Get ready for a wildly suspenseful,
zero gravity story of survival 372 miles above the earth. Cut loose from the
space shuttle, oxygen running out, communication lost, catastrophic debris
hurling in all directions, and little hope for rescue, terrified Dr. Ryan Stone
(Sandra Bullock) spends much of this intense theatrical Gravity trailer spinning, adrift in space, alone where no one can
hear her scream. It is emotionally and physically engaging with astronaut Matt
Kowalski’s (George Clooney) voice providing only brief, calming, tension relief
to this terrifying situation.
“At 372 miles above the earth,
there is nothing to carry sound, no air pressure, no oxygen… life in space is
impossible.” This is an excellent
attention-grabber at the beginning of Gravity’s
trailer. It is used to draw people in so they will continue to watch the rest
of the trailer to see what it is about and what is going on (pathos). The
background music at the beginning of the trailer reminds me a beating heart, and
is probably Bullock’s character’s pounding heart as she is spinning around and
screaming. This would cause a high level emotion in any viewer. The music
throughout the rest of the trailer is similarly intense (pathos).
According to Understanding
Movies by Louis Gianetti, “Color tends to be a subconscious element in
film. It’s strongly emotional in its appeal, expressive and atmospheric rather
than intellectual (page 22)”. This is certainly true for this trailer. The
movie takes place in space, which is black. Black can be seen as a terrifying,
dark color. As some people are afraid of
the dark, having total blackness all around them would be a scary thought and
feeling. (ethos)
The trailer shows two well-known,
award-winning actors, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney (ethos). People who
have enjoyed watching these two in other movies will likely want to go see this
movie in order to watch them (pathos). Both Clooney and Bullock have played
many different rolls in other movies, so viewers know that they have the
ability to perform well in this one (ethos).
Gravity’s
director, Alfonso Cuaron, is a well-known film director, screenwriter,
producer, and editor. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards, and some of
his other notable works include Children
of Men and Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban (ethos). If people have seen his other movies and liked
them, then they are more like to go see this movie (logos).
From viewing the trailer, Gravity seems to have qualities that
appeal to both men and women. For men who are fans of George Clooney, in his
typical masculine roles, or think Sandra Bullock is attractive, they are more
likely to go see this movie in theaters (pathos). In addition, the trailer
features an explosion, which is a stereotypical emotional appeal for men. As for
women, if they think George Clooney is sexy or are a fan of quirky and funny
Sandra Bullock, then they are likely to see this movie as well (pathos). According
to Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J.
Ruszkiewicz, we should “look… for signals that writers share values with
readers or at least understand an audience (page 102)”. Although this is not a
written piece of work that is being shared to the public, the Gravity trailer definitely shows those
values and understanding to the audience. During the trailer, it is revealed
that Bullock’s character has a daughter waiting at home for her mom. Bullock’s
character also says, “tell her that I’m not quitting.” This could be an
emotional appeal to both women and men, especially if they have children of
their own. In addition, men and women who typically like all thriller films
would probably want to see this movie in theaters (pathos, logos)
Overall, I would give this trailer
a rating of a two. The trailer itself is incredibly suspenseful, heart
pounding, and intriguing, but to me it relies on pathos, or emotional, appeal
more than any of the other appeals (logos and ethos). There are definitely some elements of ethos
and logos featured in the trailer as well. In addition, what this movie was
about from watching the trailer other than the fact that a space ship exploded
and two astronauts were stranded in space. I have never seen this movie, but I
assume that it is excellent considering that Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 97%, and
it won seven awards at the 86th Academy Awards, the most for the
ceremony.
This brief peak into an obvious thrill
ride of a movie gives only minimal glimpse in the wondrous beauty of space with
a mixture of visuals and special effects, and only hints at the intimate and
emotional depth that is sure to follow. Gravity
appears to be an out-of-this-world, suspenseful saga with a touch of humanity to
give it greater depth than a typical popcorn-tossing, edge of your seat-type
movie. Hopefully this combination will leave the viewer feeling more than just
as an observer of a gripping, sci-fi nightmare in the spectacular, sparkling
space above.
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