Dear John- Trailer Analysis

Dear John- Trailer Analysis

Dear John is typical of the romantic movie genre and this is shown via the name of the movie, the use of the word ‘Dear’ shows that character cares deeply for this person and this phrase is typically used at the start of letters, giving the audience an idea of what to expect. The use of the name ‘John’ shows that the character is very common as is the name John, and from this as an audience we can identify that the events of this movie could happen to anyone. The phrase as a whole however means something different completely as ‘Dear John’ refers to a thing known as a ‘dear john letter’ this is where the wife/spouse would send a letter to their partner in war, giving us an idea of what the plot of the story will be. Although this phrase is an enigma code within itself as with ‘dear john letters’ many spouse used these to break up with their partners, raising the question to the audience of whether this will occur throughout the story.

            The trailer itself raises more enigma codes, for example from the title the audience can question if the couple do break up like the title suggests or if they make it through as a couple, meeting the expectations of the audience. Another enigma code and probably the biggest one of all would be if John makes it back from war alive and unharmed or if he returns at all, this is one of the most important questions the movie raises as if this movie does depict the war time reality as an audience we know the likelihood of return is low, however if this occurs this will challenge the ‘happily ever after’ convention usually found in romantic cinema.

            As a viewer I identified many conventions of this genre, for example this inability to be separated from their spouse, this takes place in many romantic movies; another would be that the girl inevitably changes the partner (John), for better of worse is for the audience to decide, however typically this change is for the better once again meeting the expectations of the audience members. The final conventions I noticed was that the story is shown from both side, this keeps the audience engaged and from this the audience are physically placed closer to both partners/protagonists from this a connection is formed and the viewers care for the relationship. Due to this bond being formed with the audience this will make the outcome more emotionally engaging.

            The use of the actor Channing Tatum is very important as he is known for playing very strong, masculine roles so as an audience we know what to expect, and there is no change here as he plays a loyal service man fighting for his country. The use of the other actor, his spouse (I don’t know her name) is important also as in many cases small fairly unheard of actors are used to play these roles in romantic movies, this furthers the idea that these events could happen to anyone of the audience.

            The cinematography was very typical of the romance genre, for example the setting in sunny America with bright beaches packed with people when times are happy and then this changes drastically to almost the complete opposite when times are sad with rain and story weather with no-one around, this is done due to many of the audience being able to link their emotions to the weather in this way.  The next part of cinematography I identified was that typical of the genre the main transition used was fades (normally with a bright filer); giving the impression that time has passed. The actors themselves and their costumes can be said to be very pure, using colours like whites and pale blues, this connotes innocence and purity furthering the expectations met via the audience. Another key piece of cinematography is music; the non-diegetic music that plays throughout the trailer is once more typical of the genre, including slow acoustic guitars and pianos. This music sets serious tone but also a romantic one, this is done because the audience can identify this type of music towards the genre.

            The characters throughout the trailer are important for example ‘John’ seems to be a very manly man, shown via his fighting and sticking up for people but also being sensitive and caring for his spouse, this is very common throughout romantic cinema. The girl however is portrait as considerably smaller, innocent and almost like a damsel, this is shown when John dives into the sea to retrieve her possession. I also identified the father to be a stock character; I believe this as a distant father/parent is often used so we can feel sympathy for the John character making us care for him.

            The trailer shows a clear liner narrative with plot points signifying the beginning middle and end the main plot points I identified was as follows;

Meets girl- Falls In Love- Called to War –Does He Return?

Due to the last plot point being the form of an enigma code this will make the audience want to watch the movie to find out the answer to this question. Another method of attracting customers I identified was the phrase ‘from the author of The Notebook’ The Notebook is a notoriously popular romantic movie/ book due to this the audience will have certain expectations and may feel that these will be met via this movie, and others that never enjoyed the notebook know that the movie may not appeal to them as a viewer.