Movie Mural Misstep?

A film advertisement near a museum sparks criticism

Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Warner Bros.

Is this mural of the superhero from Blue Beetle an eyesore near the Philadelphia Museum of Art?

Warner Brothers could have put up a billboard to advertise the release of the movie Blue Beetle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last summer. Instead, it commissioned a huge mural of the DC Comics superhero on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). But not everyone thought that the entrance to the city’s art museum was the right place for a movie promotion.

Some people argued that, as a public space, the museum steps shouldn’t feature ads. To them, the mural was an eyesore. They argued that it looked out of place next to the nearly 100-year-old building.

Others said they enjoyed the temporary mural. Some people pointed out that the reason the steps are so well-known in the first place is because of a movie. In the 1976 boxing film Rocky, the main character runs up the steps. There’s even a statue at the steps’ base in his honor.

PMA officials noted that the City of Philadelphia’s Parks and Recreation department owns the stairs and determines how they are used. “As such a recognizable landmark, we love the idea of using the stairs for promotional purposes, and we would welcome opportunities to use these stairs to promote Philadelphia’s emerging artists,” museum officials said in a statement.

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