This week I invite my students to go to the movies with me. 

I mean, we are not going to watch anything on the big (or small) screen, but we are going to download movie posters to help us develop our visual analysis skills.   Everybody loves their movies.   Visual Analysis is an important academic skill – I will ask students  to break down and analyze the ideas and details featured in their posters – 300 words.  

Jay’s Note:  I’ve never seen Mean Girls, but I’ve heard great things about Lindsay Lohan’s skills as an actor.  Mostly from my students.  It’s TRUE.  From the reviews I’ve read, Lindsay was supposed to be AWESOME in this movie.  In a previous class, I became  interested in Lindsay because I was teaching the Compare and Contrast essay. 

I thought it would be cool to compare Lindsay’s life to Marilyn Monroe’s.  Both actors apparently suffered from bipolar disorder.  They self-medicated.  Marilyn died of a drug overdose at age 37. At the time I wrote about Lindsay, her personal problems were beginning to blacken out her brilliance on screen. We saw her more on court TV and other scandal shows than we saw her on the big screen. Sadly, we really didn’t know what was going on with Marilyn behind the scenes.  She lived her life before the invention of the internet and social media.  Her death is still a mystery to us all.  With Lindsay, however, we found out  way too much about her.  She did a lot of BLOW (Cocaine!)  Her problems were not really a mystery to anyone.

One of my students has already told me she is going to write about Eminem in the movie poster for 8 Mile. When I ask her what she sees in the poster, she says, “I see TWO sides to EMINEM.”  This is what I see:  A street punk wearing a lot of BLACK.  My student acknowledges the fashion choice, but she also sees VULNERABILITY in what little she could see of his face. That sounds pretty good to me.  I suggested she describe the clothes.  They seem to be dominant in this image.  Once she’s done with Eminem’s exterior, she could share interpretation for his inner thoughts.

Jay’s Tip:

If I had to explain in detail the 8 Mile movie poster, at first, I wouldn’t know what to write.  I don’t know anything about Eminem.  I haven’t seen the movie.  I don’t listen to his songs.  But I know the expression, “Clothing Makes the Man.”  Here is what I found out about the phrase on the internet: “The phrase “clothing makes the man” means that clothing influences how people perceive and judge an individual’s status and character.  I think especially today, as we are BOMBARDED by images on social media.  People seem to pay more attention to how they look than who they are.   Image is everything. Sadly, it character that lags sadly behind.  From the poster, Eminem looked like a punk to me.  My student told me “Oh No!”  She had other things to say.  THAT’S THE POINT OF THE ASSIGNMENT.

OK. Wait! So, what is Eminem writing on his hand? Does this image provide any secret insight to what his character is about? What does this slogan mean? “Every moment is another chance.” What type of MESSAGE is this poster trying to convey? I think this particular student will have FUN writing about Eminem. And to my surprise, I just might have as much FUN reading about him.

In my Canvas instructions I provide a brief outine for success.  This is all I ask:

1. SUMMARIZE the overall idea  of the image – WHAT’S GOING ON? – I mean we already know how to identify the most important ideas in a research article.  We can do pretty much the same with an image.  Like, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, HOW, WHEN, WHY?
2. DESCRIBE THE PARTS. Identify the visual elements that make up the entire composition. Consider the identifiable objects in the piece (such as buildings, shapes, icons, people, and so forth) as well as more abstract visual elements, like colors, textures, typefaces, organizational layout, groupings, patterns, and so forth 
3. WHAT CATCHES YOUR EYE?3. EXPLAIN HOW THE PARTS RELATE TO THE WHOLE. Look at the items in the visual holistically; that is to say, see how all of the combined elements together make for interesting meanings. How do the colors, buildings, shapes, locations, and so forth combine to make for an interesting communication and reading?
4. MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS OF YOUR IMAGE. Is this a PERSONAL image? – Can you share your secret knowledge with the rest of us.  Can you pick out ONE PART that will provide special meaning
5. CONCLUDE WITH A STRONG ANALYSIS – Now that you’ve described the many pieces of the visual, you’re in position to make interesting claims about the visual as an entire composition. Provide an analysis that gives insight into what the painting may be trying to portray – WHAT’S THE  MESSAGE – WHAT DO YOU THINK?

A WORD TO MY STUDENTS:  Here are some basic instructions.  They may prove HELPFUL.  You tell us what YOU see in the poster.  Hopefully, you can tell us what we DON’T see!  This is all I ask:

1. Discuss the basic elements of your image: picture, captions, description, colors, shapes.

2. What visual element grabs your attention first. What seems to be most important?

3. What’s the message?

4. What is being shown, and what I being left out.

5. Do the facial expressions tell you anything. What is on the mind(s) of the person in the photo. How can you tell.

6. What emotions are involved? For the people in the image. For the people seeing this image for the first time.

7. What type of event(s) led up to the shooting of the picture. Like how or why was this picture taken. What is going on in this world. What do you think is going to happen afterwards.

In my Classroom/Zoom workshops, I modelled my own step-by-step process. Like, “What Would Jay Do?“

• What is the first thing I see?

The first thing I noticed about this poster is Lindsay is separated from the other girls.  She is standing to the left.  Her feet are pointed away from the girls. She has her back to them.  She looks about the same age, but she dresses differenty.  Her hair looks kind of wild, while the hair of the other girls looks straighter and/or more carefully managed. Lindsay is wearing a RED SWEATER and PANTS and the girls are dressed in matching outfits: PINK TOPS and SHORT SKIRTS.  From the look of their faces, I see a problem here.  I sense TENSION in the AIR. I don’t think the girls like anyone looing different than they do.  They are not going to like anyone standing out and/or taking attention away from them. 

• This is the second thing I saw.  I mean, I went back.

Lindsay is looking over her shoulder.  I mean, this is what people do when they are not really sure of what is going on behind them.  She doesn’t seem to trust them, and I can tell why.  There is nothing friendly from the expressions these girls have on their faces.  The girls – I’m calling them the “girls” because I haven’t seen the movie and I don’t know who they are – are standing close together as a group.  like they are unified in their cause.  They have their hands on their hips looking  at Lindsay in an intimidating sort of way.  Their eyes seem to say, “Who the BLEEP do you think you are?” They come off as bullies.  Or their is another B-word I can t hink of.    Lindsay is all alone. She doesn’t know what to say or do. 

• The Movie Poster Slogan looks important

The words “WATCH YOUR BACK” appear in a larger font than the words, “LINDSAY LOHAN.”  This means to me, Lindsay may be the star of the film, but if she is not careful, she is going to get her ass kicked.   It’s been a while, but I remember my high school days.  There were more than enough bullies on campus that I had to watch out for. 

This is what I plan to POST on our MOVIE POSTER ANALYSIS class discussion board:

The first thing I noticed about this poster is Lindsay is separated from the other girls.  She is standing to the left.  Her feet are pointed away from the girls. She has her back to them.  She looks about the same age, but she dresses differenty.  Her hair looks kind of wild, while the hair of the other girls looks straighter and/or more carefully managed. Lindsay is wearing a RED SWEATER and PANTS and the girls are dressed in matching outfits: PINK TOPS and SHORT SKIRTS.  From the look of their faces, I see a problem here.  I sense TENSION in the AIR. I don’t think the girls like anyone looing different than they do.  They are not going to like anyone standing out and/or taking attention away from them. 

Lindsay is looking over her shoulder.  I mean, this is what people do when they are not really sure of what is going on behind them.  She doesn’t seem to trust them, and I can tell why.  There is nothing friendly from the expressions these girls have on their faces.  The girls – I’m calling them the “girls” because I haven’t seen the movie and I don’t know who they are – are standing close together as a group.  like they are unified in their cause.  They have their hands on their hips looking  at Lindsay in an intimidating sort of way.  Their eyes seem to say, “Who the BLEEP do you think you are?” They come off as bullies.  Or their is another B-word I can t hink of.    Lindsay is all alone. She doesn’t know what to say or do. 

The words “WATCH YOUR BACK” appear in a larger font than the words, “LINDSAY LOHAN.”  This means to me, Lindsay may be the star of the film, but if she is not careful, she is going to get her ass kicked.   It’s been a while, but I remember my high school days.  There were more than enough bullies on campus that I had to watch out for.