The Israeli Poster For ‘Mockingjay’ Edited Out Jennifer Lawrence For Religious Reasons

Posters for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 are all over the place these days lots of which are featuring the determined face of Jennifer Lawrence’s reluctant heroine emblazoned all over them. But not in parts of Israel. Because of Orthodox Jewish laws, the star of the Hunger Games franchise was edited out of posters in Jerusalem and Bnei Barak despite being the only character on it. This is obviously not the first time we’ve seen this happen, nor is it the first time it’s been so obvious that the image of women has been censored. But it just goes to show that no matter how integral a fictional woman is to the plot of a movie, her image can’t appear on a poster in public. Which makes one wonder: can anyone in this community even watch a woman act in a movie? Where’s the line here?

As crazy as it seems, the law is intended to protect a woman’s image from being defaced by vandalism, which is a big problem in many Israeli cities. Jerusalem and Bnei Barak are home to a high concentration of orthodox communities, so their marketing allows different images than the rest of the country. Liron Suissam, the vice president of marketing at Nu Star Media, which handles the posters, explained:

“Unfortunately we are subject to unofficial coercion that forces us to be more careful. We have had endless vandalization, and clients prefer not to take the chance. We allow everything, but we recommend hanging another visual when necessary. The decision is the client’s.”

It’s still clearly a poster for a movie called “Mockingjay,” so it’s not that ridiculous. But does Katniss need that kind of protecting? Maybe they should have equipped the posters with spring-loaded arrows that could stop vandals from causing any funny business. Katniss doesn’t need censorship to protect her — she needs booby traps! (I’m kidding. That’s a horrible idea.)

Source: EW