Blog 1- We are the Millers

From the get go the first glance at this movie poster bombards you with vibrant colors, making the effort to appeal to the viewers pathos and making the actor in the poster look approachable and welcoming. His goofy half-smile and dorky full on wave portray this character as a regular guy you may find grilling burgers at your neighborhood block party thus appealing to the audiences sense of familiarity and making them feel at home. A stereotypically common last name and title that reads like a nametag really tie this whole persona together Once attention has been drawn to the actor’s ring finger ethos is gained. Yellow block lettering scream that David Miller is a “drug dealer turned dad” establishing logos for the film that this movie will be about a man who turned his life around and conformed to the social norms of what society expected of him, put his bad habits in the past, and started a family. A bright light shines directly on this family man’s face giving a halo effect and glistening off of his wedding ring, once again giving the viewer the impression that this man must be a reformed guy who went through a rough spot. New Line Cinemas and Warner Brothers logos in either bottom corner give this film an immense boost of ethos because these names have been a part of every American household for a number of years. The release date and hash tag also add more information to the poster, the hash tag also adding more credibility implying that everybody will be talking about it therefore you should too. The lack of a rating present also adds to the allusion that this may be a feel good movie about a man’s life being turned for the good.

After seeing the film, the viewer’s perceptions had completely changed. Where you expected a suburban family man thinking back on his past shenanigans with drugs you get a man smuggling tons of marijuana across the Mexican border for his ex-college friend/ drug-dealing boss. Where you expect bar-b-q’s and trips to the zoo you get strippers and drug lords. Where you expect carpool lines and dirty diapers you get teenagers in trailer parks with misspelled tattoos and sexual innuendos. This movie poster had many examples of ethos, pathos, and logos all leading up to a false plot line. Using the information provided in class one can assume that this poster was used by the marketing department to draw in a much wider variety of viewers than a movie poster that was more straight forward in its intentions. Now not only do teenagers and men want to go to the theatres but so do the moms and younger siblings. This poster was probably released more close to the beginning of the marketing year rather than close to release because of its skewed perceptions of the plot line. It sparked interest over a wide variety of people and that’s what its job was, followed by trailers and other propaganda that was more closely tied to the target audience.