Live Action Remakes

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To practice using Sissela Bok’s model for ethical decision-making, I engaged in a poster redesign challenge, which allowed me to apply the principles of ethical reasoning to a real-world creative process. Bok’s model was instrumental in guiding my approach to the redesign. I first identified the ethical issues associated with the original poster, such as potential misrepresentation or harm to certain groups, and then carefully weighed the potential impact of various design choices. Using Bok’s framework, I considered the perspectives of different audiences and reflected on the values I wanted the redesign to communicate. I asked myself whether the new design would uphold ethical standards of honesty, respect, and fairness, ensuring that it did not perpetuate harmful stereotypes or misinformation. By following Bok's process of consulting others, considering alternative actions, and evaluating the long-term consequences, I was able to make more informed and ethical movie posters. (Click the arrows on each picture to see the redesign)

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

In the 2012 film, The Dark Knight Rises, Bane’s portrayal has been criticized for whitewashing the character, especially when compared to his depiction in the comics and animated adaptations. In the original Batman comics, Bane is explicitly depicted as a Latin American character from the fictional island of Santa Prisca, which is a nation with strong socio-political and cultural ties to real-world Latin American struggles. His ethnic background plays a significant role in his motivations and his villain arc. However, in Christopher Nolan’s live-action film, Bane’s origins have no clear connection to Latin America or any specific cultural identity. The decision to cast Tom Hardy, a white British actor, in the role makes the connection to Bane's Latin heritage even more distant. In the original movie poster, Bane is cast as a generic villain with no connection to his real story. In my redesign, I focused on showcasing his origins. The rusted bars symbolize the oppression he has faced throughout his lifetime and his childhood of growing up in captivity. The perspective in this instance is also important, Bane is behind the bars looking through to us on the outside. He is surrounded by darkness, the small glances of harsh red light that we see seems to be a reflection. In the reflection we see somewhat of an apocalyptic world, symbolizing Bane’s inner desire for revolution. Lastly and most importantly I worked to find an image of a Latino male to cast as Bane in order to stick to his original depiction.

Doctor Strange:

In the comics, the Ancient One has traditionally been portrayed as a Tibetan or Eastern mystic who draws from Buddhist and Hindu philosophies and iconography. In the 2016 live-action remake of the Doctor Strange film, the Ancient One is played by Tilda Swinton, a Scottish actress. Since the release of the film Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has gone on record to announce publicly that he regrets his casting decision. The original decision to cast Tilda Swinton was made in order to get away from the cliche stereotype of having a wise, old Asian man portray the ancient one but in doing so they took away the chance for Asians and Asian Americans to see their culture represented on screen. In my redesign of the movie poster, I was very careful to consider visual appearance and that's why I decided to make the ancient one similar to the description in the comics and place him front and center. He is dressed in more traditional attire and his garments were inspired by robes. I chose the specific picture of the ancient one because it displays his calmness and wisdom. Another small element that I included was the bright emblem on his forehead to symbolize his mystical energy. For the background, I wanted to include Doctor Strange because the entirety of the film focuses on him. For this poster specifically, I wanted him in the background to symbolize the hierarchy and how the ancient one is a guide for him. Another important element that is centered in the poster is the Eye of Agamotto. This element was included to symbolize the ancient one’s connection to the mystical forces. The final piece that I considered was the Title. The title is written in a font that complements Eastern styles, with accents that hint at traditional calligraphy.