The image above was taken from a movie poster advertisement for the 2012 film, The Avengers, which is based off of a number of Marvel comic book characters. According to IMDb, this movie ranks in the #10 spot under the category of the Best Superhero Movies as of 2020. 

In order to analyze this poster, we must take away any prior knowledge/backstory and view the poster as just that. Below, the Goffmanian Analysis will be used to analyze the poster: 

  1. Relative Size = Again, there is a consistent lack of female representation in film posters. Here, there is only one female character, Black Widow, compared to the six male characters. Not only is female presence scarce, Black Widow is also portrayed as much smaller than the other characters. These male characters all seem to be standing on higher ground than Black Widow’s character. It’s almost as if she’s standing on a part of the concrete that has a slight decline. This seems to have been intentional to place more of the power on the males’ shoulders. 
  2. Licensed Withdrawal = This is a unique situation in that Black Widow’s character is situated into what could be classified as a power stance. While she’s looking away from the camera, her gaze is still fierce; technically, the Goffmanian Analysis would consider this gazing away from the camera to be a sense of inactivity. Therefore, Black Widow’s character, while somewhat fierce on this poster, appears to invite audiences to look at her body rather than her eyes and face.

Shared by: Maddie Glosny
Image Credit: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNDYxNjQyMjAtNTdiOS00NGYwLWFmNTAtNThmYjU5ZGI2YTI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_.jpg