Analysis of Genre in Film Posters

Film posters are a way of advertising a film before it is released at cinema. This means that posters have to take certain images from a film to give some message about the events of the film. They will generally give a sense of the genre of the film. To prove this i am going to analyze 3 film film posters:

Poster 1: 28 Weeks Later

This poster suggests that the films main characters are 2 young adults and that the film is set in London about the 21st Century - we can tell this because it is a very familiar sky line. The poster gives quite a clear message that the film is a horror film. There are many different different elements of the poster that suggests the film will be a horror; The body language and expression on the faces of the 2 young adults show fear - as well as the fact that the older looking girl seems to be sheltering the younger boy. The fact the figures in the background have been blacked out also seems to suggest horror as we can't tell their identity of them and this creates a sense of mystery about their identity (unless you have seen the original film), The final suggestion towards the film been a horror film is the tag line of the film "Week Twenty Eight: No Escape" which suggests horror due to the words no escape because that suggests there's something happening to escape from.

Poster 2: Mean Girls

The poster for Mean Girls suggests that the main character in the film is Lindsay Lohan - who is on the left hand side and is also emphasized by the fact that she is the only character that has the actresses name above her. It also seems to show the other 3 girls as other major characters - possibly as the protagonists of the film. The poster gives very little information as to where or when the film is set. The only indication is the style of clothes the characters are wearing which suggests that the film is set in modern times and possibly in one of the richer countries in the world. The picture suggests that the 3 girls are friends whereas  it suggests that Lindsay Lohan's character is a loner or is not friends with the other girls. The color scheme of the poster suggests that the film is a chick flick as it has quite a bit of pink in it and pink is normally associated with feminine films. Also the fact that all the characters are female which suggests the film is more oriented towards a female audience who will be able to relate with the characters.

Poster 3: Alice in Wonderland (2010 Version)

This extended poster for Tim Burton's 2010 version of classic children's tale Alice in Wonderland shows many of the films characters. The characters of the film suggest that it has surreal element to it for example their is a rabbit wearing a waist coat. The setting also adds to the fact the genre of the film is probably a fantasy film because it is unlike any setting that you would normally see on the Earth. The dress's in the film seem to be quite old fashioned suggesting that wherever the film is set it may be less developed then our earth.