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Couples Retreat Ad Sparks Brit Race Brouhaha

Black actors left off UK poster—but is US version any better?

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 16, 2009 9:37 AM CST

(Newser) – Audiences in Britain are crying foul over a Couples Retreat poster that omits two black actors who were featured on the US version. A film rep tells the Mail that the change was meant “to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets”—but filmgoers and critics alike aren't buying. Still, as Adrian Chen points out for Gawker, the original poster—with the black couple in the deep background—wasn’t much better.

“Uh, never mind the British poster: Did you see the US version? Not exactly a paragon of post-racial harmony,” he writes. Faizon Love and Kali Hawk “are literally sitting in the back of the bus asking, "Um, hi, guys... can we come up to the front now? Did the Civil Rights Movement happen yet?”

A combination photo of the Couples Retreat US (left) and UK (right) posters is shown.
A combination photo of the "Couples Retreat" US (left) and UK (right) posters is shown.   (Universal Pictures via the Daily Mail)
The US version of the Couples Retreat poster is shown.
The US version of the "Couples Retreat" poster is shown.   (Universal Pictures via the Daily Mail)
The UK version of the Couples Retreat poster is shown.
The UK version of the "Couples Retreat" poster is shown.   (Universal Pictures via the Daily Mail)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
kokuaguy
Nov 17, 2009 2:23 AM CST
kokuaguy
Nov 17, 2009 2:22 AM CST
This is a great example of playing "the race card" for unimportant possible instances of insensitivity thereby making it more difficult for real instances of racial bias to be addressed (for instance the case of the Louisiana high school where a noose was hung from a tree because black students sat at a table under it, causing a fight after which a black student received a long prison sentence and white students got off.)
shopgirl1623
Nov 16, 2009 5:45 AM CST
Big deal.

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