Från Jalla! Jalla! till Snabba Cash : En semiotisk och retorisk kvalitativ analys av affischer från 2000-talet

Sammanfattning: Posters had their breakthrough in 1830-1840’s all thanks to the lithographic printing technique. The poster was used as an advertising tool. In this essay, we have looked at which semiotic and rhetorical elements that are found in today’s Swedish movie posters. What kind of image and text elements does the poster use and with what function? With what and how do they persuade the audience that the movies are interesting and worth seeing? We have taken the most popular Swedish movies between 2001 and 2010, one for each year, going by the statistic found at the website of the Swedish Film Institute. We have first analyzed using a semiotic perspective (signs, codes, denotation, connotation and myth combined with Giddens´ lifestyle sectors). Then we have used a rhetorical perspective using the three persuasion categories: ethos (credibility), logos (logical) and pathos (emotional). The posters vary in their way of using different elements and tactics trying to interest audiences and communicate the intended information. Iconic pictures of people are important carriers of emotional bound codes. Symbolic signs communicate the title and names of participators. Some posters rely on the names of the actors and writers (ethos) while others focus on communicating the story (logos). Pathos is used to set the mood to connotate the genre. Every poster has its strengths and weaknesses. Promoting the strengths in the right way and finding a balance is key.