Children of Men - Poster Analysis

I didn't think that there was much you could tell about a film just from the poster, but I was wrong. All though it just looks like  a promotional poster, it does give a lot of information about the film, including the films genre and what it's about.

    Children of Men is a film set in a dystopian future and the fact that it is set in the future is immediately obvious because the poster says 'The Year 2027' in large, red font, which catches the eye. Under this, it says 'The last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years.' This tells me that this is a dystopian film because is is clear that something has gone wrong and it not quite right as the poster states that this is 'the last days' of humanity and that no children have been born for '18 years.' Although this is written in the top left hand corner, it is still eye-catching as the date stands out, being a larger font than the rest of the text. The fact that this is written  in red may suggest danger as often whenever danger is presented, red is shown. This highlights again the genre of the film. 

     The title of the film is printed in large, white font, however, some of the letters seem to be tarnished. This could suggest once again that the future presented is damaged just like some of the letters are. The contrast of these white letters against the black background also make it stand out, separating it from the dark background. The use of the colour white may also symbolise hope as white its the colour of purity and hope which contrasts with the red font used for the rest of the font on the poster.

    The big picture of Clive Owen also tells us that he will be playing the main character. Only his face is shown, looking rather rugged. His face is also framed by some sort of broken glass. This once again highlights his importance throughout the film. The red writing next to the poster also states that 'he must protect our only hope,' showing that Owen will play the hero, however, even from the poster, we can tell that Owen is an anti-hero from his rugged look, his unshaven face, rugged brown collar and messy hair. The stern look on his face makes him look serious, like a hero and makes it seem as though he is taking his responsibility seriously. He is looking right down the camera, making it seem like Owen is looking at you personally.

    The red and black eye with the small image of the baby as the pupil and a red tear dripping down can also suggest that there is something that is not quite right in this version of the future. It makes me think of an ultrasound showing a baby in a womb, which could suggest that there are problems with fertility in this film (although the poster has already told us that a child hasn't been born in 18 years), but it can also suggest that in the film, these problems could be fixed. The tear could signify the loss of hope of the people and how upset they are about what has become of the world and the issues they face. 

    The shattered glass could symbolise the shattered, broken future that is portrayed in this film. It also makes things seem dangerous as the sharp, point of the glass pointing to Owen's face could hurt him. This could show that what he is doing could potentially cause him damage. The fact that the glass frames Owen's face, not only highlights him as the main character  but it makes it seem as though he has broken the glass, suggesting that something he will do will  shatter the barrier to infertility (like the solution is trapped in a glass cage) and that he will set the people free from this dystopian future, once again, presenting Owen as the 'savior' of humanity.