Textual analysis of magazine covers and posters

Shutter Island

Denotations

     Rocky, isolated prison

     Grey gloomy skies

     Title in red – Shutter Island

     Waves

     Close up of Leonardo DiCaprio

     Flame

     Slogan – “someone is missing”

Connotations

The Grey Gloomy skies
 portrays danger and mystery, the pathetic fallacy can also connote that a danger is lurking and a trouble is about to occur.

The gloomy skies not only portray danger but right off the bat it sets a fearful and sinister mood for viewers, also this could be foreshadowing and preparing the viewers for the dark dull depressing atmosphere inside the prison, this is done to allow a connection between viewer and actor which allows the audience to be more engaged.

The rocky isolated prison is placed in the center of the extreme long shot to portray its extreme, intimidating gargantuan size. Not only is it colossal but it also stands out from the dark background by being darker, we can imply from this that the prison is the core of the misery and depression.

An ominous but hopeful light seems to be emitting from behind the prison, this could portray the lost hope of the prisoners that is being blocked off by the prison.

The title is specifically written in a bright red color on a grey background to make it ‘pop’ and stand out to the audience. Red indicates danger, blood and terror therefore we can insinuate from this that the film Is going to feature at least one of these features. Furthermore, the way the red is messily painted around the word ‘Shutter’ could portray how the lives of prisoners at Shutter Island all become messy and unstable.

The waves are overly exaggerated in the picture to promote danger and chaos, also they seem to be aggressively clashing which could indicate and resemble the anger and frustration of the prisoners. Alternatively, waves are free unlike the prison and its prisoners, this juxtaposition shows how close they are to freedom but realistically their freedom would kill them.

The Close up of Leonardo DiCaprio’s face is done intentionally to show his emotions and confusion, Leonardo looks suspicious and confused which could be foreshadowing the end where he finds out who he really is and how confused he is.

The Flame portrays Leo’s constantly burning passion and anger but could also portray how he is unstable and dangerous just like a flame.

The Slogan “someone is missing” straight away triggers the audience to think and wonder who really is missing, this is done to engage the audience and keep them questioning until the big reveal. The words are also directly next to DiCaprio’s face which is a little hint at the ending.

Knock Knock

Denotations

·         Sharpened Knife

·         Red Lipstick

·         Reflection of man

·         Running mascara/veins

·         Sinister smile

·         Knife emerges from the darkness

·         Slogan

·         Cut up title

        Title same colour as lips

Connotations

Sharpened Knife

 Right off the bat, the close up of the notorious knife signifies danger and highlights the theme of murder. The knife itself is portrayed as sharpened, we could insinuate from this that the wielder of this knife wants to intentionally cause harm because a knife will not instantly kill a human, it is actually the after effects of the wound that cause unbearable intense pain before death. This prepares the viewers for a dark, malicious and potentially antagonistic storyline by setting the theme of crime and murder whilst enhancing it with a malevolent atmosphere. Additionally, the Knife is centre framed, perhaps this could be signifying how the knife will become iconic throughout the film and become the infamous main weapon used for all killings. Or, we could insinuate that the knife is a literal reflection of the Women’s cutthroat personality which allows the audience to straight away be able to distinguish between protagonist and antagonist. In conclusion, the knife is emerging from a pit of darkness. Perhaps the director is trying to highlight the superiority of the weapon by saying it has emerged from the depths of hell therefore insinuating that the wielders, the women, are genuinely pure evil.

Red Lipstick

The colour red is typically symbolic for blood, danger, terror and death. The fact that both women wear the symbolic lipstick allows the spectator to deduce that there will be double the amount of peril all caused by the bearer of this lipstick, the women. In addition, this poster actually shuts down the typical stereotypical image of a woman as it completely contrasts what a stereotypical woman in a thriller is supposed to be. For example, a typical woman in a thriller movie is typically a damsel in distress who is constantly dependent on the protagonist, however in this poster we see the intentional contrast through the way the women are actually illustrated as independent femme fatales with the motivation to kill the protagonist. On the other hand, red lipstick can also be associated with sexual connotations. Not only does this highlight the theme of seduction, but could also be integrating slightly with the horror genre by highlighting the theme of ‘Sex Kills’.

Reflection of the man

The poster displays more contrast and irony but this time through the man in the knife. The male seems to be distressed and paranoid. This firstly highlights the theme of paranoia and secondly displays a massive contrast in characters due to the fact that a typical thriller male protagonist is supposed to be: Highly skilled, wise, able to face any situation and both mentally and physically strong. However all of these attributes are contrasted by the simple distraught look on the man’s face, it shows he has become the victim and is the prey whereas the male is typically supposed to be the predator. Furthermore, we could insinuate that the man has become the main target since he is trapped within the knife, the man is also portrayed as some sort of bullseye since he is centre framed. In addition, the man bears a full beard that has been shaped into a fashionable manner this is symbolic because We could make the implication that the man has grown old trying to fight for his survival and has simply just adapted to a live of danger and despair.

Running mascara Or Veins?

The two females in the poster seem to be wearing mascara that has begun to run. We could suggest that the women have been crying from being in a state of despair and sadness due to the man in the knife hence why their motivations is to murder the man. This would highlight the theme of revenge and potentially obsession as the woman have been driven obsessed for the death of the man. On the other hand, this could actually be veins that have shown due to frustration and stress caused by the obsession of wanting to kill the man. The veins seem dark and black, this could be a portrayal of their personalities as only darkness and depression runs through their bodies.

Slogan

“Some doors should never be opened” is a play on words from the title “knock knock”. This almost reminds us of the childlike ‘knock knock who’s there’ game children played in their childhoods, perhaps the director is purposely implying how even the most innocent form of purity such as a child’s game can be converted into pure evil and maliciousness. This tells the audience that the women were possibly innocent until something tragic or life changing happened which caused them to rely on a life filled with hatred and evil.

Title

The title’s design is specifically chosen as a symbol of a instability. Firstly, we see how the title has lines and missing parts to it as if it has been continuously slashed at by the knife which could portray frustration from the wielder, we could also say that the title is crumbling just like the man’s chances of survival. The title is saturated in the same red lipstick colour that the women are wearing, this solidifies the idea that film is going to be filled with danger, blood and death. 

Thriller film poster and magazine covers analysis

Thriller Posters by Keivan Poonoosamy Year 13 on Scribd

Connotations of thriller magazine covers

De Notations by Keivan Poonoosamy Year 13 on Scribd