Analysis of 'What Happened to Monday'

1. FOR MY COURSEWORK, THE GENRE I HAVE CHOSEN IS ACTION AND ADVENTURE
THRILLER. WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY IS A DYSTOPIAN FILM, WHERE AN ACT CALLED
THE ‘CHILD ALLOCUTION ACT’ PROHIBITS FAMILIES FROM HAVING MORE THAN ONE
CHILD AS A RESULT OF OVERPOPULATION. A FAMILY CONSISTING OF IDENTICAL
SEPTUPLETS MUST ACT AS ONE CHARACTER, (THIS BEING MONDAY). ONCE THEY ARE
DISCOVERED BY THE GOVERNMENT AS A RESULT OF A CO-WORKER, THEY MUST
CONCEAL THEIR IDENTITY IN ORDER TO SAVE ONE ANOTHER.
ANALYSIS OF EXISTING
PRODUCTS – WHAT
HAPPENED TO MONDAY

2. TEASER POSTER:
• Layout – Graphological features: ‘Strongest’ character (also known as Wednesday) takes
spotlight of the poster, standing in a bold, confident position, dominant reading could be
that audiences predict that she survives government scrutiny
• Other 6 sisters surrounds her, reflecting the sense of unity and protection each sister has
for one another, linking to the idea of encode and decode
• Background shows 6 people jumping from one building to the next, which can be applied
to Barthes Hermeneutic Code as the audience will be left guessing how and why they are
jumping from one building to another
• Colour scheme – Mostly black and white, in terms of decoding, could suggest lack of
happiness due to the co-worker and the government trying to track them down
• It is clear that each of the sisters has their own, individual identity, in terms of their
clothing and style. The larger image of Wednesday is wearing black, perhaps connotating
rebellion, which can be linked nicely into the film as each of the 7 sisters run out into the
open world as themselves, a great risk they had been taught not to do by their
Grandfather as shown in the exposition/flashback when the sisters were much younger
• Fonts – Bold, white font allows text to stand out against the darker images, could
represent an element of binary opposition – Dark vs Bright/ Government vs The 7 Sisters
• Block text adds tension and helps to build suspense (Barthes – Proairectic Code) Could
reflect boldness of characters, especially Wednesday who is looking down at the ‘camera’
• Images – The 7 sisters are all posing in their own way, again reflecting each of their
identities , background looks rainy, is an example of pathetic fallacy (in this case, fate).
However, the white light connotates that there is hope for the 7 sisters
• Mystery – Main title is ‘SEVEN SISTERS’, rather than actual title of the film, forces
audiences to figure out what the film is about, and perhaps encourages them to find out
for themselves by watching the film when it’s officially out ‘in cinemas this August’
• How the film reaches
the desired target
audience –
• Obvious that the films
genre is
action/adventure
through multiple guns
being held in shot,
Wednesday’s facial
expression, and the
bold statement/slogan

3. THEATRICAL
POSTER:
• Layout – Graphological Features: Image of Sunday, indicated by the rather large ‘7’ in
the background of the theatrical poster, perhaps representing the idea that the
sisters are only recognisable by numbers, perhaps linking to the theory of the
Hypodermic Needle as viewers are told an indented message
• Image of Wednesday looking down could connotate the shame she feels as a result of
the Child Allocation Act. As well as this, the fact that the 6 other sisters are inside
Wednesday, reflects their life as they must act as one person/identity
• The release date is now visible in relation to the teaser poster, and is placed at the
bottom to perhaps encourage an active audience to look at the image/information
given, and remember the release date as it is the last piece of information they see
• Colour scheme – Again, it is very similar to the teaser poster which is necessary, as
audiences will recognise the poster quicker. Again, the contrast between the dark vs
light could reflect an us vs them situation, linking this to Levi Strauss’s theory of
Binary Opposition. The colours offer a reminder of the previous poster, ensuring that
a cohesive link is made between the intended audience and the essential information
they will want to know about
• Fonts – The use of the white, block capitals has been used again, allowing audiences
to recognise the film easier. The only difference is the large
• Images – The image of Sunday with her 6 sisters inside of her reflects their lack of
escape due to the allocation act, and their ghost-like appearance inside this shot
could perhaps foreshadow their death, perhaps linking this to The Proairetic Code, as
active audiences are left guessing/on the edge
• Mystery – The fact that one of the sisters carries a gun outside of Sunday’s body,
connotates rebellion, and a lack of fear. This contributes to the action of the film,
and allows us to figure out what each of the 7 twins personalities and identities are
• How the target audience
is targeted –
• In a sense, it is similar
to the teaser poster, as
the use of guns can be
linked to older viewings,
the age of the sisters
could encourage more
female viewings, as it is
typically considered that
males can only part-

4. DVD COVER:
• Layout – Graphological Features:
• Quite a lot at once, however follows a traditional ‘rule of thirds’
sequence (follow as Z pattern). Allows audiences to follow along
with key information easily
• Same image is used from the theatrical poster (other sisters inside
the body), however, it is an image of Monday, which links nicely
into the title of the film as audiences are able to associate
‘Monday’ with Monday before they watch the film. We are given
more information about Monday, mainly through the images on
both sides of the DVD cover, which differs from the theatrical and
teaser poster
• Colour Scheme – The use of dark colours such as navy, black and
grey helps to set the scene, representing a melancholy atmosphere
as a result of the act, which is mentioned in the brief overview of
the film
• Images – More images of Monday gives us an insight into the film,
and perhaps helps to encourage audiences to purchase the film.
The flame in the far right hand corner could foreshadow her fate,
which was used in the teaser poster, the title of the film, (being a
simple question), could be linked to the dominant reading, as the
title and flame behind it could indeed reflect her chance of survival
as a result of their rebellion
• Fonts – Large, red font connotates danger, and can be linked to
the colour of the flame/fire. Words highlighted in red on the
synopsis could be an element of intertextuality, as it reminds me
of highlighting important words like you would at school/college,
Genre – It is quite obvious from the
DVD cover that the film is action-
packed, as shown by the flames, the
guns, and most simply, from the
synopsis of the film
How the audience are targeted – The
DVD cover says that the film is
officially rated as an 18 by the BBFC,
and helps to suit their needs by the
amount of action that is shown
through a simple DVD cover, and the