The image above was taken from a movie poster advertisement for the 2008 film, Iron Man, which is based off of the Marvel comic books. According to IMDb, this movie ranks in the #13 spot under the category of the Best Superhero Movies as of 2020.
Let’s look at the poster as an advertisement, without any backstory at all, using the Goffmanian Analysis:
- Relative Size = The only female character on this film poster, Pepper Potts, is much smaller than the other characters. It could be the fact that more of her upper body is shown, whereas the male characters are only shown from the shoulders up; this is an issue in and of itself. This especially emphasizes that women are valued for their body parts, such as their hips and chests. Her size also matters in this case, because it only strengthens the audience’s expectations that the men are always portrayed as bigger than the women, and are therefore more important.
- Feminine Touch = Pepper’s character’s hand positioning is essential to analyzing this film poster. The way her hand is poised on her hip, suggests femininity, as it’s not common to see a man stand in a similar way.
- Function Ranking = This particular point of analysis comes into play in the way the men are dressed compared to the way the only woman is dressed. It’s not completely clear whether she’s wearing a dress/skirt or a shirt and pants, but it is obvious that she is in more of a casual outfit than the men. All of the male characters are either wearing some sort of armor, or they are in fancy suits and ties. This suggests a higher status falls on the men, and the woman is there for other reasons.
Shared by: Maddie Glosny
Image Credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Vxs2tSNHL._AC_.jpg
