10 C: LEGO POSTERS: GENRE CODES

Exam question: Analyse how genre codes have been used in The Lego Movie poster campaign to appeal to a family audience. (10 marks) Write the equivalent of a page and a half A4 in the exam. This is a major question.

Here are the posters which you should open. In class, we analysed the ensemble poster but not the others, which you need to look at before you start. For example, you would identify why Wyldstyle might appeal to a female audience.

1 The main poster featuring an ensemble cast, running from danger
(http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver9.html)
2 Character poster of Vitruvius in close-up
(http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver3.html) case The Lego Movie set posters.

Q9 is an analysis (AO2.1) question on advertising and marketing. In this

3 Character poster of Emmet in close-up
(http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver8.html)
4 Character poster of Lord Business in close-up
(http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver5.html)

5 Character poster of Wyldstyle in close-up

(http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver7.html) 

In the live examination the images would be reproduced in print. For copyright reasons links are provided here.

© OCR 2017

To help you answer:

Use the conventions, putting the most important first:

1.      Movie title: what can you say about how it looks and how prominent it is in the ensemble poster? In the individual posters, famous actors are identified by name (e.g. Chris Pratt is Emmet) in the individual posters. Name them all and say why.

2.      Tagline: how does it address the audience?

3.      Central image: who is in the poster? Are they familiar, much-loved figures?

4.       Comedy? Emmet is an ‘everyman’ figure (like me or you, the family audience) who is central: the movie positions him (and therefore us the audience) at the centre of the action. The audience may admire the superheroes but they are secondary to the central figure of Emmet. How does the image illustrate the tagline? Does the movie promise humour through parody?

5.      As you go, explain how each convention uses visual codes that attract and address its family audience

6.      Key importance is the familiarity of LEGO: how is this seen? Pick out all the Lego in the poster. Are the environment and characters  completely made of Lego bricks and minifigures (minifigs).
Does the use of Lego tap into nostalgia for parents? Does it promise the chance to be at the centre of your own adventure through identification with Emmet for younger audiences? Does the movie poster promise a shared experience for families?

7.      In class, we revised the terms relating to action adventure movies: spectacle, combat and conflict, heroes / villains. As this is an Action Adventure movie, what do the visuals promise audiences? That is, what makes the movie look exciting? 

 8.       Is it family friendly? Does it use a cartoonish graphics style? Does the poster link to the video game by suggesting the gaming environment, an appeal for younger audiences?  Do the Lego characters  create an aspect of familiarity and nostalgia for the parents who want to share the Lego experience with their children? 
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