Textual Analysis - Film Poster

Media Exam – Comparing 2 Film Posters

Paper 1:

The Disney Corporation is the biggest media corporations in the world. They have made so many well known/successful animated films such as Bambi, Snow White, The lion King, The Sleeping Beauty and so on. Walt and Roy Disney founded the company as an animation studio in 1923. It’s one of the largest Hollywood studios and owner of eleven theme parks and several television networks including ESPN and ABC. Mickey Mouse serves as the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company.

2. DreamWorks Pictures is a major film studio in America that produces films, television programmes and video games. Its most successful film to date was Shrek 2. It has produced more than 10 films totalling more than $100 million each. In 2008 Dreamworks announced to end its partnership with paramount.

Regulation and Control

The BBFC (British Broadcasting Film Company) certifies films in the UK. It is an independent, non governmental body, which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912.

The criteria the BBFC need to look for in a film are:

Violence - if it's very strong and used throughout most of the film it will most likely be classed as an 18.

Nudity - If the film was a 12, nudity would have to be very mild and sexual content must be very brief and discreet.

Horror - Moderate threat is acceptable for 12 films but if it was an 18 it could be very strong. Other criteria include the main theme, sex, language Imitable techniques (Stunts, suicide, self harm etc) and drug use.

The motion picture production code also known as The Hays Code were the people who rated the films in the US. It started in 1930 and ended in 1968. The production code had 3 general principles:

1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
   
2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
   
3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
   

Other provisions were used such as:

• Nakedness was prohibited
  
• The ridicule of religion was forbidden
  
• Murder scenes had to be filmed in a way that would discourage imitations in real life.

The ratings they use in American films are:

• G - All ages admitted, no sex, drugs, minimal violence and limited use of language.
  
• PG - Parental guidance suggested, may have mild violence and brief nudity.
  
• PG 13 - Material innapropriate to children under 13, may contain moderate language, some explicit nudity etc.
  
• R - restricted, A film with this rating requires a viewer under the age of 17 to have a parent or other adult guardian accompanying the viewer. May contain very strong language or strong sexual emphasis etc.
  
• NC17 - no children under 17, may contain very strong language and gore etc.

Advertising

These days you can advertise films in many different ways:

• Billboards
  
• Trailers
  
• Buses
  
• Websites
  
• Flyers
  
• Cinemas.
  

Advertisements in public for e.g. buses are also known as outdoor advertising.

In the film Shrek, all of the advertisement spaces listed above would have been used for marketing the film. On the other hand with Bambi advertisement would have been quite different. Bambi was released in 1942 and back then not many people had television so they're probably wouldn't have been any trailers. Billboards, posters and flyers could still be used in that time too so that doesn't change, but obviously computers weren't invented in those days so for Bambi less advertisement would have been used.

Over the years Bambi has been promoted more as you can buy merchandise such as costumes, posters and in the resort disney land paris/florida. Also they have modernized the film and released the dvd of it as when it first came out it would have been a video. In the disney store they still sell bambi merchandise such as teddies, pajamas, key rings, anything you can really think of.

The dress code in shrek is historic as they use cobble streets, castles and the outfit shrek wears looks as though its medieval (1700). Also the princess looks historic as she has a long dress and looks like a typical old fashioned or fairy tale princess. The castle and the type of characters anchors what type of film it is which is medieval fairy tale.

In the bambi poster it cant really give you an idea of what year it is set in but it gives you an idea of what type of film it is and who is the target audience. Sparkles are used as the border on the poster and this suggests that its going to be somewhat magical, girly and innocent. This shows that the target audience is children but it is perhaps mostly a girls film.

The gesture codes of both films are both quite happy. On Shrek all the characters are smiling even though theyre being attacked by a dragon behind them. But the fact that they are running and there is mythical creatures on the poster connotes that the film will be adventurous. This is the same for bambi as again theyre smiling but they look interested at the same time at this butterfly that has landed on bambi which could also suggest that the film will be adventurous and exploring new things.

The shrek poster has alot of binary opposites as the dragon is classed as bad and shrek, the princess and the donkey are good so it contains the theme of good vs evil. Also the fire that the dragon is breathing out could be seen as hell and the sky it contrasts with is heaven.

The Bambi poster doesnt really have any binary opposites except for brightness of the animals and their surroundings against a dark background which could show that there is some sort of evil involved in the film.

The Bambi poster seems to be the equilbrium as everything seems to be happy and nothing is disrupted, yet. However in the shrek poster, its the disruption as theyre in the middle of running away from a dragon. In posters the resolution (ending) can't be used as it will basically tell us how it ends or how everything ends up so posters have to either be the equilibrium or the disruption.

Both of the posters are long shots to get in the characters. Shrek is a low angle to make the characters look bigger to make them look powerful, whereas the Bambi poster looks as though the animals are being spied or looking down the barrel of a gun which suggests they're being hunted. Also the picture is indirect as they don't know we're looking at them. However shrek is direct as they are looking straight at you and are running right at you as well.

Alot of films that have personal identities which means they're are particular relationships or activitities between characters that can relate to other peoples in real life. Personal identity would feature in Shrek as he is rude, loud and enthusiastic so some of the younger male audience could identify with him.

Personal Relationships

Films and other type of media can also create relationships between people in real life as you speak about certain films, TV Programs etc that interest you and you can share that with someone else. Other media like socialising sites such as myspace and facebook, you can add friends and talk through the web and yet again share interests. These days this is one of the most modern, used ways of socialising.

Propps theory of the hero, villian and damsel in distress applies to Shrek as Shrek and the Donkey can be heros from saving the princess from the castle. The princess is the damsel in distress by being trapped in a tower in a castle.

Todrov's theory can also apply because the film has an equilibrium, disruption and a resolution. At the beginning of the film Shrek is living a normal day in his swamp. For the disruption his swamp gets invaded by fairytale creatures and has to rescue Princess Fiona to get his swamp back.