film poster analysis

Jaws – In this poster you can clearly see what this film is going to be about due to the huge shark taking up half of the screen. Also, the title, ‘JAWS’, foreshadows the whole film by linking the title with the main antagonist. The dominant signifier in this poster is the shark. The poster is made of two key components, being the signifier (the printed poster itself) and signified (the shark). The title also acts as anchorage as it gives you insight to what the movie is about.

Iconic Signs:

  • Surfboard
  • Ocean
  • Shark

Black Widow – In this poster you can see the main protagonist being ‘Black Widow’ which hints a lot of action and combat during the film. The characters shown in the background acts as an anchorage to give viewers a small insight of who may be involved in this film. Indexical sign ‘MARVEL’ acts also as an anchorage to help attract viewers due to Marvel being very popular and well-known.

Iconic Signs:

  • The characters in the background
  • Weapons

Guardians of the Galaxy – In this poster you can see the main group of 5 protagonists who are all holding some sort of weapon which hints the film will involve action and combat. The title ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ acts as an anchorage to give the viewer an idea of what the film is about. The dominant signifier (being the 5 protagonists) illustrates a good idea of who are going to be the main characters throughout the movie.

Iconic Signs:

  • Planets
  • Spaceships

Zombieland Double Tap – By taking a look at this poster you can understand that the four characters shown as the dominant signifiers are going to be the main antagonists in the film. The use of the word ‘Zombie’ in the title gives the idea that the film is going to be about an apocalypse. Indexical signs of actors names acts as an anchorage as they are popular actors which could help consumers be influenced to watch the film.

Iconic Signs:

  • Weapons
  • Fire
  • Smoke

Spiderman Into the Spider-Verse – In this poster you can understand that this film is targeted towards children due to it being a cartoon. The dominant signifier in this poster is the main image of Spiderman in the middle. The use of the word ‘Spiderman’ in the title can help the audience easily understand that the film is about a man who has something to do with a spider which could act as an anchorage as it gives the viewers an idea of what the film is about. Indexical sign ‘Spider-verse’ connotes to science and could further hint action.

Iconic Signs:

  • City
  • Different Spiderman’s
  • Miles Morales

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