VISUAL: The
connotation of the main colours is to emphasise to two different sides clashing
and going head to head, this highlights the strong divide between the two lead
characters. Captain America is wearing mostly blue and Iron Man is wearing mostly
red, these two strong colours were used frequently for promotional purposes and
to divide the audiences.
VISUAL-Masthead:
The colour red is used for the font of the title to symbolise power and perhaps
rage which refers back to what underlying themes that would appear in the film,
the white is used to juxtapose the red as white is normally associated with
things such as purity, innocence and freedom. You could say that the red is the
colour that represents Tony Stark and that although he tries to make the world
a better place, his technology and innocently motivated ideas and beliefs
result in accidental destruction, whereas Steve Rogers (Captain America) has
different ideologies and beliefs that contradict and challenge Stark’s; Roger’s
believes in freedom for innocent civilians and for heroes and thinks that the
heroes shouldn't be controlled by the Government.
Iconography
of the super hero film genre would include things such as action; Captain
America and Iron Man are fighting each other on the magazine cover. Action in a
super hero film is essential to this particular genre of film, but for Captain
America Civil War, the action is extremely anticipated by MARVEL’s mass
audience because it’s the super hero fight of the year and the first time that
the audience can see the avengers fall apart and wage war on one another. Another
element of Iconography used on the cover is the costumes; both of the lead
characters are wearing quite colourful costumes and seem larger than life,
particularly Tony Stark’s suit. Cap’s suit consists of the patriotic colours of
the American flag, so he wears red, white and blue. These colours link back to
his contributions to the war effort during the Second World War; his shield
also has those colours with the symbol of a star like the one on his chest,
this emphasises the country he represents and believes in as America is a
country of freedom.
The font for
the magazines name is all in capital letters in bold and bright red, this
colour and font makes it stand out to the dark background. The word “EMPIRE” is
placed at the top in the centre to suggest that they are a powerful film
magazine and are at the centre of the film magazine industry.
A Two shot
is used to frame both of the lead actors on the cover, they are both equally
framed to suggest that they may be both equally matched in this Civil War to
come, they are both in the same position and neither of them resemble a typical
villain look meaning that neither one of them is the Protagonist nor the
Antagonist. The sparks refracting from the shield create a line that splits
down the middle and equally divides them to convey a strong sense of conflict.
The Strapline of the cover is “Captain America: Civil War It’s War!” The film
title is smaller than the part saying “It’s War” this is done on purpose to
emphasise the extreme conflict brewing within the MCU (Marvel Cinematic
Universe) the font consists of the colours red and white to highlight that the
audience have the choice between being on either of the two sides, the font is
titled on its side to make it stand out to the other text on the cover, this
could also reflect that equilibrium has been lost due to internal conflict
dividing the Avengers gradually, and particularly the political differences and general beliefs between Stark
and Rogers.
The USP
(Unique Selling Point) of this film to an extremely diverse mass audience,
MARVEL’s films appeal to a vast range of audience ages from adult comic book
fans who read MARVEL comics during their childhoods and young children of the
present day, many families enjoy watching MARVEL films as a family day out as
they contain action, comedy, violence appropriate for children, sadness,
romance and more. This cover promises plenty of action between the Avengers and
very personal conflict between the two characters on the cover. The two lead
characters that feature on the cover are two very popular film stars, on the
left reprising the role of Captain America is Chris Evans, he also played
Johnny Storm (The human torch) in The Fantastic Four .On the right is Robert
Downey Jr. who has portrayed the character of Iron Man since 2008, he has also
played Sherlock Holmes and features in The Zodiac as Paul Avery.
The
representation of this cover reveals that for the first time, The Avengers are
falling apart from within, political and moral ideologies clash heads and
heroes are fighting one another for their rights and the safety of the world
itself. This film could be a reflection of the real world itself; political
figures and parties have conflict about the future of society and cannot agree
on new laws or new ideas for change. However, neither of the characters are the
hero or the villain; they are both right and have good reasons for what they
truly believe in and both only want the best for humanity and other heroes but
their approaches are polar opposites.
In my
opinion, I think that this is a very cleverly made cover, it guarantees a film
packed with action, tension, drama and leaves the audience hungry for more as
their anticipation increases. This cover enables the audience to see two of the
most popular and influential MARVEL characters yet, one of them being the first
Avenger and the other kick starting the rebirth of the MARVEL universe and
bringing Iron Man to life on screen.
