All of us have our own interpretation of what a “good” boyfriend should be like. What we do not expect, is to be tricked by our significant others into seeing an action movie that so that only one party will enjoy it. So what does it all mean? Well for starters, this ploy adhered to stereotpical gender norms that contend action movies are for men, and romcoms are for women.
I wanted to scream at my boyfriend about how selfish he was being, that taking me to a movie he knew he would like and I would hate was repugnant. But maybe it was me with the problem, not him? Why was I so stuck in the mindset that certain movie types were for certain genders? Why couldn’t I enjoy the violence and crude humor in Deadpool? Because I knew the target audience was men and not women? Maybe. But maybe I could try to open up my mind just a little instead of obstinately sticking my head in the sand about a comedy style and violence type that wasn’t my typical movie choice. Then again, he could open his mind up to a romcom or drama. Women should be able to be okay with liking violence and remember that it is not a purely masculine pursuit. At the same time, men should feel free to cry during Titanic and be genuinely okay with showing how they feel.
I learned in my “Understanding Media” class my freshman year that moviemakers know that most of the time, the guy picks the movie when couples go on dates. This is why so many blockbusters are filled with scantily clad women, bloodshed, and sex. Even when I go to see a horror movie to get my adrenaline fix they are typically filled with nudity scenes and cowering, helpless female characters. In Deadpool, (spoiler alert) the love interest, played by Morina Baccarin, waits atop a giant ship in a glass tube waiting to be rescued. Sound familiar? Dark-haired beauty waits in a glass box to be rescued by a handsome man? Anyway, despite the fact that women could enjoy the violence and humor, this archetypal scheme is way too full of sexist themes to miss.
So my boyfriend not only tricked me into seeing this superhero movie, but also into seeing one that is stereotypically sexist. As a woman I might be able to enjoy some bloodshed here and there, but the plot of this movie was disappointing to feminists everywhere.