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The representation of minorities on TV and in films contributes greatly to the customer journey From Representation to Respect. If you regularly see someone with a neurodiverse condition, you get used to that phenomenon and those people, if an interracial marriage takes place you see that it is actually very normal, and if a gay kiss passes by you realize that Love is Love and that your neighbor, colleague, cousin might be queer.

That representation, especially of rainbow themes, does not go down well with – let’s be careful – conservative groups. They want everything to be just house, tree, pet, 1.7 blond children, so anything that deviates from that will damage the tender souls of children. At least, that is always the argument. Because children are impressionable, and maybe they will become transgender if they see that in a film!

1 million! … ?

One Million Moms (1MM) is one such group, but I can safely say that they’re conservative, as they’re among a cluster of organizations officially certified as Hate Groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights nonprofit.

1MM isn’t very good at counting, as their Facebook following numbers number less than 60,000, while they have just 3,500 predominantly male X followers. Journalists have questioned even those numbers.

Queer website Out reported that the petitions 1MM circulates are fake — with individuals and bots able to sign multiple times. GLAAD added that these aren’t the only tactics used to create controversy. In fact, it all revolves around one right-wing activist: Monica Cole. “She’s the only person on their petitions, and also the only person speaking on their behalf in the media,” writes contributor Jeremy Hooper. “She’s the mother. Her. Solo. One person, supposedly representing a million people.”

That doesn’t make their outraged cries any less, but you can take it with a grain of salt.

Angry and concerned

In the recent past, they’ve published a wide range of outrages (they’re still apparently amazed at the times we live in), about a number of threats to the kids: magic, Satanism, naughty ads, inappropriate language – oh, there’s so much to get upset about.

They’ve also launched many anti-LGBT boycotts, raging at everything from Archie comics to cracker brand Honey Maid for having a perceived homosexual agenda. They’ve also called on good, honest Christians to boycott Star Wars-themed soup, Hallmark, Disney Channel, Target, Jennifer Lopez, JC Penney and Glee. The most recent target is the blockbuster Wicked, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz.

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6COmYeLsz4c

This brand new film version (part 1) of the successful theatre show was very well received and is breaking almost all records in the cinemas. Very quickly more than 800 million dollars were raked in.

But with so much attention, 1MM is also taking action. They started a campaign on their website that states: “Universal is attempting to desensitize our children by normalizing the LGBTQ lifestyle”, and “a call to inclusivity, along with a blatant attempt by Universal to normalize same-sex crushes” – with the aim of boycotting the film and Universal.

Concerned, they say: “Of course the musical contains a huge amount of witchcraft and magic, and that content ensures that most parents do not take their children to Wicked. But the film also shows not so discreet crossdressing and men who are in love with men, which parents might not expect.”

They also always talk about “pushing a gay agenda”, and then I always check mine. That is indeed very different from that of a straight family.

Queer?

1MM calls out: “Four of the main characters in the film are openly queer or gay in real life, or at the very least these actors have spoken about their queer experiences.” Unfortunately, that’s not true. FIVE of the film’s main actors are queer: Cynthia Erivo (who plays Elphaba), Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Marissa Bode all identify as part of the LGBT+ community.

And then of course the whole story is about being different (= green), which makes someone feel left out. The analogy is clear.

The good news

The actions and motivations of this group of concerned mothers have become so ridiculous – and repetitive – that a call for a boycott of them almost always results in the opposite. The audience thinks: “oh, that’s interesting” and then goes to see what’s going on. Add to that the importance that Millennials and GenZ attach to diversity, and you get the idea: such a boycott is only carried out by those 60,000 mothers. At least… I suspect that many will secretly go and watch anyway.

Illustrative in that regard is 1MM’s recommended complaint to Universal for the readers, stating: “Even if you have seen Wicked: Part One, you can commit to not watching Wicked: Part Two.” Now that’s a case of Damage Control. After the fact.

I saw the musical in London, and the Dutch version in The Hague. For me it’s one of the best shows ever. So I will definitely see the film as well. And part 2 in due time too.

Alfred Verhoeven is a marketer and is in the final phase of his PhD research Marketing the Rainbow.
He previously wrote for ILOVEGAY about From Representation To Respect, The Musk Effect, Pride Month, The Oldest Rainbows, The Dutch Rainbows, The Belgian Rainbows, The Chinese Rainbows, Super Bowl Ads: What Would Jesus Do?, Get woke, go broke, Spain has 6.8 billion reasons to love rainbow tourists, Everyone’s gay in Amsterdam, Gay Capital, The Ideal Traveler, Abercrombie & Fitch : The Rise & The Fall, Barbiemania, Bud Light and the 4 bln dollar woman, Pronouns, About those rainbows, Alphabet soup, M&M’s and the lesbian invasion, The Men from Atlantis, 5 Bizarre LGBT Videos, TRANSparency, Transgender persons as a target group, 5 videos that went viral, Cultural sensitivities and social involvement in marketing, and 4 reasons to practice diversity.