promotional images of failtasticness. or just badness.

[meganbmoore]

Multiple times today, I have seen this promotional image for The Tudors.  Click on the link if you want, but it's basically Henry VIII sitting on a throne made of naked people.   Had I hads an interest in the series before, I probably wouldn't now.

Anyway, it got me thinking about shows that I was completely turned off of by promorional images alone. 

First up, we have Caprica, which first had this:



I know the actress is older, but we have here what appears to be a sexualized, naked teenager with strong woman = temptation into evil imagery going on.

It was followed by this:



Lookit!  Powerful seeming men staring sternly at the apple that has been connected to the naked teenager, ever-so-subtly connecting the choice the men hae to make with the temptation represented by the naked teenager.  (Note:  I am specifically referring to the imagery and themes in the pictures, not the show itself.)

Would I have watched Caprica without these?  Probably not, as I wasn't fond of the bit of BSG that I saw, but still.

The kicker, though, is this Glee image:



So, we have 2 non-white teenaged girls and a disabled white boy in a dumpster.  The disabled boy's wheelchair is overturned and mixed in with the trash.  All the confident-looking white people are surrounding the dumpster, but not in it.

Would I have watched Glee without seeing this all over the place when it was first getting attention?  Probably, as I like things where people randomly burst into song and dance, but from what i've heard, not watching was probably the right choice.

I'm sure there have been plenty of other things that I haven't watched that I may have without promotional images, but that will do for now.

So, listies, what are some shows/books/movies/etc. where you've been alienated from the actual product based on the cover/promotional images, whether it's for Fail, awfulness, or a squick or implied trope that turns you off, etc.?  (Romance novel covers aren't allowed, unless you have something Special up your sleeve.)

Comments

[meganbmoore]

I can't decide if that's good or bad...

[lady_ganesh]

To be fair to the producers, I suspect it's more a matter of who they thought the central cast would be when they started filming-- and two of the POC's are still pretty much filler characters, while the blonde and Hispanic girls are getting more attention/lines.