Film poster

Language:

The font that is used on the poster reflects the style and glamour of the time period (1920's) and the desirable lifestyle of the American 'prohibition' environment that the film is set it. This may have been done to convey the nature of the film without much information, which would encourage the audience to see the trailer. The connotation of the costume that the actors wear goes hand in hand with the font as it supports the rich and glamorous motif that runs throughout the film. On top of this, the main actor Leonardo Dicaprio is in the centre of the poster to make the role he plays obvious,which, as a result makes the audience want to see the film even more so. Despite the fact that there is no tagline, the poster displays key conventions such as the cast actors and production blurb, which may be there to interest the audience as to who has produced the film.

Industry/institution:

The film was produced by Warner Bros and was directed by Baz Lurhmann. Due to the previous success of Warner Bros films, making sure the audience are aware they produced this film is a key point that would make them more likely to watch the movie. $105,000,000 was invested into the film and as a result a gross of $144,812,796 was made on the release date alone. It was also released in a number of countries other than the US, such as England and Australia.

Audience:

The film was consumed by an older audience as opposed to a younger adolescent audience. This is most likely to be due to the complexity of the film. However, the controversial modern music may have appealed to the younger audience whilst offending the older audience because of the mismatch between the time period it was set in and the 21st century music. The poster displays a formal and classy atmosphere which is more likely to appeal to an older audience.

Representation:

The audience is influenced by the advertisements and trailers. They focus on capturing the most gripping scenes of the film in order to interest the audience who are most likely to spend money and watch the film. This poster in particular displays the main characters, played by entirely successful actors and actresses. This may have been done to ensure to the audience that the film is due to be successful and entertaining. The audience may enjoy the theme of 1920's glamour in the poster which is very precisely captured to convey the genre of the film. The artistic features contribute to this also, which relate to the semantic field of the upper class nature of the film. This may have been done to catch the eye of the audience without them needing to pay much attention or read anything. Also, the poster may be aimed to catch the attention of men as it typically shows a woman dressed nicely. The look of concern on the main female characters face may also convey her role in the movie (the hopeless women in love with the rich and powerful male). Also, the male characters, who are dressed in smart and expensive clothing, are placed in the middle of the poster while the women are on the sides and below which not only suggests that the men are in control of the money and business but it can also suggest that the women are inferior and owned as property by men in that time period.