“Race=Money”

COMM 655Brittany Wood

Due Date: 11/17/09

Couples Retreat-not for all

• The recent movie, Couples Retreat was produced and marketed to be a romantic comedy.

• The movie featured four couples who went away on a retreat.

• As with most things in the United States, the movie featured one of the couples as the “token black couple”

• When the movie was marketed in America, the Black couple was left in the poster.

• When the movie moved overseas (United Kingdom), the Black couple mysteriously disappeared from the poster.

Sad Reality• A spokesperson for Universal Studios said they altered

the poster to make it more realistic and marketable overseas.

• Movies with African Americans don’t bring in as much money outside of America.

• Universal Studios has apologized and said they will not use the poster in any other overseas markets.

• Food for thought: If America thinks they are boosting an ‘end’ to discrimination and racism in media by saying it’s okay for Blacks to appear in film and on marketing posters in the U.S. but takes them out when the movie goes overseas, what kind of message is really being sent?....