Alamo Drafthouse Theater Holds "No Men Allowed" Wonder Woman Screener, Because It's Not a Wedding Cake

It's been a really bad year for marketing ideas that hit all the wrong notes. From Nivea's "White is Purity" advertisements to Kendall Jenner's Pepsi Protest Spot, 2017 seems to have adopted the motto, "It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time."

The latest good idea / immediate backlash plan comes from Austin, Texas, where the Alamo Drafthouse theater has decided to celebrate Girl Power by holding a "Women Only" (to include men who identify as women, the theater has clarified) screening of the upcoming WONDER WOMAN film, Title IX be damned. The exclusion of the Y-Chromosome (or ignoring the possession of one) extends not just to the audience, but will, as the theater's invitation states, include everyone in the theatre working that screening.

On the one hand, it's a genius marketing concept. It's a female superhero who has for 75+ years been the icon of feminine values (once one overlooks the male creators inclusion of spankings, bondage, exploitations of weaknesses to create submission to males, etc.). It makes a kind of sense to celebrate that with a girls' night out kumbaya.

On the other hand, this isn't Themyscira. It's the United States. We're technically not allowed to discriminate based on gender or sexual orientation. And the theater's proclamation that they will be having other screenings that don't carry such a restriction seem to be a stone's throw away from saying "We have a perfectly good water fountain right over there that you can use." Or, perhaps, "There's a bakery right across town that is totally willing to bake the wedding cake you need."

Indeed, several men have voiced quite a bit of dissent (and also support) on social media platforms, claiming discrimination. Whether any of them plan to sue over the issue of something valued at under $20 is another matter, but there is certainly a principal to be debated.

Creative Manager Morgan Hendrix tells Hollywood Reporter, "That providing an experience where women truly reign supreme has incurred the wrath of trolls only serves to deepen our belief that we're doing something right. As a result, we will be expanding this program across the country and inviting women everywhere to join us as we celebrate this iconic superheroine in our theaters."

Fans have been waiting a long time for Wonder Woman to get her own film, and expectations for this debut have been high. Here's to looking for another Women's Only screening of Marvel's CAPTAIN MARVEL, as well as the first theaters to dare a Men's Only Night for screenings of THOR: RAGNAROK and an all African-American screening of BLACK PANTHER.

Editors note: Alamo Drafthouse has provided us with the following statement:

"Obviously, Alamo Drafthouse recognizes 'Wonder Woman' is a film for all audiences, but our special women-only screenings may have created confusion - we want everybody to see this film.” - Alamo Drafthouse Cinema