I was casually scrolling through Facebook, like we all do, when I came across some news that Rose McGowan is upset about a billboard advertising the new "X-Men Apocalypse" movie. The reason she had an issue with it is because it showed Apocalypse (the villain in the movie) strangling Mystique (a lead heroine in the movie). It got me thinking: isn't some fighting expected from a movie like this? Mystique is a heroine, and to make action movies exciting, there has to be some times where the audience isn't sure how the fight is going to turn out. Apocalypse is a very strong, very dangerous villain who wants the entire human race wiped out. I have seen the movie, and I can tell you that there is, in fact, a scene where Mystique is being strangled. I think that Fox (who owns the rights to the movies) wanted to put an image on the billboard that didn't give away too much of the movie's action, but still entice people to watch the movie. I certainly don't support violence against women, because I myself am a woman, but neither the movie nor the billboard intentionally support or encourage violence against women. Having seen the movie, I think it was a pretty good image to use to sell the movie.

For one, Mystique isn't even a woman, she's a mutant. I know that's a lame argument, but it's a fact. Secondly, anyone who knows anything about X-Men knows that the X-Men stand for everything that is good and right. Like any good vs. evil fight, there is a bad person or group of people trying to hurt the good guys. Spoiler alert: it isn't always easy for the good guys, but they usually win in the end. If you can't handle a movie, TV show or book with conflict then I'm not sure there's anything you can watch or read. Conflict is what makes a story interesting. Even something as silly as someone telling a story about slipping on a banana peel involves conflict and is only interesting because it has some conflict. Conflict can be pretty intense (this movie, for example), and those who can't handle the level of violence and conflict usually choose not to watch the movie.

I may be wrong, but Rose McGowan and those who agree with her would probably turn around and say that women should be treated equal to men, and they probably can be classified as an extreme version of a feminist. This opinion would be contradictory to their opinion on the billboard, however, because the alternative to Mystique or another female member of the X-Men being strangled by Apocalypse would be for one of the male members to be strangled by Apocalypse. How is that any different? Would that be any better? Why can't a female be a strong, heroic figure and go against a male bad guy at least sometimes? Mystique decided to go against Apocalypse of her own accord. She wasn't forced to fight him, and he didn't specifically target her.

The bottom line is that Rose McGowan was overly dramatic and overly sensitive, in my opinion. I doubt she's even seen the movie, and even if she had, she clearly still doesn't understand much about the X-Men or superhero movies in general. She was trying to stir the pot and cause drama, but I have a feeling it will backfire on her for the most part. You can't judge an entire company or franchise based on a single image from a movie where conflict is expected. Especially if it's quite mild, like this image was.