Marvel’s Captain America Civil War poster: An analysis based on the Grammar of Visual Design

Abstract

Movie posters, a multimodal genre used to attract viewers, are a complex form of communication that contains verbal and visual semiotic resources. The entertainment company Marvel has created a cinematic universe where movie posters play an essential role in marketing. Despite Marvel’s global influence in sociocultural practices, few studies investigate its movie posters. Hence, this study analyzes the visual structures used in the Captain America: Civil War theatrical movie poster, drawing on the Grammar of Visual Design, specifically the representational, interactive, and compositional metafunctions. Regarding the representational metafunction, results show a bidirectional transaction, highlighting the faceoff between the two teams of heroes. Their symmetry also hints at classificational processes. Concerning interactional meanings, the heroes gaze at each other, inviting viewers to observe the image from a social distance while keeping some detachment. Moreover, the camera angle creates an equal power relation between the main heroes and viewers. Finally, compositional meanings strengthen the separation between the two teams through different elements, but they simultaneously indicate the teams will reunite. Thus, these three kinds of visual meanings together provide an adequate summary of the movie plot and aptly contribute to the construal of a future conflict between the two teams.