Dear John trailer analysis

Dear John is a romantic drama, we know this for several reasons which are given to us during the film trailer with the relationship of John and Savannah being pulled apart due to John needing to go back into the army for a long time.

'Dear John' is a term for breaking up with someone over a letter whilst they are at war, this ties into the fact that at the end she says "a lot can happen in twelve months John" which is a twist for the audience which makes them want to watch the full movie to find out whether she has gotten over him or she just misses him. Savannah also is being kissed around the neck by another man who isn't John, this makes the audience want to find out if this was just a way she is escaping reality of missing John or if she is already over John, these unanswered questions make the audience want to watch the full movie even though they're a few spoilers in the trailer.

By the start of the trailer it is revealed to us that 'Dear john is from 'the author of the notebook' which shows the audience that the author is successful so it is much likely that Dear John will be successful. This film appeals to the mainstreamers who have currently already seen the notebook.

The guy who brings up that John is in the army and is currently on leave is a stock character, this character is used to show us that soon John wont be here anymore and will need to go back. This information given to us by this character is curtail to make the audience question whether he will go back or stay.

Johns dad is a stock character, his dad is used to show he doesn't have a strong relationship with his family. We know he doesn't have a strong relationship with his dad when the girl says "you dont see how much he loves you, but i do" this shows that John has a different view of how his dad sees him but his view is in a negative prospective were as Savannah has a positive prospective of their relationship. His dad could also be used to indicate that John isn't that old because people start to move out when they grow up were as he hasn't, however, this could just to be to show us that his dad has no family left and he is lonely.

Savannah is represented as a damsel in distress when the bag is dropped into the river and he needs to dive in to rescue her bag. Savannah could also be used as a way of showing that when someone goes into the army they start to lose the people around them over time,  we know this is a possibility since the only family member he has around him is his dad and he ends up being in hospital with the reason being unexplained but it is assumed something life threatening has happened to his dad since if he was hurt he would of been at home alone due to no members of his family being around, the girl at the end saying "a lot can happen in twelve months John" shows us that when he goes into the army he loses people around him he cares about which could show this could happen to people in reality.

John is represented as being an aggressive character due to the flash back we encounter after the girl says "people seem afraid of you" when he gets into a fight for a reason which is unknown to the audience which also makes the audience ask questions about his past which are unanswered. When John says "they're afraid of what use to be" it shows us he was once like this but he has changed the way he acts.

A montage of both perspectives of John and Savannah shows us the time passing and that they have been away from each other for a long time, they both seem as if they both miss each other until we see Savannah being kissed around the neck by another man who isn't John which makes us question whether if John and Savannah are still in a relationship by the time he gets back. Non Diegetic sound is used during this montage, the sound track is used to show us how fast the time is going past and the months that they have been away from each other for.

The iconography of 'Dear John' could be Man vs Time, this is because the time which is going by is showing the audience that John could actually lose Savannah which makes the audience wonder what is going to happen by the end of the film. This iconography is given to us when we hear "a lot can happen in twelve months John" which could also tie into that this is something that happens in reality. The iconography makes the audience question parts of the trailer to determine whether or not Savannah is going to move on from John, the trailer balances out the chances of Savannah moving on or waiting for John during the trailer which makes the audience want to go to see the film to find out the answers to their questions.