You brought up a good point, and I'll try to answer it as best as I can. What a parent's responsiblity is, versus what a publishing company like Marvel's responsibility is, are two separate issues. I believe that the cover is harmful and inappropriate for adolescents, but since you asked me not to discuss the reasons why, I won't. Do I have the right to prevent any parent from buying that comic for a son or daughter? No, of course not. Do I have the right to express my opinion on my livejournal if I think that this cover is inappropriate? Yes, I do. It's my opinion. Maybe I'll change some parents' minds, but mostly I probably won't. Parents should make their own decisions regarding what they allow their children to read and watch. That doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to express my opinion on the subject, though. I've made my decision, and I'm going to write about why. The simple act of me expressing my disgust is not an affront on the rights of any other parents out there.
All issues of ethics or parental responsibility aside, though, the main thrust of my original post was that the HfH cover is just plain bad marketing. By publishing a cover that only an extremely narrow segment of the HfH fanbase finds appealing, Marvel is just being, well, dumb. They could have put out any number of sexier (and less sexist!) covers, and then they wouldn't have this PR mess on their hands.
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You brought up a good point, and I'll try to answer it as best as I can. What a parent's responsiblity is, versus what a publishing company like Marvel's responsibility is, are two separate issues. I believe that the cover is harmful and inappropriate for adolescents, but since you asked me not to discuss the reasons why, I won't. Do I have the right to prevent any parent from buying that comic for a son or daughter? No, of course not. Do I have the right to express my opinion on my livejournal if I think that this cover is inappropriate? Yes, I do. It's my opinion. Maybe I'll change some parents' minds, but mostly I probably won't. Parents should make their own decisions regarding what they allow their children to read and watch. That doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to express my opinion on the subject, though. I've made my decision, and I'm going to write about why. The simple act of me expressing my disgust is not an affront on the rights of any other parents out there.
All issues of ethics or parental responsibility aside, though, the main thrust of my original post was that the HfH cover is just plain bad marketing. By publishing a cover that only an extremely narrow segment of the HfH fanbase finds appealing, Marvel is just being, well, dumb. They could have put out any number of sexier (and less sexist!) covers, and then they wouldn't have this PR mess on their hands.