Induction: Movie Poster Textual Analysis

Our task was to make a textual analysis of the above poster in groups. We found that the denotation of this poster was an adventurer of some sort standing alone in front of what appeared to be an ancient cave. The obscure skull in the background could symbolise death, telling the audience that the mission he is about to take could be deathly and dangerous. The image of the fire reinforces the idea of danger in the film. The ancient carvings surrounding him could be a connotation telling us more about the character. From this one image we can see that he is a historical explorer and that the film will entail a combination of adventure and danger.

The use of anchorage in the title of the film is in sans serif font, which clashes with the seemingly historic and ancient setting and tells us that he is from more modern times and that he doesn't necessarily belong in this setting. 'Indiana Jones' is in bright, comic-like typography much like you would see with films such as Superman. This gives us the idea that Indiana is an iconic character and protagonist. This kind of writing also tells us what kind of genre the film will be. For example, if the writing was not bright and comic-like but dark and dull, the film may have appeared to be a horror movie. However, the sans serif font is appropriate and makes the film look more like a friendly, family-based adventure movie.

This poster alone not only gives us an in-depth idea of what the film will entail, it also introduces us to the hero or main character of the story through the use of mise-en-scene. Non-verbal communication is used to communicate to us Indiana's personality and state of mind. His fists are clenched, his eyes are directly focusing on the camera and he is standing tall and brave despite what is occurring behind him. This shows us that he is determined, prepared and fearless. We also get an idea of who he is because of the costume that has been chosen. His attire suggests that he is some kind of explorer. It looks as if he may be on a hunt for something. His sleeves are rolled up and his buttons are undone, showing that he has been through a lot during his mission. The only props shown are Indiana's weapons. His whip and his gun are all that he carries, suggesting that these may be his signature objects.

By doing this task I have learnt that there is a lot that you can find out about a movie from posters advertising them. I also realised that when making a film and producing posters for it, people deliberately choose how they present there movie. They are thoughtful and use mise-en-scene and specific fonts and effects to ensure that the poster will attract the right people and inform everyone properly.