Semiotic Analysis of Marvel Studios’ Avengers

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Table of Contents

Introduction
A Semiotic Analysis of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War Trailer
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Semiotics is essential to understanding the signs and intended messages of a product. In particular, mass media rely on cultural meanings encoded in colors, objects, text, gestures, behaviors, and other elements. According to Ginting et al., “semiotics is the study of sign processes of meaning in society, both literal and figurative, both using language and non-language” (3518). In this regard, movie previews and teasers are particularly interesting to examine since they use various signals to inspire excitement in the audience and present what the film is about. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a semiotic analysis of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War trailer, focusing on the use of visuals, language, and audio to convey explicit and implicit messages.

A Semiotic Analysis of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War Trailer

Nowadays, nearly everyone has heard of Marvel superhero movies at least once. The widespread popularity can be explained by memorable action scenes and exciting storylines (Folch). Phillips notes that “comics have their own peculiar convention of nontraditional narrative, which has endowed them with a unique aesthetic” (335). Since this paper focuses on exploring the Avengers: Infinity War trailer from a semiotic point of view, the choice of visuals, music, and dialogues should be discussed with regard to its intended messages. This movie belongs to action, fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure films, combining the distinctive attributes of each category (Phillips 334). The Avengers: Infinity War trailer stands out from other examples of the science fiction system due to its epic battle scenes, ability to build viewers’ suspense and the gathering of legendary superheroes in one movie. The target audience of the preview includes adolescents, young adults, and adults aged between 13 and around 45 years. In particular, it targets superhero film lovers and Marvel fans who are familiar with previous movies in the sequence and were looking forward to this one.

The Avengers: Infinity War trailer begins with a shot of cosmos scenery with a point of white light in the distance and a lifeless red planet in the foreground, accompanied by an ominous machinery noise. This choice of visuals and sounds indicates the future scene of action and the gloomy atmosphere of the upcoming events, setting the tone for the whole preview. As per Ginting et al., “the signs of the movie trailer are arranged in such a way as to achieve the expected effect” (3519). The first 30 seconds of the trailer introduce the viewer to the main characters that will feature in the film, portraying them in confused, concerned, and distraught states (Marvel Entertainment 00:00:04-00:00:29). For instance, Tony Stark is sitting and rocking back and forth with his eyes closed, which signals to the audience that he is in significant distress. The next shots reveal Bruce Banner amidst a building’s ruins looking up and two sorcerers looking down, with a hole in the roof above them, making the audience question what happened.

Generally, the clip’s opening uses dark colors, costumes including capes, body armor, and bodysuits, as well as sci-fi elements such as glowing stones, magic shields, a spaceship, and an android character. These signs associate with the superhero theme and intend to represent the movie’s overall atmosphere vividly. Ginting et al. emphasize that “the audience who saw the trailer felt the situation that had occurred” (3519). Furthermore, Ginting et al. note that “the introduction of characters is not only based on pictures, but the presence of text” (3520). The trailer introduces the story’s background with the phrase “there was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people” (Marvel Entertainment 00:00:03-00:00:10). The characters continue the line saying the idea was “to see if we could become something more, so when they needed us, we could fight the battles that they never could” (Marvel Entertainment 00:00:11-00:00:28). This text is read by different people in turns, which reinforces the concept of their unity and teamwork.

The trailer cuts to Marvel Studios’ famous opening theme, where superheroes’ images are shown in a way that resembles flipping through a comic book. Ginting et al. explain that “the system of semiotic plays as a main role in the process of changing images” (3519). Furthermore, this sign is used to emphasize the origins of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The music played at this point is slow, dramatic, and powerful, with deep and strong chords that contribute to the epic feeling. The audience sees a number of other sci-fi elements, including a giant spacecraft, teleports, magic spells, high-tech armor, alien creatures, and infinity stones. Their semantic meanings are utilized to portray a different universe where individuals with incredible powers exist along with usual people. The core idea of the trailer is to explore one’s ability and right to decide others’ fates. As Roberts claims, the trailer “raises a question familiar to hero stories — what is the worth of one life relative to many?” In other words, the trailer contains signals and symbols that are typical for superhero movies.

The Avengers: Infinity War trailer presents characters differently, highlighting their superpowers and specific traits. For instance, the villain teleports to the scene of action out of a cloud of black smoke, whose implicit meaning is danger, fire, and threat (Marvel Entertainment 00:01:08-00:01:13). There is chaos around him, and the teaser uses such elements as destroyed buildings, debris, and fire to create underline the antagonist’s dangerous nature. Ginting et al. emphasize that “in the process of showing a movie trailer or film, it cannot be separated from semiotics” (3533). The gathering of the superheroes, the struggle of each individual, and the battle scenes contain specific elements that reinforce the viewers’ feelings and increase tension.

In this regard, the red color is used to indicate devastation, such as in the case of the lifeless planet. Alternatively, it represents a deadly weapon, including Wanda Maximoff’s witchcraft. In both cases, the conventional meaning of red is used, indicating hazard. The blue tesseract symbolizes infinite force that a mere human cannot handle. Generally, the blue color is associated with the sky or water, both of which cannot be held or encompassed by people. Black stands for fear and darkness, which is why it is used in the trailer to enhance the dramatic events. Colors play an essential part in contributing to the trailer’s semiotic meaning.

Even though different cultures vary in their way of interpreting symbols and signs, there are certain conventional elements that moviemakers utilize in their works. In Avengers: Infinity War trailer, visual and verbal data are combined to intrigue the audience. According to Ginting et al., “the semiotic elements in the trailer form a unity to convey meaning with various signs” (3533). In particular, war sounds are used to depict a battle scene, including shooting, growling, screaming, the crashing of swords, explosions, and machine guns. As the trailer progresses, the events are presented in a faster manner, building suspense and leading to a slow-motion scene where the superheroes rush together into the battle, moving towards the viewer (Marvel Entertainment 00:01:55-00:02:02). Elements such as epic rhythmic music, visuals, framing, and the slowing down of the clip reinforce the feeling of a furious fight between the good and the evil, leaving the audience wondering about its outcomes.

Conclusion

To conclude, the analysis of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer revealed that this video clip combined various signs and used visuals, language, and audio to convey explicit and implicit messages. The choice of signals, words, and other elements with particular semiotic meanings make this preview stand out from the rest. In particular, action scenes, epic music, and characters’ lines facilitate the cultural significance of the movie and build suspense in the audience. An effective choice of visuals, audio, and text in this short teaser intrigues the viewer and creates a unique atmosphere.

Works Cited

Folch, Christine. “Why the West Loves Sci-Fi and Fantasy: A Cultural Explanation.” Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Pop Culture for Writers, edited by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, 10th ed., Macmillan Learning, 2021, pp. 378-381.

Ginting, Janinta, et al. “Semiotics in Avengers’ Movie: Infinity War and End Game Trailer.” Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal): Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 5, no. 1, 2022, pp. 3518-3534. ResearchGate, doi:10.33258/birci.v5i1.4020

“Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War Official Trailer.”YouTube, uploaded by Marvel Entertainment, 2017.

Phillips, Maya. “The Narrative Experiment That Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Pop Culture for Writers, edited by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, 10th ed., Macmillan Learning, 2021, pp. 334-343.

Roberts, David. “The Irresolvable Moral Dilemma at the Heart of Avengers: Infinity War.”Vox, 2018.

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Semiotic Analysis of Marvel Studios’ Avengers

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