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.
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