CTEC Digital Media Lesson 6: Black Panther Poster

Black Panther Poster

​WOTL: Advertisement

​Media advertisement is any form of promotional material designed to change a target audience's behaviour.

The target audience are those demographics that need to be convinced to comply with whatever the advertisement is promoting. Therefore, advertisements are not aimed at an already exist consumer.
This can be done for either commercial (i.e. to sell a product), ideological (i.e. to change how or what people audience think) or recruitment (i.e. to have the audience join an organisation) purposes.

Lesson Objectives

​1) Retrieval
2) Black Panther Poster
4) Application

Retrieval

Match

Match the following

• Semiotics

• Semiotics Codes

• Structuralism

• Narrative

• Genre

Analysing signs

Categorising signs

Analysing underlying similarities

Re-telling of events over time

Categorising texts by shared content

• Analysing signs

• Categorising signs

• Analysing underlying similarities

• Re-telling of events over time

• Categorising texts by shared content

Match

Match the following

• Signifier

• Signified

• Denotation

• Connotation

The observable aspects of a sign

The abstract concept that the sign refer

The literal meaning to an audience

The deeper meaning to an audience

• The observable aspects of a sign

• The abstract concept that the sign refer

• The literal meaning to an audience

• The deeper meaning to an audience

Match

Match the following

• Semantic Codes

• Symbolic Code

• Cultural Code

• Action Code

• Enigma Code

Connotations

Ideologies and Organisations

References

Suspense and future activity

Mysteries

• Connotations

• Ideologies and Organisations

• References

• Suspense and future activity

• Mysteries

Categorize

Options (8)

Linear

Non-Linear

Circular

Character

Setting

Theme

Props

Plot

Organize these options into the right categories

Narrative

Genre

Categorize

Options (7)

Todorov

Propp

Altman

Neale

Barthes

de Saussure

Levi Strauss

Organize these options into the right categories

Narrative

Genre

Semiotics

Structuralism

Match

Match the following

• de Saussure

• Barthes

• Levi Strauss

Semiotics

Semiotic Codes

Structuralism

• Semiotics

• Semiotic Codes

• Structuralism

Categorize

Options (11)

Semiotics

Signifier

Signified

Semiotic Codes

Semantic Codes

Cultural Codes

Action Codes

Enigma Codes

Symbolic Codes

Structuralism

Binary Opposition

Organize these options into the right categories

de Saussure

Barthes

Levi Strauss

Match

Match the following

• Todorov

• Propp

• Neale

• Altman

Narratology

Character Archetypes

Genre Expectations

Genre Pleasures

• Narratology

• Character Archetypes

• Genre Expectations

• Genre Pleasures

Categorize

Options (17)

Equilibrium

Disruption

Recognition

Repair

New Equilibrium

Hero

Villain

Princess/Prize

Donor

Helper

Dispatcher

False Hero

Emotional

Visceral

Intellectual

Similarities

Differences

Organize these options into the right categories

Todorov

Propp

Altman

Neale

Lesson Objectives

​1) Retrieval
2) Black Panther Poster Analysis
4) Application

Black Panther Poster

​Write a short analysis of the Black Panther poster using any of the theories and/or knowledge you have learn in the last two weeks.

Product Context

​Black Panther is the 17th film in the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’, the highest-grossing film franchise in history. It was directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed) and released in February 2018.

​Media Franchise:
A series of products that come under a singular title or brand

Synopsis

The film shows us the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda, which has avoided European colonisation and achieved a technological superiority through the use of a mineral called Vibranium. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must fight a number of foes who oppose him becoming king after the death of his father.

Product History

Black Panther (T’Challa) first appeared in Fantastic Four #62, released July 1966.

The film was produced by Marvel Studios, a famous comic book brand that is also a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company

Introduction

Black Panther is a film directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman. The film is based on the 1960s comics and is the 17^th instalment of the successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise. The film is about the eponymous Black Panther who has recently be crowned king and the trials and tribulation he must face when external powers threaten his kingdom. This analysis will be focusing on one of the poster used to promote the film.

A good introduction will:
1) provide a summary of the product's context
2) a brief synopsis of its narrative
3) identify what specifically will be analysed

Title

​Title: The film's title is usually the most prominent feature on the poster. 

Analysis:  The Black Panther title is the biggest text on the poster, attracting audience's attention. A semiotic reading would tell us that this denotes its importance. However, it is at the bottom of the page subordinating it to the imagery. This might be because the character/title is not the biggest selling point compared to the imagery. The title itself conveys both narrative and genre information. Narratively, Propp would argue the title is archetypical as it names the eponymous protagonist. Conversely, Neale's would observe that the title also alludes to a superhero pseudonym, which is a genre convention of the superhero.

Actors

​Actors: The names of the main actors in the film

Analysis:  There are multiple actors listed at the top of the poster, signifying a large ensemble cast. Normally the main star would get top billing and, though Chadwick Boseman is first listed, the cover space does not confer any greater prominence. From a structuralist point of view, this would mean the distributors felt that either Boseman lacked the required star power to justify him being a significant marketing focus, or that the ensemble cast would appeal to a broader audience demographic. From a narrative perspective, the large ensemble cast translates to a equally large group of character. Audience can therefore expect a majority of Propp's character archetype to feature.

Production Logo

​Production Company: The logo of the film studio

Analysis:  The Marvel Logo is placed directly above the film's title. This tells us three things about the poster's promotional objectives. First: Levi-Strauss would observe that the studio logo is replaces the director's credit meaning that Marvel is a larger selling point than Ryan Coogler (a studio versus director binary opposition), despite him having a pre-sold audience from his previous successful films (Creed). Second: according to Barthes, the logo is a cultural code for the Marvel Cinematics Universe (MCU), meaning that audiences who have been following the franchise are a primary audience for this new instalment - they are a pre-sold audience.
Third: Barthes would further argue that Marvel Studios is also a symbolic code for a particular subgenre of superhero. This has both narrative and genre implications as its creates a expectation of what 'type' of film audience's can expect.

Tag Line

​Tag line: Short phrase or review quote to further 'sell the film'

Analysis:  The tag line for the poster is the idiom, 'long live the king', which de Saussure would identify as having multiple different signifiers. First, the phrase is itself is a signifier for the recent crowning of a new king. It is a phrase that is therefore linked heavily to threats to royalty that creates a narrative expectation for audiences familiar with the phrase. Barthes would go further an say that the tag line is also cultural code, not just because its idiomatic links, but is also a reference to another Disney property, 'The Lion King'. This reference creates further narrative expectations as audiences now will now consider the possibility of the King being betrayed or otherwise attacked by a close family member, like a brother. Finally, the phrase itself is non-specific to any character and can therefore act as an enigma code for audience not familiar with its cultural or semantic significance - 'who is the King?'

Imagery

​Imagery: The visual element of the poster

Analysis:  The imagery helps anchor the meaning of the elements of the poster. For example, the large central placement of Boseman means that audiences can easily identify the actor as both the 'Black Panther' of the title and the 'long live the king' tag line. Similarly, though the remaining cast may not be readily linked to other actors to audience's unfamiliar with them, their placement follows both Propp's and Levi-Strauss' structuralist theories. Propp argues that the second most important character archetype is the villain as they are the one who actively causes narrative actions through their obstruction of the heroes quest. Similarly, Levi-Strauss argues that narratives are structured around a central binary opposition, the hero and villains innately conflict with each other. Applying both these theories to poster helps us identify the film's villain as Michael B. Jordan/Killmonger. This is because the character is the second most prominent of the page (Propp) and is armed with two blades, unlike the unarmed Boseman/Black Panther (Levi-Strass).

Lesson Objectives

​1) Retrieval
2) Black Panther Poster Analysis
4) Application

Application

Plenary

​Re-write your analysis. The below are example questions to help frame your analysis:

1) Explore how narrative is used to engage an audience. Refer to a product you have studies [12 marks]

2) Explain the role of genre in a media product your have studied [12 marks]

3) Discuss to importance of denotation and connotation to the understanding of a media product [12 marks]

Success Criteria:
1) 3x paragraph
2) 4x Different discussions
3) 4x specific examples
4) 2x use of theory/theorists
5) Correct Spelling and Grammar