Poster Analysis

The genre of the film is expressed through the tag line which is “the longest journey begins with a single step.” From this, I am given the impression that the film is about a person who must overcome their hardships in order to move forward which is typical of a dramatic film. The image on the poster is of Precious who is the main character in the film and she is shown walking forward which demonstrates the tag line. Based on her facial expression, she’s upset and is most likely finding it hard to move on from her past.

On the poster, the unique selling points are the actors. This includes “Mo’nique, Mariah Carey, and Lenny Kravitz” who are all well-known individuals capable of attracting an audience. Another unique selling point is the critical acclaim that has been positioned on the left hand side of the poster. Four have been used and this is to show a potential audience positive feedback on the film as a means of drawing them in.

Fonts have been used to make specific words standout such as the title of the film which is in a large font and the actors’ names which have been capitalised. This is to draw attention to them as they are key things that may attract an audience.

The poster appeals to the films target audience who are most likely aged between 16 and 24. The background of the poster is of a school building and so members of the audience who are in/have been in education may see this as something they can relate to.

Film Reviews

1. This review was written by Time Out magazine with the film ‘Precious’ as its subject. Language has been used to describe to a potential audience what the film is about without revealing any spoilers. The review has been written in a formal tone but contains some colloquial language that has been quoted from the film. A range of adjectives have been used throughout the text to make it appear more interesting and for it to be a good read. The review begins with a euphemism “if there was a gold statuette for wall-to-wall compassion, ‘Precious’ would wipe the floor with its rivals this awards season.” This type of sentence is likely to interest a reader to continue reading the review as well as to watch the film because it’s begun with a positive opinion. The first paragraph is about the films history and storyline and the second paragraph describes moments from the film that are both interesting and shocking. A personal opinion is always put forward by the writer which may lead a reader to believe and trust the writer’s judgement. The unique selling point being the actors in the film has also been mentioned in the text which is one of the things that the reviewer focuses on and this may be because it’s one of the films main attractions.

2. The subject on review is the film ‘Precious’ which has been constructed by Film 4. The review begins with some history about the film similar to the first review and then goes onto explain the storyline in more detail. This review is formal and focuses mostly on the cast as well as the films adaptation. This review also consists of personal opinions but aren’t as positive as the previous ones. The first and second paragraph mentions the films background and ends with a positive opinion from the writer saying that it is a good film. The third and fourth paragraph explains the plot of the film and also mentions the unique selling point of the actors but takes a focus on Mo’Nique. This review consists of a lot of personal opinion that have been listed in the fifth and sixth paragraphs and ends with an overall verdict of the film which is also positive.

3. This Review was constructed by Empire magazine and it includes information about the plot of the film as well as a verdict. This review is shorter than the other ones that I have analysed as it focuses directly on the main areas of the film such as where it was adapted from, the producers, the cast and the crew. The first paragraph consists of the film’s history which seems to be a common feature in reviews. The fact that the film was adapted from a novel is something that’s constantly mentioned in every review and this might be because it’s an important factor in the films production. A number of adjectives have been included and this is expected of a review as they are used to best describe elements of the film. The unique selling point being the actors in the film are also mentioned (Mo’Nique, Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey) as they were in the previous reviews.

Textual Analysis - Sabrina Danquah

The title of the film that I have chosen to analyse is called ‘Precious’ and it was released in 2009. Lee Daniels was the director and both Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry produced. The film was based on a novel called ‘Push’ by Sapphire which provided the genre of drama. Precious tells the story of an illiterate 16 year old girl growing up in the ghetto of Harlem set in 1987 who’s forced to deal with mental and physical abuse from both of her parents.

According to a theorist named Todorov, every film follows the same structure which he named as ‘the equilibrium model.’ This consists of three main features which are the equilibrium, the disruption and the new equilibrium. Precious is no exception to this rule as the equilibrium occurs in the first scene where she is at school in her favourite lesson and is followed by the disruption which takes place when she is called into the principal’s office and suspended. Lastly the new equilibrium occurs when Precious is reunited with her children.

An anthropologist named Levi-Straus discovered the term ‘binary oppositions’ which refers to opposite concepts being shown alongside each other for example light and dark and hot or cold. This was a concept regularly used during Precious as she often daydreamed of a life opposite to her own where she would wear prom dresses but in reality wore baggy tops and jeans.

The lead character (Precious) who was played by Gabourey Sidibe lived a life of upset which is typical of the social drama genre. Conventions of this genre include: the use of unknown actors as this can make a film look more realistic, lower/working social class because stereotypically it seems that they suffer from more hardships than other classes, the location of the film which is usually on a council estate or in a run-down area and regarding target audience, it is mostly a younger audience that the film makers aim to attract. This is done by the characters in the film being young themselves so that the target audience can relate to them. All of these conventions were found in Precious as this was the actress’s first main role, her family were lower class, she lived in the ghetto of Harlem and was aged 16.

Being illiterate, Precious was limited in her way of speaking until she joined a new teaching programme. Not being well-spoken is often a stereotype associated with people growing up in less economically developed areas such as the Harlem. Often her facial expressions and body language show that she is hurting inside and this is because of the constant look of upset on her face and in her eyes. Her body language translates the idea that she is keeping a dark secret as she often stands hunched with her arms by her side which resembles being scared to open up.

The way Precious behaves is stereotypical of her social class and this is because she’s shown to behave in a negative way such as being aggressive towards a student in her maths lesson and stealing food from a chicken shop. Her family also pretend to live with Precious’s first child so that they can receive money from the welfare which implies that lower class families are lazy and cannot support themselves without money from the government.

The costumes that she wears are extremely casual and build on the idea of her being lower class as it doesn’t seem that she owns any expensive items or is able to buy new clothes regularly. Her hair and make-up is done in a way that gives off the impression that she doesn’t care about her appearance and this makes her come across as rough, making her look like a representative of her poor surroundings.

The way in which class has been represented is quite negative and this is because of the costumes, behaviour, facial expressions and body language of the characters. Lower class citizens have been made to look aggressive and uneducated which is an unfortunate representation of them as they are not all like this.

Sound, cinematography, editing and mise en scene are somewhat typical of the genre as they all contribute towards creating the scenes in a way that expresses their meaning. Non diegetic voiceovers are used continuously throughout the film and are spoken by Precious. The first voiceover is used at the beginning of the film where Precious introduces herself and sets the scene “My name’s Claireece Precious Jones, I wish I had a light skinned boyfriend with real nice hair” She then goes on to explain what she wants achieve in life and this includes being on the cover of a magazine and being in music videos. The use of the main character voiceover is to allow the audience to connect with the character on a personal level. It creates a sense of realness as her inner thoughts are shared.

The majority of editing consists of straight cuts to enforce continuity and this is typical of social realism as it’s important for an authentic look to be expressed. Match cuts are also used to show the transition between key moments in the film. The first match cut was used when Precious’s mother threw a book at her and as she fell it cut to her falling onto her bed where her father sexually abused her. The use of a match cut here was to show that both of her parents are as bad as each other. Another example is where Precious imagined being famous and it began to rain, then cut to reality where her mum was pouring water on her face to wake her out of consciousness.