The image above was taken from a movie poster advertisement for the 2012 film, The Dark Knight Rises, which is categorized under the DC umbrella. According to IMDb, this movie ranks in the # 3 spot under the category of the Best Superhero Movies as of 2020.
Using the Goffmanian Analysis to analyze this poster will prove to be practically impossible. As with the Spider-Man (2002) and Logan (2017) film posters, it is discouraging to see that there is only one character on this official film poster, and that it is a male. Knowing that this movie is centered around Batman’s character makes it a little easier to understand why there are zero females on the poster; however, it implies that the female character/s is/are not as important.
After some research, I found that a handful of alternate movie posters for this film contain other prominent characters such as Bane and Catwoman. As for this particular poster, we seem to have hit a roadblock in regard to female representation.
We cannot analyze this poster in regard to relative size, feminine touch, function ranking, the family, ritualization of subordination or licensed withdrawal, as there is an absence of female characters. We can, however, identify this poster is stereotypical of male characters in that Batman is decked out in his suit, which gives him a higher status than that of an average man without special skills.
Shared by: Maddie Glosny
Image Credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71jzMH-kHQL._AC_SY679_.jpg
