Luna I

Lorenzo Luna

ENGL 1301-115

Dr. Sharity Nelson

17 October 2023

The Deep Descent into Madness

Warner Brothers Studios released a movie poster in regards to their upcoming film

entitled The Joker on October, 4,2019. The Joker follows a man by the name of Arthur Fleck

who starts off as your average everyday man who slowly delves into insanity as his everyday life

progressively gets worse. This isn’t your typical superhero film as portrayed by the poster as it

utilizes graphic imagery, smoke, and a cold color palette whereas the average run of the mill

superhero film does the opposite, often using lighter tones and marketed as more family friendly.

This film is catered as more of a psychological thriller rather than a superhero film which can

pull in fans of both genres rather than alienating those who aren’t a part of the superhero fandom.

Right in the midst of the poster is a clown who is the absolute centerpoint of the whole

poster. What he is looking at is unknown and only half of his face is covered with the other part

hidden from the audience. While the other half of his face is covered, you can vividly see that

there is blood dripping down his chin and neck and it’s coming from that side of his head. This

stylistic choice could be trying to convey that the clown is deceiving and not always telling the

truth. The audience cannot determine if the blood is of his own, or an external source as there is

no concrete evidence where the blood is stemming from.The clothes he is wearing appears to be

retro and not of the modern day style. This could either mean the film takes place in the past or

that the clown just had a vintage aesthetic. He is not wearing a typical clown costume, but
normal clothes which establishes that this is your everyday man, but not everything is as it seems

when the audience accounts for the blood and makeup.

In addition to the centerpiece of the clown, the audience would notice the drab choice of

colors in the poster. All the colors are cold and not utilizing any warm tones. The poster has a

green hue all throughout with contrasting blues as well as dark shadows. The colors

psychologically affect the audience giving off the impression that the film is going to be gloomy

as you can associate colors with certain moods and meaning. It isn’t typically seen as appropriate

to advertise a film about dark content with bright colors and light tones as it can be blatantly

lying to the audience. Above the clown is a dark black void which abruptly cuts off the green hue

by establishing a potential growth or downfall within the character. If the color were to be

stagnant it would not work as effectively as the sudden transition to the black void that covers the

top half of the poster. The darkness adds to the possible deceitfulness as previously mentioned

about the clown which would match up perfectly with the side of the face he chooses to hide.

An element that really bathes the poster is the smoke that is seen all around. This masks

the location of the clown and the audience can assume he is the only one in the poster. There may

be a threat of some sort or another element hiding in the smoke, but that is not immediately

revealed to the audience as there is more to be revealed later. The smoke is more than likely

non-toxic as the clown seems to be unphased by it. In that case the smoke can more than likely

be heavy fog which wouldn’t provide any inconveniences for him. Fog is typically seen as eerie

with people often receiving an unusual aura from it, but the clown does not seem to mind it

which goes against the norm as people tend to be cautious of it. Evidently the fog suppresses the

poster together in a thick blanket, but the clown seems to be enjoying it rather than hindering him

like the average person.

 Overall the film poster produces a moody and even depressing tone with the elements

such as the clown, colors, smoke, and overall aura. The average moviegoer can walk in knowing

what to expect and in return can appreciate the media as well as the marketing that helped get

them in the doors in the first place. The film is marketed as a psychological thriller using a very

popular IP to help bring in comic fans and those who already love the genre and want to seek a

thrill. The use of the clown, colors, tones, and the fog all package the poster in a nice presentable

way to showcase what the film entails.

 Appendix

Figure 1. “The Joker Double Sided Movie Poster presented by Warner Brothers Studios [Movie

Studio] October 4, 2019”

 Works Cited

“Movie Poster JOKER 2 SIDED Original Advance 27x40 ROBERT DE NIRO JOAQUIN

PHOENIX” 2019

https://www.amazon.com/POSTER-ORIGINAL-Advance-JOAQUIN-PHOENIX/dp/B07SS5DC

WG. Accessed on October 22, 2023