A Beautiful Mind” DVD Cover Analysis

The main image denotes a close-up shot of Russell Crowe, and this is effective because it shows the audience the characters emotion, which seems confused and engaged in something that he isn’t familiar with. What the character is wearing is unclear because of the dark background that engulfs the image apart from low-key lighting coming from behind the blind that the character is peering through. This suggests that the character could be the light to the dark for other characters in the films and he could also be a man searching for the light from his dark soul. This links to the genre of the film which is drama, because it could suggest that he is facing a time of tragedy and is searching for some light at the end of the tunnel. The use of dark colours connotes that the storyline of the film is quite negative and this specific character could be the one who needs to save everyone else, as he is the only light that is seen in the image.

 The light in the image is limited. The use of low-key lighting is effective because it suggests that this character is a man with a dark soul, whom is searching for the hope and light that he needs. The props, such as the blinds suggest that the man us shut off from the rest of the world as he is in ad dark place, but he only sees the rest of the world when he tries to regain his strength again. The character is positioned in the composition of the rule of thirds. He is slightly over to the right hand side of the frame and is looking out a blind that is located to the left hand side of the frame. This connotes that the character is distanced from the rest of the world and he is trying to reconnect with them in small steps. His facial expression is confused and engaged in the setting outside of the frame, telling the audience that he may feel depressed about the way he has to live his life, and he is admiring the lives of others beyond the blind that he is peering out of. His body language is tense, and this may communicate that they’re feeling depressed and agitated about what it is that they are looking at beyond that window. 

The anchorage text is presented in an ordinary style, connoting that the character is unordinary in comparison to the other people. The use of the neutral colours on the DVD cover connotes the difference between the other characters in this film and the character shown in the main image. It also shows that he is the light in the dark in the eyes of other characters. The text is ordinary but is a large style to catch the eye of the audience, which is effective because it helps to draw them in and intrigue the audience. On the spine of the DVD cover, we can see a very plain spine which only shows the name of the film and an intriguing image of the main character, which is effective because it helps them to begin to wonder what is going to happen and makes them want to watch the film. The tagline “A Beautiful Mystery” is effective because it enables the audience to build ideas in their mind of what may happen and helps them to watch it and stay gripped looking for a plot twist as this quote suggests. The DVD will appeal to young adults as it is a dramatic and romantic film, which would intrigue young adults from both genders. The message given about the way men should act and look is given as it shows them wearing suits and being more dominant to women, whereas there is no women shown on the cover, proving the theory even more that women are inferior to men in the media. Young people are portrayed negatively as it shows that the media is stereotype how different genders should live their lives, controlling what they feel are the norms of society. 

This DVD cover represents gender by showing the male as the main feature of the film, which connotes that he is portrayed as more important than any other female characters in the film, which is effective because it proves that Angela McRobbie’s theory is, to an extent, correct. The stereotype of a man is present in this DVD cover as it shows the male as powerful and intelligent which proves the theory because he seems dominating, and is the light to the dark. This shows that he is a stereotype as the film cover portrays him as a hero, when he is lighting the dark and this is one of the features that Angela McRobbie stated in her gender stereotypes theory. On the other hand, the DVD cover of “A Beautiful Mind” promotes countertype representation as it shows that he isn’t dominating anyone and he is lonely, whereas a stereotype of a man shows the opposite to this. Therefore, Angela McRobbie’s gender representation theory links to my DVD cover because the way it is presented shows that male stereotypes are present through this film, whereas it can be seen as countertype representation too. Angela McRobbie says that male stereotypes are strong, dominant and powerful and this is what is portrayed through “A Beautiful Mind” DVD cover.