Great... now movie posters are sexist?

[thesummerqueen]

True, but by the same token, pop culture is what informs cultural norms. What you see on a movie poster shouldn't be the sole determiner of your morality, but it does become a component of the social mien you're surrounded by, which influences the way you deal with the world around you. We already accept that advertising can do that, it's why we place restrictions on cigarette ads, for example.

But isn't it our social norm that tells us the guy in the poster is bad? And that he's a bad guy? One look at this poster, and I know who the villian is.

There are plenty of other ways to portray a villain without choking a woman.