This document provides an analysis of 5 movie trailers and how they relate to postmodernism. The trailers analyzed are for Jurassic World, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Memento, Run Lola Run, and The Avengers. Each trailer summary highlights the narrative structure, visual and audio elements, and how they incorporate postmodern concepts like hyperreality, simulacrum, surreality, and intertextuality through their portrayal of fictional worlds, characters, and stories.

1. POSTMODERN TRAILER ANALYSIS 1
FILMS 1-5
Callie Che

2. JURASSICWORLDhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4
This trailer opens with the approved rating screen. The first scene opens with a mid shot of two supporting
characters accompanied by synchronous and diegetic speech from an extra. This transitions to the distribution
and production company screens, the majority of transitions between clips in this trailer are fades to and from
black which creates a dramatic cinematic effect. The next scene is a wide shot zooming out which reveals a
location, in this, the supporting characters are shown to be travelling on a boat to the main location. The main
location is also revealed as it is printed on the side of the boat as ‘Isla Nublar’. This is accompanied by
crescendoing asynchronous and non-diegetic dramatic string music. The first text screen appears 30 seconds
into the trailer, the text is presented in a grey font that matches the classic theme and font of the franchise. This
first screen announces the release date of the production, later screens include dramatic announcements
involving the production, the producer, the title, and the shortened credits. The next few clips are wide shots from
various scenes from the beginning of the production, giving more information on the setting. The second screen
announcing the release changes the tone of the trailer as the non-diegetic, asynchronous cinematic strings
change to a soft piano cover of the original Jurassic Park theme tune. The title is presented near the end of the
trailer, computer generated imagery is used to create the classic logo that appears from a foggy background.
Links to postmodernism
This trailer links to postmodernism through the uses of simulacrum, surreality, and a futuristic theme. In this
production, the main feature is the presence of CGI dinosaurs and a park to view them in; ‘Jurassic Park’. In this
newest instalment, a theme park style attraction has been created on an island and named ‘Jurassic World’, which
relates to the title. Further postmodernism is shown as the scientists are able to construct a genetically modified
dinosaur using strands of DNA from other animals to create a new type of dinosaur. This suggests very advanced
science, further than what is available in present-day science.

3. THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF
BONEShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc4CiTvQ-YE
This trailer opens with the approved rating screen and the distribution company screen. The first clip of an
extreme wide shot reveals the location of the production as Brooklyn and is punctuated with asynchronous
and non-diegetic cinematic string music. As the clip transitions with a fade to and from black, a voiceover
begins which continues as the clips show a long shot of the protagonists. Another clip uses costume and makeup
to suggest the character is supernatural. The voiceover becomes synchronous and diegetic in a later clip but
becomes non-diegetic and asynchronous again as the trailer continues. The music crescendos with the action in
the trailer as the protagonists are shown fighting. The first text screen appears 30 seconds into the trailer and
gives information on the plot of the production. The animated text is written in a stone grey, narrow, serif,
capitalised font which glows from a background of clouds, a main symbol of the production is integrated into the
font as it replaces the letter ‘o’. In the next clip, special effects are used to make a person disappear from view
which suggests the use of postmodernism. As the trailer continues, the action increases and the clips flash
quicker. The title appears near the end of the trailer, it is animated and is similar to the other text screens but has a
more serif and gold font. It is followed by a close up clip of the protagonists who voice the tagline of the
production. This is followed by the theatrical release date.
Links to postmodernism
This trailer uses hyperreality, simulacrum, surreality, and intertextuality. It hints at a hidden world through
the text and shows characters that are portrayed as ‘higher beings’. These characters appear to have supernatural
abilities, shown through the computer generated imagery that allows the characters to disappear. It also uses
classic supernatural characters such as vampires which are portrayed with stereotypical characteristics such as
pale skin and fangs.

4. MEMENTOhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vS0E9bBSL0
This trailer opens with the approved rating screen and the production company screen. The first clip begins with
an extreme close up pedestal of the main protagonist’s face with a single diegetic yet asynchronous word;
“Awake” accompanied by the pleonastic sound of a passing train/vehicle. This clip is edited to be in black and
white. The next clip is in full colour and transitions in a fade with the sound of a whirring camera. This shows a
close up of the protagonist walking towards another character, this begins a montage of clips explaining the
character’s condition of a lack of short term memory and his goal; to find and kill his wife’s murderer. These clips
transition with cuts in a way that the story merges together and most of the story arc is revealed in the trailer.
The voiceover is taken from various clips throughout the film taken slightly out of context to explain the plot. At
some points, the voiceover matches the clip, becoming diegetic and synchronous which is used to reveal more
important aspects of the plot. There is low, cinematic and piano music throughout the trailer, beginning when his
wife’s murder is shown. As the trailer continues, the voiceover gets gradually faster and slightly more panicked.
In this trailer, a whirring camera sound can be heard four times, once after the initial black and white scene, once
midway through the trailer after Lenny’s wife’s death is revealed, once after he kills someone, and once more at
the end of the trailer as the title is revealed. This reinforces the presence of Lenny’s condition and how he has to
use a camera in order to record everything he is exposed to. The title scrolls onto the screen and appears in a blue,
capitalised, serif font on a black background. This is followed by a final short clip and the credits accompanied by
the sound of a camera flash.
Links to postmodernism
This trailer uses a non-linear narrative to reinforce the genre of postmodernism and a sense of disorientation.
The non-linear narrative is used to gradually reveal information throughout the film, revealing more of the past
each time, which is the opposite to the usual chronologically set production. It also uses surreality and an active
audience as the audience understands more about the character’s story than he remembers himself.

5. RUN LOLA RUNhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz2-D4lY2qg
This trailer opens with the distribution and production company screens. The first clip shows a low angle blurred
tracking shot of a moving crowd. This is overlaid with red, sans serif, narrow, capitalised, digital style text with a
tagline. The next clip begins with an extreme wide shot and is cross-cut with a series of clips that appear to
move closer to the object; a red rotary phone that conveys the diegetic and synchronous conversation between
the two protagonists, Lola and Manni. A clip of Lola picking up the phone transitions with a wipe to Manni in a
phone box frantically recalling what happened which is shown through a series of black and white edited clips
that transition with white flashes and are accompanied by a non-diegetic asynchronous clicking sound. This
cuts back to Manni in the phone box yelling at Lola whose pleonastic scream is followed by a transition that
appears to be shattering glass followed by the title in the same font as before but on a black background. The next
series of clips show Lola running which relates back to the title and some are shown edited with a split screen
which shows two sides of the action. The non-diegetic, asynchronous music throughout is a low tense bass
which crescendos as the action gets more intense. It particularly gets louder after Lola’s scream where most of the
action occurs. The final few clips are overlaid with another tagline and followed again by the title. This trailer is
ended with the producer name and the release date in a white, narrow, sans serif font.
Links to postmodernism
This production links to postmodernism through the use of surreality and competing claims of ‘truth’ because
the characters appear to be able to change their ‘realities’ and manipulate what happens to them such as altering
the scenario that caused Manni’s death. This also disorientates the audience since they are unaware of which of
the scenarios is the ‘correct’ reality.

6. THE AVENGERShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPoHPNeU9fc
This trailer begins with an aerial wide shot of the main location; New York. The following clips transition with
flashes to black and gradually get closer to the action until it reaches mid and long shots of running and
screaming civilians edited in slow motion. This is accompanied by non-diegetic, asynchronous, dramatic,
cinematic music that punctuates each clip. The following clips use pyrotechnics and other special effects to
mimic explosions while a voiceover from Director Fury runs in the foreground. This voiceover becomes diegetic
and synchronous in the next clip with a panning mid shot of him. The next clips show soldiers attempting to
shoot the yet unrevealed antagonists which relates to Fury’s speech about being “hopelessly outgunned”. Director
Fury is named in the next clip during a low angle mid shot. The distribution and production company screens are
shown 20 seconds into the trailer. The next few clips introduce the main protagonists, mostly in mid and long
shots. As the trailer continues, the music becomes more dramatic and tense to suit the scenes. The first text
screen appears 1 minute 5 seconds in, in a capitalised, sans serif, glowing, white, outline font on a navy
background which announces the release time. The clips after show the protagonists as a team and reveals the
main antagonist with low angle long shots. The last clip before the title shows a low angle dolly mid shot of the
protagonist team standing in a circle which gives the impression of a powerful team. The title is revealed in an
animated capitalised, stone-like font with the Marvel logo above it. This fades to a final battle scene which ends on
a cliffhanger and transitions to the release date with links and logos.
Links to postmodernism
The use of the Avengers characters show that this production is within the Marvel universe which suggests a use
of superheroes and the use of hyperreality. This trailer also uses surreality to create a world with superpowers
and alien-like creatures as shown in the trailer by the computer generated imagery which gives the characters
superhuman abilities and allows the creatures to fly. The Marvel universe creates a world full of both superheroes
and major villains, most of which have some sort of power that they use to defeat the other which usually relates
to aspects of postmodernism.