Textual Analysis Mag - REBECCA

BECKY-TEXTUAL ANALYSIS- MAGAZINE FRONT COVER

The magazine front cover I will be analysing will be from a British magazine called Empire. I was not able to find many horror magazine covers but I feel that the Joker who appears in the Batman film ‘The Dark Knight’ bring an element of horror to the film. ‘The Dark Knight was a 2008 blockbuster which starred Heath Ledger as the Joker. The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan was highly successful.

It is typical for film magazines like Empire to feature one of the main characters on the front page as the main purpose is to advertise the film. The Joker in This Batman is very different from the other Joker/enemies we are used to. This joker has a very dark humour and he is very insane. Even with the make-up he comes across very evil and dark.  On the front cover of this magazine we have a close up of the Jokers face.The picture consists of The Jokers full face and cuts off just above his forehead where some hair is revealed. His head is slightly tilting down towards the floor, possibly connoting that he thinks he is better than everyone and must look down on people. We see the smeared bright red lipstick, painted white face, black circles over his eyes and green matted hair. The make-up suggests he is hiding something from the world. His bright red lipstick seems to be smeared right up to his cheek bones however under the red his skin seems deformed suggesting he is covering a very big scar coming out from both corners of his mouth. The red could also connote anger and aggression. The black circles around his eyes emphasize how mysterious he is, as the colour black connotes a sense of mystery. In Western countries black is the colour of death. The pitch black rings on top of the pale white makes a evil contrast.
His white make up hides his whole face hiding his identity. The colour white could also connote death, especially if seen by Asian viewers especially in countries like Japan, where white Carnation flowers are given at funerals. Finally, his green hair is very matted and grungy it could connote the insanity side to him.

In the Poster we see a glimpse of his signature purple suit. This play along with the clown/ joker looks but also adds to his look of insanity.

The lighting used here is very effective. The background is very dark yet his face is brightly lightened and clear. The lighting on the in his face is high key This could suggest the dark and mysterious past of the joker. As the lighting is very strong on his face and it’s an extreme close up. We are able to see every detail and flaw in his face including the scar under his lipstick. His skin underneath looks rough and we see the scar also this could mean he has suffered a lot in his past.

Although the Jokers head is tilting towards the ground, he is making full eye contact with the camera and has a slight grin on his face.The slight smile looks evil and smug as if he has or is about to do something bad or that he knows a secret. His eyes also give this same impression, however his eyes are also very dark and serious.

The Empire Magazine has used the colours for their fonts to represent the Joker. The fonts are all the colours seen on the Joker and this gives it a sense of consistency and doesn’t look messy. This is typical of Empire, using the same colour scheme as whatever film character they are.

The selling line above the masthead reads, “Two covers to collect” which is used with intentions of increasing sales, as readers will want to buy the other Empire magazine featuring The Joker. The cover lines are also highlighted in neon green, again making a direct link to the film.
Overall the front cover does a good job of catching the reader’s eye and the colour contrast helps to make the magazine stand out.

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