If you look at a poster for an action or superhero movie, what do you usually see? A bunch of muscular dudes with clenched fists, cool gestures, and a lot of attitude. As if they’re claiming that this is a man’s world.
Take a look at the poster of Mission: Impossible or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, some of 2023’s top box office hits, and you’ll see this. The frame favours the male characters and clearly signals that the industry thinks male power sells.
Meanwhile, the women often end up being the backdrop to the macho displays. Even those with significant roles rarely overshadow or even equal the male protagonist in these posters.
Looking at the box office top 10 for 2023, only two films provide prominence for female characters: Barbie and The Little Mermaid. Meanwhile, even in animated films like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Miles (Shameik Moore) and Mario (Chris Pratt) are still the focuses despite pivotal female characters in both films.
Academic research proves this is more than just a feeling. There is substantial evidence to prove posters are biased towards men.
In 2012, Brandyn Paige Gabriel from the University of Texas at Arlington manually examined the top 30 box office films from 2007 to 2011. The number of male characters in movie posters was found to be three times as many as female characters.
A 2020 study by Melinda Alley and Lindsay Hahn, ‘The Powerful Male,’ analysed over 152 American animated films over 80 years and found that posters tended to highlight male characters with more powerful portraits.
Stereotypes and Gender Problems
Posters not only reflect the systemic bias in who gets top billing but also reinforce stereotypes within the culture. Women are often positioned beside or behind the men, signalling that, at best, they’re sidekicks or love interests.
You might think that the preferences of different genders are the reasons for uneven poster design. Then congratulations, you have found another stereotype here. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Fandango, the top favourite genre of female audiences is action at 22%, while romantic comedy is the least preferred option, with only 9%. There is also the problem of representation. Even in ensemble movies where you’d expect a mix of characters, women are often outnumbered by men. Check out a poster for The Avengers or our beloved Love Actually. You’ll see way more men’s faces. Beyond a design choice, it reflects the larger issue of fewer women getting fewer lead roles.
A Reflection of Society
So why does this matter? Posters represent the bigger picture of the film industry and prove society is still rooted in patriarchy. Men are seen as the default heroes, and women are there to support them. It shapes the way we see gender roles, and if we’re not careful, it will keep guarding the gender inequality that we should’ve left behind a long time ago. There is reason to be optimistic. Greater diversity in posters and films is becoming more common, in action films with Wonder Woman, prestige films like Hidden Figures, and most notably, with Barbie.
