An attempt to charge white men double for tickets to a local screening of a comedy web series appears to be a marketing ploy by the film’s director Shiraz Higgins.
Tickets for the screening of Building the Room later this month at the Roxy Theatre were listed as $20 for “cisgender” white males and $10 for everyone else. Organizers described the model as “justice pricing” and an attempt to make the event more accessible for groups who are statistically poorer.
The “justice pricing” model incited a barrage of online rage as it was shared through social media and death threats for the organizers.
Speaking on behalf of the event and “justice pricing” was Sid Mohammed, who claimed to be a communications person for Higgins production company. Mohammed gave several interviews to media, including the Times Colonist about the controversy and response from the public. But it appears to have been Higgins himself, for what reason it is not clear.
Canadian Press news services and CBC also carried the initial story
Mohammed, or Higgins, told the Times Colonist Tuesday, “We appreciate the feedback and concerns. I think that it is a positive because people are talking to each other and confronting real issues, whether they agree or not,” he said.
Higgins has pulled media pranks before. A few years ago he invited press to meet a Salvation Army youth pastor who was supposedly endorsing gay marriage. The pastor was an actor and the coverage appeared in one of his films
Organizers of a comedy film series screening at the Roxy Theatre this month are facing a backlash after setting higher ticket prices for white men.
Tickets for the Victoria première of Building the Room are being set with what organizers call “justice pricing.”
When tickets went on sale last week, prices were listed as $20 for “cisgender” white males and $10 for everyone else. Cisgender is a term for someone whose gender identity matches their sex at birth, as opposed to someone who is transgender.
Sid Mohammed, a spokesperson for the event, said the idea behind justice pricing was to “try to combat privilege in a tangible way.”
The pricing model has sparked a backlash online. Mohammed received death threats and accusations that the practice was racist and discriminatory.
“Our efforts to make the event more accessible were taken as some kind of attack or settling of scores against white men,” said Mohammed, a recent graduate of the B.C. Institute of Technology. “But we were genuinely focused on statistical disparities.”
He compared justice pricing to student and senior prices, which use age rather than race or gender to determine prices.
The scathing comments were made mostly on the Victoria thread at Reddit.com and on Facebook. Many of those offended appeared to be white males, and several identified themselves as such.
However, there were also some supporters, who noted women and people of colour statistically make lower wages and that women’s items and services (such as haircuts) tend to cost more than those for men.
Others suggested the organizers could have set ticket prices based on whether someone is receiving a wage or not, a common practice for community arts events.
Mohammed said organizers are open to feedback about pricing and will respond to it. They have already lowered the price for white cisgender males to $15.
“We appreciate the feedback and concerns. I think that it is a positive because people are talking to each other and confronting real issues, whether they agree or not,” he said, noting he’s not taking the death threats seriously.
The idea of gender-based pricing isn’t new.
A café in Australia made headlines this year after introducing an 18 per cent surcharge for men, representing the gap in wages between men and women. The café donates the proceeds from the “man tax” to women’s charities.
While Mohammed said the filmmaker of Building the Room was consulted about the justice pricing, some of the artists featured in it were not.
The series documents local comedians Ben Fawcett, Chelsea Lou, Darcy Collins, Myles Anderson, Shane Priestley and Shawn O’Hara as they put together a show in artist Jimbo Insell’s apartment.
The subject of the film series is not related to social justice, race, gender equality or identity.
“The show has nothing to do with these issues. We weren’t consulted on the pricing and don’t agree with what it represents. It’s caused a lot of upset,” Insell said. “It’s disappointing because people feel targeted.”
Insell said he feels the work should stand on its own without the political controversy, but does support affordable options for arts events.
“It’s a comedy. Usually it’s a hard sell to get people to shows. Singling out a group in today’s political environment doesn’t help,” he said.
Building the Room is showing at the Roxy Theatre, 2657 Quadra St., on Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
For more information about the film, go to buildingtheroom.com.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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