Analyse how gender has been represented in The Lego Movie poster campaign. Use the written handout to help you answer this exam question (10 marks).
There are not many main, female character in the Lego Movie.
Although the poster of Wyldstyle portrays a strong, independent woman who is
seen to go against gender stereotypes. In the poster, wyldstyle is cool, calm
and collected and her warm smile could suggest she is a kind character which makes her more appealing to the
audience. Surrounding her white teeth is a bright pink lipstick that demonstrates
she wears makeup which is therefore a more feminine take on the character. Although,
Wyldstyle has her hair tied up to imply she is prepared for action and the
streaks of pink and blue in her hair could hint at a side of rebellion. In the majority of action based movies, the women are portrayed as vulnerable and in need of saving. However in the poster we a presented with a powerful woman who is perfectly capable of taking part in the action of the film.
Furthermore, in the
poster of the protagonist Emmet, he has a panicked and fearful look in his face,
in contrast to Vitruvius. Emmet’s mouth is wide open which suggests he is
screaming in fear while his panic-stricken eyes reflect his defenceless lack of
strength. This is an unlikely take to a hero of a film, especially because he
is a man. However, this allows the audience to relate to Emmet and he shows it
is ok to be scared because you can still be a hero with emotions. In the
background of the poster, there is an explosion which highlights the sense of
chaos and danger but also entices the audience and makes them wonder what happened
to make Emmet run away screaming. We see an anti-stereotypical representation
of Emmet because he shown to be vulnerable which would often be the role of a
woman in an action film like this. It is very unusual to see a male hero so
frightened and weak which is perhaps a unique and modern take to a movie.
The poster of Vitruvius presents a close-up image of the character staring mesmerizingly into the lens with his wise eyes. Vitruvius has a long white beard with long, grey hair which suggests he is a wise, old man whose role in the movie is to guide the younger characters. He is an archetypal character that we see in many other movies like Dumbledore in Harry Potter for example. However, this type of character does reflect stereotypes of age and masculinity because it is presenting a man that is seen to be wise and intelligent. Although other stereotypical male qualities like physical strength or aggression are not presented in the poster.
Although, the poster of Lord Business presents the antagonist of the film and a character with more stereotypical masculine qualities such as aggression and physical strength. It could be seen as quite an intimidating image because he is taking up so much of the poster in order to assert dominance and his facial expression suggests he is shouting. It is clear he is stereotyped as a villain because he has a large, red helmet on his head, the rim of it is shaped like teeth which you might associate with a dangerous animal or being under attack. Furthermore, red is an aggressive and bold colour which is often used to convey anger as well as danger.
