Ideology

Johnny Depp is the king of pirates and a god on the silver screen, he has the abbility to make anyone that watches a movie with him staring in it fall in love. He is a family man and has been with his french girlfriend for 12 years and although saying they will never get married their life together is very long term. He has two kids one girl and one boy, he tries to protect them from the media and says little about them. He loves music and has played the guitar since he was 14 being in several bands and in his early teens to mid twenties went through a 'sex drugs and rock and roll' stage. He belives in equality and tries not to let his celebrity status get in the way of him spending time with his family and doing what he wants to do.

Genre as a Marketing Tool

This is a poster of the film Drag Me To Hell, it has a dark background in keeping with the genre and fog which is associated with 'mystery' and often in the horror genre has things 'lerking' in it.

The houses in the background could show this doesn't happen in the woods or anywhere secret. It would imply that it takes place in a house or estate where there are other people around, which is a different kind of horror to things like 'The Blair Which Project' where the main aspect of the film prides itself on the fear people feel being on their own in a strange place e.g. the woods.

The foreground has the main charater in it (the fact that the main charater is a woman goes against Laura Mulvey's theory). As you can see the character is screaming which would imply fear and the hands around her seem like they are either holding her against her will or, by inference of the title, 'dragging her to hell'. The fire in the foreground could represent 'the fires of hell' which is also in keeping with the title of the film.

The title is in white which is a good contast with the dark background although doesn't have much connection to the horror genre whereas 'Hide And Seek' (another horror film) has red writing which would imply blood or gore.

Scopophilia and Voyeurism

Scopophilia is where we get 'pleasure' from looking at others as it can help us to understand life in general. As a child it helps develop understanding on how the world works and how to communicate.

Voyeurism is where you can see someone without being seen yourslef, e.g through a key hole or a crack in a door. We also get enjoyment of voyeurism when watching T.V or going to the movies and watching a film as we see the charaters live their lives yet they cant see us.

Male Gaze - Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey was a feminist that realised in Hollywood women were always seen as one of two things and nothing else,
A madonna (housewife, mother, sexualy unalavible, 'pure')
or a whore (sexually avalible, 'easy', sexually objectified)
The lead in the narrative is always a male hero and he seeks the female form in one of these ways.
This theory is still widely used in most narritives.

Theory of Propp

Vladamir Propp was a Russian critic who said that most films followed the same narritive structure and similar charater stucture.
Propp said that all charaters have a funtion and purpose that is followed in almost every film.
A hero- Main focus of narrative and seeking something out
A Villain- Seeks out to oppose the hero in his mission
A Donor- Assists the hero where he can using a certain 'trade'
A Dispatcher- Sends the hero on his quest
The False Hero- Disrupts the heros success
The Helper- Aids the hero as much as he can aka Sidekick
The Princess- Reward for the hero and usally the subject of a evil plot by the villain
The Princess's Father- Rewards the hero for his assistance to helping the princess

However nowadays this theory isnt always applied to films as now adays there is the use of a female hero and some charaters are left out as they wouldnt effect the narrative of the film.

Semiotics

Roland Barthes said that verbal language is just one way to communicate, he said that alot of thigs can communicate through meanings.
There are three stages to every sign:-
The Signifier- The physical form of the sign e.g A red rose
The Signified- The consept or idea that the signifier produces e.g A red rose= Love or passion
The Referent- The real message e.g A man giving a girl a rose= I love you

Types of shots

This is a medium close up, it is used to see the persons facial expressions but also its got their sholders in the shot so you can see part of their body language.

This is a close up shot it is used to see peoples facial expressions and helps you to see what the person is feeling.

This is a low angle shot it is used to show the person as having alot of power over and being superior to other charaters and the audience.

This is a high angle shot this does the opposite to the low angle shot and gives the impression of the subject having less power and being inferior to the other charaters and audience.

This is a two shot (group more than one) normaly it can have two (or more) people in it and this helps to establish relationships between the charaters, this shot is also good for dialogue as you can see all the people talking to one another and can see their facial expressions.

This is a long shot it is used to show the whole charater and their enviroment, it usually has the whole body and some room below their feet and above their head. It is used to show body language and how the charater is interacting with their enviroment.

This is an extreme close up it is used to see one particular part of the subjects face, e.g eyes, mouth, nose. It can show in depth emotion and make the audence even more in tune with the charaters feelings.

This is an over the sholder shot, it is used to see from behind what the charater is doing and gives the audience the charaters point of view. It is mot commonly used in dialogue.

This is a medium shot, it is like a long shot but the subject has been cut off at the knee, this puts more focus on the top of the body and facial expressions but you can still see some of the background.