The Dark Knight Analysis

From the moment you look at the poster you notice the dark gloomy back-ground which over-shadows the poster. The tone of the poster connotes death and evil therefore creates a nervy feeling. You can sense the mood of the poster as you look all around and just seem to find darkness all around, for example the sky.

It is covered with dark clouds which also connote a cold side to the movie.

In the middle you see the joker facing his back towards us. You can see in his hands he holds a blade and a joker card. By his back being turned towards us it connotes a sense of mystery as we want to know what he looks like and his facial expression. At the top of the poster we see the symbol for batman which anyone would instantly recognized if noticed. The symbol is filled with pitch black but on the outside a tonal outlining of white light blends in. This is a contrast of dark and light lighting effects and could connote a binary opposition such as Life VS Death or Good VS Evil.

Another example of this type of tonal change is illustrated from the top of the poster where it is pitch black and slowly lightens downwards to the city lights which also refers to a binary opposition. On the Joker himself light and dark lighting blend together which could hint his personality as a two faced being. At the same time the darkness which shadows him could connote his role to the movie as the villain.

The title is written in white capitals spaced out so its easy to see. The text is not very big but because Batman's symbol is there we can easily recognize who it is. The shots taken of the poster itself is mysterious in a sense that a slight medium shot is used on the joker but at the same time a long shot is used on the city. By including a picture of tall landscapes, cars and lights that clearly connotes the setting of the movie which would be in the city. We aren't really able to see the facial expression of the joker as his back is turned creating a sense of mystery, however at the same time by realizing he has a knife in his hand we stereotypically assume his characteristics as a bad, dangerous individual.

In my opinion the main give-away of the genre to the audience would be the highly darkened tint and the jokers identity being hidden.