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Andres Villarreal

Dr. Sharity Nelson

English 1301 - 119

4 October 2022

Dunkirk Poster Analysis

“The event that shaped our world” is the phrase written at the bottom of the advertisement

poster for the film, Dunkirk (Fig 1). It is easy for a viewer to miss it when just glimpsing at it

quickly. The Dunkirk promotional poster is often overlooked and should be appreciated more for

what it presents. It shows an image of a soldier in the forefront, looking toward the destruction in

front of him that resulted from the activity of war. Used to promote the release of the 2017 film,

viewers were able to see the theme and story unfold from this one image. It represents the film so

well with the colors it has, the emotion it conveys, and its display of historical warfare.

This poster’s use of color brings out the attention to detail that was put into this image. It

consists of color variations of blue and black, which are usually used to symbolize gloom in the

characters or in the themes of the story. War is something that is unpleasant and brings a sense of

sadness to all people, so the use of these shades is appropriate for the image. The sky is a light blue

color, which can indicate that the event is happening during the early hours of the morning or in the

evening at sundown.There are orange shades that are indicating that there is fire around the area

with smoke coming out from them. A darker shade of blue is used to form the shape of military

ships in the distance. This color along with the color of the smoke makes ships seem difficult to see

because of the debris in the air. All these colors paint a detailed picture of war depicted in the

Dunkirk film.
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Words do not always have to be used to describe emotions. An expression on a person’s

face or a scenery can bring out all kinds of feelings to an audience. Starting with the left hand side

of the image, there is a scene of people, who are most probably soldiers, jumping off a military ship

into the ocean. Viewers can indicate that these soldiers are jumping off out of fear of being hit by

the airplanes flying above them. The poster helps the viewers feel the soldiers’ fear and desire to

survive the chaos that is going on. Another emotional section falls back on the soldier at the center

of the image. He is standing neutrally with a rifle slung over his shoulder and holding his helmet in

one hand while a thin dark shade covers over him. There are many emotions that are displayed

from this one person. Some people can make claims saying that he is in awe of the sight in front of

him. He is looking at all the destruction and wondering how he got to this moment in his life. The

audience may look at this soldier and try to put themselves in his place and imagine the feelings he

has. Feelings of loss, of fear, of determination, even feelings of the unknown of his survival. He

could be taking a glance at the war right before him, preparing himself, not knowing if he will live

to see another day.

History books are filled with events to be learned about and imagined by readers, but

sometimes it is better to physically see the event to further understand it. The Dunkirk poster does

an incredible job of capturing this historical battle that took place during World War II in 1940.

This can clearly be seen by the soldier in the center. The style of military uniform looks to be

around the era of World War II. The helmet he is holding shows that he was part of the British

military, because the British soldiers wore helmets of this style. They were shaped in a semicircle to

sit on the head with a flat rim around the perimeter of it. The tip of his weapon can be seen peering

from his shoulder. By looking at the craftsmanship of it, viewers or historians can see that this is a

weapon made during this period of time. One other factor that contributes to historical accuracy is
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the airplanes flying over at the top of the image. Airplanes have evolved as years have gone by, so

it is obvious to see that these airplanes are of an older style. These were the types of planes with

wide wings and barreled tips and nosecone spirals at the front, which were used widely throughout

the war. Viewers are able to get a glimpse of a historical battle setting during World War II through

this poster.

As a result, there is more to a movie poster than just an image. Dunkirk’s promotional

poster tells the audience its story through the use of color variation, different emotions that are

displayed by the soldier and the environment, and historical points of view that give the audience a

better understanding of the scene of war during World War II. This poster is basically a trailer of

the movie through an image. The audience gets a small piece of what the film is about to further

prepare themselves for what is to come. Dunkirk’s poster is a masterpiece of detail and storytelling

and should be appreciated more for years to come.

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Appendix

Figure 1. Poster for the film

Dunkirk (2017).
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Work Cited

Poster for the film Dunkirk. Amazon.com, 2017,

https://www.amazon.com/DUNKIRK-POSTER-ORIGINAL-Advance-CHRISTOPHER/

dp/B0755MMYHP. Accessed 5 October 2022.