iron man analyst

firstly, the teaser going on about can be found here.

The iron man teaser that I have chosen to analyse is around 30 seconds long and features many of the aspects of a good teaser, showing only moments of the best bits of the film that tantalizingly tease the audience into a viewing frenzy. But, it’s all well and good saying that but without proof it might as well be dust in the wind. So without a moment’s more haste, onto the fancy stuff.

Diving right in at the deep end, there is no clear narrative in this extract. The shown footage hints at an origins story, with the title character going on what appears to be both a physical and spiritual journey. Despite this, there is no clear beginning, middle and end, with the footage appearing to be mixed around in terms of chronological order. As if to reinforce this, there is no subtext in the clip, although by a stretch of the imagination it could be said that the two cuts where woman are involved (to my count) could suggest a romantic subplot. What we do know from the footage is that this is a story about a superhero, and one who is based in the realms of technology. This is further reinforced by the mise en scene which is predominantly occupied by signs of wealth such as expensive cars and sharp suits. This gives the audience the implication that wealth equates to power, and in this case that is the power to forge one’s self into something incredible as seen by the printed lines ‘heroes aren’t born, they’re built’. Building on from the mise en scene, the title characters costumes continues to reinforce the things already discussed. The work clothes suggest a hard working character, while the suit suggests power and wealth; the two images powerfully counter acting each other to establish a character of dual identities, as is popular in comic based stories. The costumes of the other characters in the clip show us more about the type of film, examples being the stereotypical military and scientist characters, which when shown in the context presented by the clip itself have the undertone of action and adventure.

Issues in the clip include things like right versus wrong, doing the right thing and fulfilling one’s destiny, which are all powerful ideas that have deep roots in the lands of action and adventure. These ideas continue to evolve in the minds of the audience once the teaser has finished, making it that much more effective. Another thing along these lines is the presence of the stars in the cast, namely Gwenth Patro and Robert Downey Jr. Downey’s presence in the film marks a comeback for him as an actor, much like the character he portrays, and therefore makes him more relatable for an audience; he is an underdog, a favourite position for the majority of the public. On a practical level, the teaser is shown in full colour and has much CGI which is combined with non diegetic sound. Breaking this down, the colour is a product of modern times, the CGI is used to do all the amazing stuff like the flying and armour, and the diegetic sound is used to establish the action overtone in the teaser. Finally I come to my closing statement on the ideology of this clip, which I believe is this: the point of this film, the statement it’s trying to make if you will, is that technology isn’t good or evil, right of wrong, but that technology is in itself neutral, and that it isn’t until you place that technology into the hands of people that it creates a difference. Yes this is a point that has been made before, but the magic of Iron Man is that it takes that ideology and presents it in such a way that the audience don’t even notice it until they long gone from the cinema and the idea pops into their heads when they suddenly look at their TV or microwave differently and wonder back to what made them think like that in the first place. Which is of course the movie, just like any awesome film should. Let us hope the sequel is just as good.