Anna Ryan
Professor Becky Harris
ENG 101 (013)
March 10, 2023
What Makes A Great Trailer as Great as Gatsby: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Trailer for the Film The Great Gatsby (2012)
Though set in the roaring 1920s, the trailer for the film The Great Gatsby (2012) contains modern thrills, and Leonardo DiCaprio, to transform F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original novel into a suspenseful live action film. Directed by Baz Lurhmann, who notorious for his work with romance drama films, The Great Gatsby (2012) incorporates elements of romance while producing dramatic anticipation unlike any other adaptation of the story. Though based on a novel, the film and the trailer capture a brilliant visual telling of the story of the 1920s American dream, greed,
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Within these montages are close-ups of anxious facial expressions, as well as flashbacks from Gatsby’s life which are reflective of the tempo of the music. Music can play a critical role in the success of a movie trailer. In the article, “The Role Of Music In Motion Picture Advertising And Theatrical Trailers: Altering Music To Modify Emotional Response And Genre Expectation,” Strobin’s connection between music and emotion in trailers can be applied to that of The Great Gatsby trailer. As discussed in the article, “[m]usical elements (e.g., tempo, rhythm, pitch) can give rise to various emotions without cognitive processing[,]” suggesting music to be a less obvious tool for creating an experience for the audience (3). Not only can music create an emotion on its own, but when it is paired with powerful cinematic shots, it can enhance the intended emotion of the scene for the audience experiencing the film. In the case of a romance drama trailer, the pairing of strong music and flash shots can produce adrenaline as well as longing for closure to the uncertainties and character relationships presented in the trailer. As demonstrated in The Great Gatsby trailer, the song “Love is Blindness'' is queued at 1:47, and is then followed by a montage of short clips containing flashes of gold, a …show more content…
The color green can represent feelings of hope, but it can also be used to portray a sense of envy. In the article “Stimmung: exploring the aesthetics of mood,” Sinnerbrink’s conversation of color in film aids in explaining the purpose of the green filter in the trailer for The Great Gatsby. The discussion of color in the article reveals a “film’s remarkable colour palette…[evokes] artfully the moods of nostalgia, romantic longing and thwarted desire, it offers an unobtrusive reflection on the pleasure of cinematic viewing” ultimately appealing to the viewers emotions through visual senses (158). With the application of Sinnerbrink’s idea of color coordinating feelings among the audience, these tactics can be observed throughout the trailer. There is an emphasis of green at three points in the trailer, first in the curtains of Gatsby’s home/office at 00:46, second in the flowers included in Daisy and Gatsby’s reunion in the guest house at 00:49, and again when Daisy meets with Gatsby and Tom in a green decorated room at 1:26. The greens of these scenes flips between hope and envy, expressing Gatsby’s hope in his relationship with Daisy, and his envy towards Daisy’s husband, Tom. The green hue of the filter, as well as the physical presence of green in