The Suicide Squad trailer is not okay

When it comes to the shortcomings of Marvel or DC’s cinematic output, as a self-confessed comic book fan-boy, I’m usually pretty forgiving. Unfortunately, the first official trailer for DC’s latest film, Suicide Squad, which dropped last week, hints at a film with some serious flaws. It might only be a two-minute trailer, but the way it trivialises mental health and sexualises its female cast has me worried for its release this August.

It begins by introducing the main villains who make up the ‘Suicide Squad’ – a group of ‘the most dangerous people on the planet’ forced to work for the government on impossible missions. Military officer Rick Flag, played by Joel Kinnaman, narrates the trailer, describing each of his fellow squad members as they appear on screen: “Guy who shoots people. He’s a crocodile and he eats people. Burns people. You’re possessed by a witch.” At this point, Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) appears on screen: “And she’s just crazy.”

By defining Quinn by her mental state, the filmmakers potentially waste a complex and powerful female character. The scene that follows is even worse, in which she hears voices and jokingly remarks to the military force surrounding her: “What was that? I should kill everyone and escape? Sorry. The voices. Haha, I’m kidding. That’s not what they really said.” Well done lads, you just trivialised auditory hallucinations, a common symptom of certain mental illnesses, for comedic effect. It’s important to remember that Suicide Squad marks the live-action cinematic debut of Harley Quinn, and for many this might be their first – and most lasting – introduction to the character.

Further analysis of the trailer hints at Harley Quinn’s supervillain origins in the DC cinematic universe. In one part, the Joker is seen holding her in a toxic pool, a scene that can also be found in her latest comic origins tale, in which she is forced to become the Joker’s lover and side-kick, against her own free will. It’s a story that is not in any way empowering. At one point she even wears a jacket with the words ‘Property of the Joker’ embroidered on the back, further evidence that the film will present Quinn as an object under the Joker’s control. The problems with her costume don’t end there: along with the rest of the female cast, she’s blatantly sexualised, wearing underwear whilst her male cohorts are covered in layers of protective clothing.

While these issues alone are troubling, what is more worrying is that – as a major blockbuster – the film is unlikely to start a conversation about suicide or mental health. As the world is starting to wake up to the seriousness of these issues, it’s disappointing that the movie is being advertised in a way that fetishises criminals and mental health patients. Now all we can do is wait and hope that the film is more nuanced than its trailer.