Why You Won’t See A Movie Villain Using An iPhone

Apple’s reluctance to keep its products from appearing in the hands of a villainous character is not surprising, considering the brand has always tried to maintain a squeaky clean image by steering clear of any controversy. However, Apple likes to put its coolest gadgets in the hands of good guys. As pointed out by this WIRED article from 2002, the hit thriller show “24” had all the good fellas rocking a Mac to carry out their missions.

Apple is pretty adamant about it, and has even drafted a legal framework for content depicting its intellectual property aka products sold by the company. “The Apple product is shown only in the best light, in a manner of context that reflects favorably on the Apple products or Apple Inc.,” says one of its clauses. However, Apple doesn’t actually shy away from some positive exposure on the screen.

In the second season of the hit show “Big Little Lies,” Apple products like iPads, iPhones, and Macs grabbed a massive share of screen time at 13 minutes, which is a lot more than its second-placed Buick. It also eclipses other names like Audi, Tesla, and Dell. In Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” a majority of the characters can be seen rocking an iPhone, save for the antagonist played by Chris Evans.