Zoe Kravitz’s new film, Blink Twice, and studio Amazon MGM have been applauded after they placed trigger warnings on social media in the days before the movie’s release.
“We are proud to finally share Blink Twice with audiences in theaters worldwide this week,” the statement began.
“Blink Twice is a psychological thriller about the abuse of power,” the post continued. “While this is a fictionalized movie, it contains mature themes and depictions of violence — including sexual violence. This may be upsetting or triggering for some viewers.”
The film, released on August 23, is a psychological thriller which follows Naomi Ackie’s Frida, a cocktail waitress who is invited by tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) to join his friends for a dream vacation on his private island. But soon Frida realizes all is not right on the island, and when her friend goes missing, she must uncover the truth if she hopes to make it out alive.
“Thank you for the trigger warning,” commented one viewer, as another criticized the men in the comments section for their bullying.
© MGM“The fact that most men in the comments are telling women to ‘grow up, get over it and questioning the trigger warning’ is absolutely disgusting! You’re all extremely privileged to not be triggered by scenes of SA!” they wrote.
“If you’re a man complaining about this, kindly take a good look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself WHY. Then, talk to your closest female friends or family members and ask them,” another shared.
The decision by Amazon comes after It Ends With Us, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel starring Blake Lively, has been widely criticized for failing to ensure that the film was marketed clearly.
It Ends With Us is the story about a woman who finds herself in an abusive relationship, with scenes of verbal and physical abuse. But the marketing has been heavily criticized, with Blake calling on women to “wear your florals” and turn the theater trip into a girl’s night out.
© GettyA message placed at the very end of the credits reads: “If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Visit: www.nomore.org for information and support.”
Bridgette Stumpf, founder and executive director of Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC), has also criticized the movie for failing “the survivors it is supposed to advocate for,” by “glossing over its domestic violence content in the film’s marketing, and by not providing any content warnings prior to the start of the film”.
“When watching the film in a packed theater with a colleague on opening night, our first reaction as the film ended was disappointment that no resources were immediately offered for survivors as soon as credits rolled,” Stumpf wrote for The Hollywood Reporter.
“Later, there was an end credits message, though it came after many had left.”
