Production: BBC
Distribution: Curzon Artificial Eye
Genre: Romance Drama/Social-Realism
Director: Andrea Arnold
Synopsis: Mia (Katie Jarvis) is a rebellious teenager on the verge of being kicked out of school. Her hard-partying mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), neglects Mia's welfare in favour of her own. However, when sparks begin to fly between Mia and Connor (Michael Fassbender), Joanne's new boyfriend, once he encourages Mia to pursue her interest in dance, the boundaries of the relationships become blurred, consequently Mia and Joanne compete for Connor's affection.
UK Poster:
The contrast between the juxtaposing complementary colours of orange and aquatic hue of the background creates an anticipation of the expected conflict (Binary Opposition) of perhaps an innate conflict, which stems from the title which alludes to (much like a goldfish but in this essence emotional) entrapment, as this works in conjunction with the title's connotations of blue and water. Alternatively, this could be read as a Symbolic Code for optimism, of which her entrapment has influenced and inspired the character to defeat her difficult situations, and henceforth move forward.
However, this may also be an extension of the binary opposition of Old and Young in the movie, again an implication of the expected conflict between her mother and herself as we see this character as a rebellious teen who has little to no regard for others, so we know through the Genre Theory that this will more than likely crop up. However, the font used also allows the poster to stand out as the background colour palette seems rather blase and mundane, Symbolically Coded for how she is emancipating herself.
The outfit is a manifestation of her surrounding constraints; she wants to be a flamboyant hip-hop dancer but is detained by the dullness and dreary ache of a British life; we know this through the emphasis on a realistic depiction of what many may refer to as a 'chav', when in reality, she is a disadvantaged young person who perhaps either can't afford the exotic equipment, or has been made to believe it's not necessary. This will resonate with a British working class audience as they may find the character's financial struggles familiar, or they may empathise due to their own upbringing. This alludes to an older audience, perhaps Mainstreamer, but an audience that can look back with their wisdow and admire the ambitiousness of youth.
It is evidential that the female on the cover is the protagonist and, in all her stereotyped glory (as highlighted by the large looped earrings), her Equilibrium (Todorov) will be her breaking away from her low-class, high-rise lifestyle that has kept her hostage thus far, though this comes with it's own set of disruptions, a series of Enigma Codes that can only be answered in the movie as she looks rather lost or out of place.
The council flats in the background (which give it a distinctly British feel) may be read as a Semantic Code for her putting her past behind her, but also how she refuses to be defined by her class status, soaring above with her ambitious dreams to be something other. Her clothing displays her as an archetypal British teen in the early 2000s, and whilst this is for an indie audience, the topics have to become tangible for that audience, so the character is conveyed as realistic and genuine through a generalisation of teenagers that 'act out'.
The poster has a cartoonish aspect about it, perhaps a contemporary anxiety about the prominence of technology within the lives of contemporary youth, but also perhaps a reflection on how the character tries to break away from the mundane to create something more exciting and fruitful.
The tagline which is small yet significant echoes the importance of class values to this movie as 'giving as good as you get' is an ignorant stereotyped ideological stance that many people have of working class people as they are often associated with arrogance and other negative traits. This, and all the previous aspects mentioned are themes prominent in the social-realism genre, which was initiated in Britain, so a lot of the dramas on indie platforms are social-realist yet familiar, again appealing to a Mainstream audience, yet simultaneously reaching an Explorer who wants to challenge themselves with these issues.
Whilst it is a rarity that main characters in indie dramas and social-realist movies are credited on the posters, especially in bold fonts, it is clear that Kate Jarvis' performance is worth the recognition, promoting the urge to see the movie; this also allows audiences to familiarise themselves with her character's identity. However, the director, as she is not well known, has been credited but in very small orange font, as if to be absorbed. This may be because this may either be her debut, or she has not had any notewrothy movies before. As the movie is marketed as 'The most honoured British film of the year', this inevitably attract audiences who want the best of the best (Aspirers) as this is clouted by mentions of awards. However, as there aren't any awards mentioned, this demonstrates how the producers felt that the story was much more important to convey than the achievements; this may also be because it appears to be a very busy poster as it is.
German Poster and DVD Cover:
The utilisation of the generally more softer colours such as the pastel pinks, blues and whites and greys, in contrast with the clothing on Mia. This contrast of a childish bedroom wall and a growing young woman alludes to the fact that the character has outgrown her comfort zone and wants to experience the wider world; this sense of escapism is not only a fulfilment of the Uses and Gratifications model, but is also a universally understood emotion. However, the scribbles on the wall allude to her unorthodox upbringing perhaps due to her lower-class, financially disadvantaged stance as though she appears to be grown up, she is still a fifteen year old in dire need of a stable family life. This personal space (though the bedroom setting and MCU) used for the poster makes the universal audience to this movie feel privelledged and allows them to engage with the character as they cannot relate to British politics of poor upbringings. This allows the audience to see the character as vulnerable, evoking sympathy for her as she is forced to develop a hard exterior to protect herself against local youths and her own mother, but if we see her in this light, we can feel a sense of autonomy over the character, aswell as the need for protection which we feel we can give.
This MCU camera angle also hones in on Mia's costume, allowing us to see her in an alternative light to the stereotyped 'chav' as global audiences may not understand this British culture, so we see her in simplistic clothing; her unconventional choice of blue conveys the ideology that she is not living the normal life of a teenager, henceforth establishing sympathy yet again as she appears not to fit in. Via this angle, we can also see the gold chain, Symbolic Code of the youth that does not coincide with her age as she appears to cherish things in ways which mindless, rebellious teens appear not to, such as longingly and contemplatively glancing out of the window; this lends her a sense of maturity as whilst her dreams seem naive, audiences will engage with the realisation that their dreams as youths were likely to not become reality.
Whilst this may imply the character's desire for emancipation, which effectively manifests the title of the movie, from her life, reality, the class-system and childhood. This gritty reality is conveyed by the exposed, yet natural lighting as it softly illuminated parts of Mia and implying that she is an innocent proudct of a cruel, raw world, untinctured by the reality of dreams being crushed as this is the only thing keeping her sane. This can also demonstrate how idillic the other version of her life is, prompting the term 'the grass is greener on the otherside' as she seems to be mature enough to realise that whilst it seems immaculately planned, it appears to be unachieveable. Again, evoking pity for Mia, the audience also feels enclosed due to the framing of the photo.
This further prompts the layout of the DVD as it has an informal structure yet still abides by the rule of thirds; Mia is placed in the third to provide more space for the writing on the wall (alluding to how obvious her dream is and how it taunts her for she cannot achieve it), this henceforth lending the title significance. It generally looks professional in the sense that it is an easily accessible read as there are clear confinements as to where certain parts of texts are allocated.
The billing block for this movie is only very small and is in blue; a billing block is a poster credit where cast and crew, including producers, distributors and financial supporters behind it are given credit by legal lines. It's purpose is in relation to contractual agreements between companies, casts and crews. However, thsize, prevelance and order is subjective to collective arguments between unions such as Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers (AMPTP). Conventionally, names in the poster credits aren't to be smaller than twenty-five percent of the title height, subsequently resulting in font that is generally tall and compressed.
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