Analysis of film posters

Borat

The text in the movie poster says the title “Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan”. The use of incorrect grammar parodies Kazakhstani people suggesting they are ignorant and that they cannot adapt to western culture, and yet continue to try to copy it. . Putting the lead actor's name at the top of the poster is the only commercial attempt to market the film to fans of Sacha Baron Cohen films. For example, the title will attract fans of the Ali G TV show, which Borat was in as well. The font is important because it’s illustrating to the audience that it’s a comedy film, and it’s making fun of people from foreign countries.  

Borat has a funny looking smile in the poster. Therefore this is displaying that this movie is going to be a comedy because of his facial expressions. If the main protagonist did not have a smile on his face, this would have changed the whole approach of the film, and made movie goers mislead what this film is about. His smile is also displaying some of the characters personality traits from what we may see in the feature film. In the comedy genre, the main protagonist should be full of life and exciting for the viewers to watch, but should also be an object to be laughed at, which is definitely the case with the ridiculous and out-of-place Borat.

Borat has a very scruffy looking suit. This tells us that he is a person who stands out from the regular crowd. The suit does not probably fit him because his trousers are quite baggy and too big for him. His hair style is important because it’s implying the characters personality more to the audience. Overall this represents the character to be badly dressed, not very intelligent, and different to the whole crowd. 

Borat is also holding an American flag. This is ironic because the font of the title was implying to the viewer that Borat is not from America, he’s Eastern European. This is suggesting to the audience that he will be in America exploring the country, and making fun of the locals there. The film is therefore a combination of parodying both Kazasthani people and American culture, particularly their prejudices.

This advert is constructed to appeal to its target audience which is fans of the comedy genre, and patriotic Americans who like to see their country in cinema. However, they will not be happy when they are finished watching that film, as Borat consistently highlights their prejudices. The poster also attracts fans of more generic comedy through his ridiculous expression and silly, outdated fashion. 

The Silence of the Lambs

In this poster, the dominant colors are black, and white. With the exceptions of the eyes, the butterfly, and the title, which all appear as red-orange.

The title is not bold, large, or capitalized, and doesn’t take away all the viewers’ attention, so that instead they can focus on the content, and specifically the face of the woman.

The face appears unnatural because a butterfly replaces the human mouth. This links to the title of the film because the butterfly is creating the silent element for the viewer. Another factor that contributes to the unnatural appearance of the face is the framing of the face and that fact that is not well defined. It is as if the face has no blood, which connotes that the person might be dead, and people have been known to go pale when they are frightened, which points towards the horror and shock of the film.  The fact that the face blurs into the background makes identifying the woman difficult, adding to the mystery and threat of the unknown.

The face in the poster also has very wide eyes. This is another trope of someone who is experiencing fear, and specifically it is a fear for the audience of the unknown because we are not allowed to view the horror she has witnessed.  It is also the kind of fear that is so horrific she can’t speak about it, which is emphasized by the lack of a mouth.