http://www.impawards.com/1940/they_drive_by_night_ver4.htmlThis poster from "They Drive By Night" from 1940 shows a woman in a long red dress as the central piece of the poster. There is a man seemingly peering at this central figure and a couple driving in the lower corner of the poster.
The central figure is a woman wearing a long flowing red dress. She seems to be walking with a very graceful and determined walk, a stern look on her face, peering straight out of the poster toward the viewer. Overall she seems very confident, this seems to be a change from the previous trend of passive, dependent women portrayed in previous posters I've looked at.
The couple in the lower corner however, seem to follow the previously observed trends. The man is driving with a confident grin on his face, while the woman seems anxious and is seen huddling up to the man.
Overall we start to see a change in the trends of representation here, the central figure is no longer a passive woman but an assertive woman, there is also more emphasis on sex appeal with her bare leg showing from her slinky red dress.
http://www.impawards.com/1950/pagan_love_song.html
The central figure is a woman wearing a long flowing red dress. She seems to be walking with a very graceful and determined walk, a stern look on her face, peering straight out of the poster toward the viewer. Overall she seems very confident, this seems to be a change from the previous trend of passive, dependent women portrayed in previous posters I've looked at.
The couple in the lower corner however, seem to follow the previously observed trends. The man is driving with a confident grin on his face, while the woman seems anxious and is seen huddling up to the man.
Overall we start to see a change in the trends of representation here, the central figure is no longer a passive woman but an assertive woman, there is also more emphasis on sex appeal with her bare leg showing from her slinky red dress.
http://www.impawards.com/1950/pagan_love_song.html
This poster from "Pagan Love Song" from 1950 shows a man and woman reclining on a beach.
Both the figures in this poster have very happy expressions, they seem to be enjoying their time together on the beach. The man is shown in a shirt with a chain of flowers round his neck, although still dressed smartly he seems to have a slightly more relaxed appearance with the addition of the flowers. The man can also be seen to be supporting the woman as she leans back against him. Overall this is another assertive man, shown helping the woman to relax.
The woman in the image is shown wearing a summery red dress, red being a colour associated with passion and lust, the colour and cut of the dress have a glamorous appearance and as in the previous poster contribute to the sex appeal of the woman. She is seen reclining against the man, relying on him for support.
Overall this poster seems to follow the trends of assertive males and passive females. Along with the last poster, there does seem to be more emphasis on sex appeal from the female characters.
Both the figures in this poster have very happy expressions, they seem to be enjoying their time together on the beach. The man is shown in a shirt with a chain of flowers round his neck, although still dressed smartly he seems to have a slightly more relaxed appearance with the addition of the flowers. The man can also be seen to be supporting the woman as she leans back against him. Overall this is another assertive man, shown helping the woman to relax.
The woman in the image is shown wearing a summery red dress, red being a colour associated with passion and lust, the colour and cut of the dress have a glamorous appearance and as in the previous poster contribute to the sex appeal of the woman. She is seen reclining against the man, relying on him for support.
Overall this poster seems to follow the trends of assertive males and passive females. Along with the last poster, there does seem to be more emphasis on sex appeal from the female characters.
http://www.impawards.com/1960/subterraneans.html
This poster from "The Subterraneans" from 1960 shows a couple as the central piece and two other figures toward the corners of the image.
The couple depicted in this image are a man and woman, the man is seen to be helping the woman up. He is wearing a shirt and trousers with his sleeves rolled up, perhaps indicating a working man. The woman appears to be somewhat distressed, her arms slung around the man for support. She is seen wearing a short pink dress, possibly a night dress, again this seems to have a slight sex appeal as her long legs are quite prominently displayed across the whole poster.
The other two figures in the poster are a man and a woman, the man playing a saxaphone while the woman in the other corner appears to be dancing. They appear to be the same two figures in the center of the poster, but this time the woman is wearing far more casual clothes, but her pose seems to emphasise her feminine figure, possibly further adding to the sex appeal of the poster.
Overall we see similar trends of dominant, assertive men and passive, reliant women, once again with emphasis on sex appeal.
It would seem that throughout 20th century movie posters there is a trend toward men depicted as dominant and assertive figures, quite often heroic. Women are often depicted as passive, reliant figures, in need of saving or help from the male heroes. There do seem to be more exceptions to this female archetype as time goes on, more and more posters depicting women as confident, independent people started to emerge and more emphasis seemed to be put on the female form and it's sex appeal.
The couple depicted in this image are a man and woman, the man is seen to be helping the woman up. He is wearing a shirt and trousers with his sleeves rolled up, perhaps indicating a working man. The woman appears to be somewhat distressed, her arms slung around the man for support. She is seen wearing a short pink dress, possibly a night dress, again this seems to have a slight sex appeal as her long legs are quite prominently displayed across the whole poster.
The other two figures in the poster are a man and a woman, the man playing a saxaphone while the woman in the other corner appears to be dancing. They appear to be the same two figures in the center of the poster, but this time the woman is wearing far more casual clothes, but her pose seems to emphasise her feminine figure, possibly further adding to the sex appeal of the poster.
Overall we see similar trends of dominant, assertive men and passive, reliant women, once again with emphasis on sex appeal.
It would seem that throughout 20th century movie posters there is a trend toward men depicted as dominant and assertive figures, quite often heroic. Women are often depicted as passive, reliant figures, in need of saving or help from the male heroes. There do seem to be more exceptions to this female archetype as time goes on, more and more posters depicting women as confident, independent people started to emerge and more emphasis seemed to be put on the female form and it's sex appeal.
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