Movie-lovers reveal biggest film gripes – and why they would refuse to watch a movie

THOUSANDS of movie-lovers have revealed the biggest gripes that make their blood boil when watching a film.

The country’s taste for cinema is changing with the times, according to recent research, as millions find some things so offensive in blockbusters they’ll turn away.

Millions of adults feel misrepresented in movies, due to a lack of diversity and overused stereotypes – but one comes out far on top.

A staggering 43% of adults surveyed said they struggle to relate to characters on the big screen.

While an even more eye-watering 57 per cent think stereotypes are overused in films – 30 per cent even went as far as to say they have been offended by a movie cliché.

Nearly a third of all the movie-lovers asked have actually refuse to watch a film because of an offensive or outdated stereotype.

But the biggest gripe of all for cinema-goers was seeing oversexualised women on screen.

The group found it was the most common stereotype that they came across in movies – for example, the message that women need to be attractive to be popular.

The research, by sweets brand M&Ms, spoke to 2,000 British adults under the age of 35 as part of its global ‘FUNd’ initiative designed to champion diversity, inclusion and create a sense of belonging.

Femi Kolade, Head of Studies at London Film School, which is part of the initiative, said: “The mainstream film industry has been dominated for too long by a narrative that excludes so many people’s lived experiences and reduces all of our specific and vibrant diversity to a few standardised, often negative and always limited representations of who we are today, who were yesterday and who we’ll become in the future.

“This must change and this timely research and this important campaign shows yet again how desperate mainstream audiences are to see that change.”

After the oversexualisation of women, the adults’ next top troubling trait was the presentation of women as weak or too sensitive.

This was followed by the use of foreign characters’ broken English to get laughs – like Sacha Baron Cohen‘s accent in the Borat films.

Others were enfuriated by seeing black or Latino people portrayed as gang members, black communities being broken or disruptive, and flamboyant members of the LGBTQ+ community – such as Damien was portrayed in 2004 hit Mean Girls.

Instead, young adults want to see these characters living normal lives, rather than portrayed.

More than half even said the film industry should stop referencing characters’ race, sexuality or region if it’s irrelevant to the movie’s storyline.

Surprisingly or not, the study found that the very worst genres for overusing stereotypes were comedies, romance and crime.

In another shock, it also emerged that less than a quarter of those polled could name five or more LGBTQ+ actors, with just 21 per cent able to name the same number of disabled actors.

As a result, 59 per cent would like to see more disabled actors portraying characters with disabilities – as opposed to such roles going to people without such conditions or impairments.

This is after wheelchair user Professor Xavier in the X-Men franchise was played by non-disabled actors Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy.

Looking behind the lens, only 22 per cent could confidently name five non-white Hollywood directors.

Leah Dykes, a spokesperson for M&Ms, said: “As a treat synonymous with film culture, we feel we have a duty to do what we can to ensure the industry and beyond is inclusive and diverse and celebrates talent from all walks of life.

“This work is one of the first steps in the UK, in our commitment to increase a sense of belonging for 10 million people around the world by 2025, and sets out to understand thoughts and attitudes towards diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and western cinema, and the issues around typecasting and old stereotypical tropes.”