"Here's Johnny!"

The Shining Poster Analysis

When analysing the poster for The Shining, I noticed a few details which cleverly hint at the story line and other such details.

 

We can easily determine who's the 'goodie' and who's the 'baddie' from this poster. Quite obviously, the man on the left is the antagonist and the woman on the left is the victim. However, there are more aspects of the poster that, in a more subtle manner, show that he's chasing her.

For example, his eyeline is directly level with the women's face, which shows he's in persuit of her and this idea is further reinforced by the fact that he's on the left and she's on the right. This film was aimed at people in the Western World, where we read from left to right, so; due to the direction in which our eyes travel in conjunction with the placement of the characters, the poster seems more animated- he's chasing her.



 

Furthermore, we gleen that he's the 'baddie' due to the lighting he's placed in. The background is dark and has a hint of red, suggesting he has evil, violent intentions. In contrast, we connote that the woman is the heroine because the side of the poster where she's situated is light. Plus, only the man's face is in view whereas we see the whole body of the woman-and she's pressed against the wall. This heavily signifies that he has the intention to move forward and she's moving away... rather hastily I'd imagine.

 Another thing that shows the woman is, obviously, on the recieving end of the violence is the fact that her weapon is loosely held by her side, and is not in use. She appears to be very inexperienced holding the knife and it's not raised atall.

Also, the rule of thirds is used within this poster.

My grid isn't brilliant, but his face is on hot spot number one and hers is hot spot number two and the axe crosses over the centre to the side nearest the woman which shows the motion of the weapon.

 

 

And finally, very obviously, their facial expessions say a lot about the situation and the general plot of the film. The way he's baring his teeth compares him to an animal and creates the impression he's the hunter chasing his prey.