Blog 1 - "The Wolf of Wall Street" Movie Poster

            The creators of “The Wolf of Wall Street” present us with a very interesting and reveling movie poster. Initially, most people, if not everyone, knows what Wall Street is and the purpose it plays within our society; therefore, viewers can speculate that the movie will have to do something with money and the stock market. Also, a wolf symbolizes sharp intelligence, an appetite for freedom, and an expression of his or her strong instincts – all qualities that are necessary to be successful on Wall Street. Viewers can put two together and determine that this movie deals with a powerful man (wolf symbol) that worked or was associated with Wall Street (money and the stock market). One can discover all of this by simply reading the title on the movie poster, which stands out at the top due to the background color of gold, which is the color of success, achievement, and triumph, building on the idea of the strong wolf. All of these factors are associated with pathos, attracting audience members to come see the movie by appealing to their emotions. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the main character, Jordan Belfort, is the main image of the entire movie poster, also having his name displayed above the movie title. DiCaprio is a very recognizable actor with millions of fans. Having him as the center point of the poster attracts fans of his work, an ethos tactic used by the creators in order to establish credibility. Furthermore, the small details at the bottom of the poster, such as the movie’s website or the director, also builds credibility. By examining the background of the movie poster, viewers are able to discover a setting, which appeals to the logos factor, providing logical and factual information. Clearly, one can tell that the setting seems to be a huge party scene by the confetti, marking band, and money, but nothing to actually do with Wall Street itself, which may be misleading to some, yet makes absolute sense after viewing the movie. Personally, I believe, by only looking at the movie poster, the genre would be strictly a comedy. However, after viewing the movie, I discovered that this first thought was correct, but the movie also had a sort of drama aspect at certain points in the film. This would not be possible to deduce from just looking at the poster in my opinion. When this movie first came out and I saw the poster for the first time, I was immediately convinced to see this movie. As explained above, having Leonardo DiCaprio as the main character and obviously expressed in the middle attracted me, as well as many other viewers, to the movie. Also, the party scene in the background made me think the movie would be a feel good comedy the entire time, explaining the success and fun that comes with making money on Wall Street. This was a misleading factor that caught me off guard. After seeing the movie and discovering all of the troubles that comes with Wall Street and how much illegal, under the table business goes on behind the scenes, my idea of always "feel good" times on Wall Street quickly vanished. Finally, having such a noticeable setting such as Wall Street in the title would attract anyone who is interested in finance and the stock market, such as myself. Overall, I believe that the creators did an excellent job with this movie poster, as well as the movie itself.