British 'Couples Retreat' Posters Leave Out Black Couple

By PopEater Staff Posted Nov 16th 2009 08:11AM

If you live in Britain, you won't see Faizon Love and Kali Hawk on the movie posters for 'Couples Retreat,' like you would in America.

The pair -- who are both black -- has been left off the promotional photo in the U.K., while the rest of the white actors remain.

According to The Daily Mail, Universal -- the studio behind the film -- claims they wanted to "simplify" the posters for the English audience. However, they apologized for offending anyone.

Tags: couples retreat, CouplesRetreat, faizon love, FaizonLove, Kali Hawk, KaliHawk

Comments

(115)

Monday 16 November

By delacourte

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The more things change...just like Hollywood in the 30's and 40's. If they had black performers in the musicals,they would cut out their performances for distribution in the South.

By Nita

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Nancy....You are the epitome..of unneccessary birth.

By Dian

Things will never ever change racism will always be around until the end of the world. I always say if Oprah should go incognito a lot of her audience members who are mostly white would not allow her in their homes...maybe she should try it out!!

By wendy

The reverse is true also.

By FrankG

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I agree wholeheartedly.

By Shellfish789

What a shame!

By Bud

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This is not an example of racism. It is prejudice.

Racism is the belief in the inherent genetic superiority of one race over another.

Learn the difference. "Racism" has been bandied about so much that it no longer means anything.

By Mags

I was really shocked at the British poster. Shame on you Universal!
Actually, the American poster isn't much better either.......you can just make them out in the background!

By orlenda

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I thought so TOO!

By ThisIsNuts!

Did anyone stop to consider maybe the actors just didn't play a large enough part to be included? And that, due to the American 'politically correct' activists, they felt they HAD to include a black couple, or they would get chastised for it?????

By RalphCramden

I think the poster should be nothing BUT black couples...even if they weren't in the film at all.

By nik

Are you really shocked, or do you believe you're 'supposed' to be? I think the British poster has a much better design... quite frankly, there are too many actors in the American poster, and the background is asymmetrical. Also, British sensibilities and American tendencies toward shock value are dealt with in the posters, as in the British version, the characters are protecting their clothing. British audiences are not so racist or PC as American audiences, so the changes in the poster are not a bit surprising.

Tuesday 17 November

By Charmaine

I agree with you 100%.If they shout in panamagraphic,everybody would or should have been standing shoulder to shoulder.It would show everyone equal!Sometimes people just do not think before they do things.Never think it will make some people upset.And what the bRitish mean by "simplify"the poster for the British audience" Like this is better and appealing to look at.How tasteless!There are black British people there you know.Or should I go into history about Africans and blacks there and how they got there.Let me stop,I not going further.There are too many races of man in the world.We need to have unity!

hey-thisisnuts....including them as "token blacks" is a worse move then not including them at all...they'll get called out for that more than anything if thats the way teh movie turns out to be.....

By me

And apparently they hate Hispanics even more than Blacks! They left Jean Reno (born in Morocco to Spanish parents) off BOTH posters, even though he's named at the top!!

By Jordan

Did you see the movie? As a black woman I am happy they were not included in the poster. The portrayal of the black couple was embarrasing. Truely disgusting, if the aim was to be PC they movie would have been better if the couple wasnt even included. This movie was so disapponting. Every racial stereotype of blacks someone shows its face in this movie.

By wendygoerl

I agree with nik. Visually, the British poster is better. The American poster looks like it should be a landscape format. And it's a classic "don't put the horizon in the middle" no-no. Being the kind of person who asks "what's the movie about?" rather than "who's in it?", I couldn't tell you who the top draws are from the American perspective, much less the British. Logically, you'd put the biggest names or the largest parts; if the black couple looses in both those counts, then blame the writers and/or casting agents, not the graphic artists.

By Carey

Damm... theres another movie, product, promotion, etc...that I WONT be seeing, buying, or using. Its simple, if you're a racist, or you pull a racist move like this... I wont be buying. Same goes to Ikea furniture....

...yet another example of how racism is perpetuated in the US by its victims. The fact that you notice the skin tone of the unincluded actors is in itself racist (racism = "a heightened sense of race")... might there be a different thing that sets these two characters apart from the others?

By ty

nik, who said that the changes were made by the states office and not the British marketing office?

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