Funny, Strange, Beautiful, Sexist People!
Published on August 26, 2009 by Alex Wagner · View Comments
So, I was on my way to work yesterday morning, walking through Tottenham Court Rd. station and I noticed something which made me laugh.
I’m sure you have all seen posters advertising the new Judd Apatow film FUNNY PEOPLE all over the place. It’s a pretty standard poster with the actors in a group staring back out at you with each character having their own minor tagline next to them. Taglines that communicate something about each character in the film, taglines such as “Lucky People”, “Desperate People”, “Strange People” and for the only female on the poster the tagline reads “Beautiful People”.
It seems a disgruntled female commuter took offence to this and with a biro wrote a speech bubble that says
“WOMEN HAVE PERSONALITIES TOO!”
I guess the attack has come about because the poster seems to suggest that all women are good for is keeping their mouth shut and looking pretty. It really made me laugh because I just had this image of an angry woman on her way to work already pissed off because the transport in London is crap passing this poster and decided enough was enough.
Well, I’m male so maybe I’m missing the point when I say that there is nothing sexist about this poster at all. So I asked my girlfriend who said she didn’t have a problem with it either, she saw the tagline “Beautiful People” as just a passing reference to the character. I mean how can anyone be sure that the tagline doesn’t reference her inner beauty as well as her outer beauty. Surely it’s better to be a beautiful person rather than a desperate person anyway not to mention the fact that the actress in question is Leslie Mann who not only happens to be quite beautiful but is also Judd Apatow’s wife.
So girls, I want to hear your opinion on this. Do you find the poster sexist? Are you offended? Is the anger justified? Is it really worth getting angry with a film poster?
Funny People is out on 28th August and stars Adam Sandler, Seth Rogan, Eric Bana and of course Leslie Mann.
Tags: Adam Sandler, Funny People, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Sexism
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Did you know the woman that wrote that was the UK comedienne Josie Long? She wrote about it on her twitter account. Love her.
And I don’t think she was referring to just the poster but the Judd Apatow brand of movies in general .. funny men, beautiful women. I think she’s right.
I love Josie Long!
Oh, and the poster was referring to “inner beauty” ?? Ha! Good one. This is Hollywood we’re talking about. And I really think the fact that she’s Apatow’s wife is irrelevant.
I am offended not so much by this poster (though it is shitty), but by Apatow’s films in general that allow men to be ugly and irreverent and charming, while winning over the pretty lady in the end. Can you imagine a movie about an ugly but funny woman and an attractive boy toy? It’s inconceivable.
hey yes i did do that and as reena said it’s more that i get a bit sick of the funny man/pretty woman thing. It’s not about whether it’s preferable to be “beautiful” over “desperate”. it’s more that “beautiful” seems to be the only thing that women seem to be allowed to be in these things. I don’t know. it’s just a little thing i did to pass the time, i want to see more cool parts for women, dammit! and more women characters who don’t fit the beauty mould! i saw the film and i liked it, but the poster does seem set out for men and does give character traits to the male characters whereas “beautiful” is definitely predominantly used in the context of appearance. x
Just saw Funny People at the cinema and thought it was great. Not the best film I’ve seen this year but still pretty good.
the poster is sexist. choosing “beautiful” as the key word for a description of this woman’s character is as if they’d written “wears a blue shirt” over one of the men. it is utterly meaningless.
Oh, and the poster was referring to “inner beauty” ?? Ha! Good one. This is Hollywood we're talking about. And I really think the fact that she's Apatow's wife is irrelevant.
I am offended not so much by this poster (though it is shitty), but by Apatow's films in general that allow men to be ugly and irreverent and charming, while winning over the pretty lady in the end. Can you imagine a movie about an ugly but funny woman and an attractive boy toy? It's inconceivable.
Thank you for saying that I am beautiful.
Thank you for saying that I am beautiful.
You can take things in isolation, or you can look at the wider picture.
That is so often, especially in 'comedy' movies, the identity of the female. 'The pretty one'. 'The love interest'. Her personality is so often totally irrelevant so yeah I absolutely understand the frustration of that commuter in writing what she did on that poster.