This is a short presentation featuring a brief analysis of the film poster for Kidulthood for my A2 Media coursework. jademeladya2media.blogspot.com

1. Social Realism Poster Analysis
Jade Melady

2. KIDULTHOOD

3. • The title of the film ‘KiDULTHOOD’ is centred just below the middle of the poster,
under the main image. The text is white and bold over a dark background, making it
stand out and appear prominent on the poster. The ‘I’ in KiDULTHOOD is in lowercase
lettering, whereas the rest of the name is in capital letters. This implies immaturity, and
the progression needed, and found throughout the film, to become an adult(lowercase to
uppercase). The lowercase ‘I’ also stands out and makes it appear like one of the
characters does not belong within the community of ‘kids’. It also signifies that the
characters are trapped in an adult world that they are not fully prepared for.
• The writing style, the use of uppercase and lowercase, is a style of slang used amongst
teenagers, as well as numbers and symbols. So, it may be a reflection of today’s teenage
society, and be mocking the fact that they are portrayed as ‘illiterate’.
Title

4. • In the image seen on the poster, the
character in the background (Sam)
is immediately portrayed as the
trouble maker, or antagonist as he
has an aggressive expression and is
holding a baseball bat. The baseball
bat connotes violence and
destructiveness in urban areas. In
contrast, one of the boys is sat on
the floor looking inferior and
vulnerable compared to the youth
with the bat, suggesting bullying
and intimidation are key themes.
The baseball also sparks an action
code for the audience, suggesting
that it will be used for violence in
the film.
• All of the characters on the poster
are portrayed as confident and
having a bad attitude. Their body
stature shows how they are trying to
be intimidating and show off, but
really, in an alternative reading,
they are seen as naive and stupid,
and not knowing the trouble they
are getting themselves into.
Pictures

5. • The image is heavily edited to give a dark and eerie feel to it. The dimness
and darkness represents the narrative and dark themes that run through the
film. However, the sunlight in the background represents freedom and hope,
that the teenagers are attempting to grasp when entering adulthood towards
the end of the film. Although, the darkness outweighs the light on the
poster, making it appear as though the narrative will take the same turn,
with only negatives overpowering the positives.
• The setting of the picture reflects the urban area and shows the audience
where the film will be set. This emphasises the verisimilitude and makes it
seem more realistic to the reader.
• The costumes of the characters allows the audience to build a strong idea
about their lives. All of the boys are wearing hoodies, a piece of clothing
associated with young teenagers, and often crime. The girls appear to not be
wearing as much clothing as the boys, sexualising their image, hinting that
there is sexual scenes or themes in the film involving the women. All of
their clothes also look worn, and not designer, highlighting their working
class background.

6. • Featuring a review and star rating on a film poster promotes the
film positively and shows the audience what a spectacular film it
is. The review is very prominent on the poster, taking up the
majority of the top of the poster, and is centred over the brightness
of the white clouds, connoting that the review is honest. It is in
bold black lettering making it stand out and be one of the first
things the audience notices. The review uses emotive language
such as ‘moving’ and ‘unforgettable’ in order to entice viewers.
Reviews/Ratings

7. • Billing blocks are featured on posters to give recognition to actors,
directors, producers, and crew, giving the audience more information if
they want it. It is in small writing, making it not seem important or
prominent on the page. In contrast to the film review, actors names are
incredibly small, suggesting that because they are not well known
(because it is a social realist drama using unknown actors) they cannot be
used to promote the film and are not as important in selling/marketing
the film.
Billing Blocks

8. • The release date is centred at the bottom of the page in
large bold white lettering, making it stand our over the
dark and dull background. This makes it aware to the
audience when the film is being released, and promotes
them to go and see it.
Release Date

9. • Above the film’s name it says, ‘before adulthood comes…’
this refers to the sequel film ‘Adulthood’ and the phrase
above the sequel is ‘after kidulthood comes..’ this shows the
audience that there is another film, which attracts the same
type of audience as the first, it allows people to become
aware that there is more than one film, and markets the other
freely through the films tagline.
• It also highlights the stage of life they are in, before being
adults, allowing the audience to identify with the age of the
characters and appeals to the target market (15-19).
Tagline