AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland
An Evaluation (also called a Critique) evaluates the worth or significance of an object of study (Nesi & Gardner, 2012, p.94). This requires an understanding of the object and a set of criteria by which to evaluate it. Objects evaluated can include books, films, articles, performances, theories, techniques, designs, businesses, products, materials, cultural artefacts etc.
Title: Evaluation of the film poster: The Silence of the Lambs
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Copyright: Tracy Solea
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Description: This assignment involves a critical analysis of a 'found' text (its location may vary from a magazine, book, comic or newspaper, a public, domestic or work space, to a digital site or device, while the text may be an image-text, an instruction, a form, a design, diagram, logo, road-sign, text-message, Instagram or other). Identify signifying elements in text/object, explain how they interpretable (knowledge needed to make sense of it), who the reader-viewer is likely to be, their experience of text. Combine elements of description (of the text-object), analysis of its signifying elements, and evaluation of its effect.
Warning: This paper cannot be copied and used in your own assignment; this is plagiarism. Copied sections will be identified by Turnitin and penalties will apply. Please refer to the University's Academic Integrity resource and policies on Academic Integrity and Copyright.
Evaluation of the film poster: The Silence of the Lambs
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In order for us to interpret texts, we must be able to recognise signifying elements at work within the text. The film poster for The Silence of the Lambs contains signifying elements that allow us to interpret what the text is telling us. The major signifiers include an image of a face with a moth coming out of the mouth, a skull, and the name of the film and cast with details about the film in small print at the bottom. One of the signifying elements is the use of colour. The only colours in the text are shades of red and yellow contrasted against black, white and grey colours. This places importance upon the items of colour. These items are the eyes, the moth, and the title of the movie. The red eyes symbolise elements of horror, eluding to the genre of the film. They also have a greater symbolic meaning behind them in relation to the actual story of The Silence of the Lambs, as the main character, Hannibal Lecter, has red eyes. Using red eyes in the image symbolises an important aspect from the story itself. The colours on the moth are used to bring out the bright white of the skull. The skull is another element of horror. The moth is also an image taken from the novel. Readers of the novel will be more informed about the significance of the moth as opposed to people who have no knowledge about the novel. The title is in colour because it is one of the most important aspects of a film, and so it must stand out. The orthographical conventions of the poster are noticeable, as all the writing in the text is written in lowercase. This can be seen as a glitch, as it breaks the rules of orthography. We are able to recognise that this is a film poster due to our prior knowledge of film. We can view the title along with the names of the cast and the small print containing information about the film and recognise these as elements of a film advertisement. We gain this prior knowledge from our exposure and involvement in film culture. Our involvement in a world of media and cinema has given us the knowledge as to what film advertisements look like. This allows us to be able to recognise the distinguishing features within the text that portray it as a film poster. Viewers of this text who are also readers of the novel will be more knowledgeable about its content and be able to make more sense of the poster as opposed to viewers who have not read the book. They will be able to recognise specific images from the book being portrayed through the poster, such as the eyes and the moth. This type of text is intended to persuade people to see the movie that is being advertised. The use of colour and horror-related images makes the poster look scary and enticing. While the poster is trying to persuade people to see the film, it also appeals to fans of the book, as elements from the book have been incorporated into the film poster. |
