In light of the recent cast list posting
and subsequent start of rehearsals, the subject that most interests me for rhetorical
analysis this week is Rent, our
school’s spring musical for 2014. In the spirit of choosing new and interesting
types of text to analyze, I selected to use the musical’s original Broadway
promotion poster as my visual text. The poster features eleven solo photographs
of the eight lead characters (Mimi, Roger, Collins, Angel, Maureen, and Joanne)
in various poses. The photographs are arranged in three columns and four rows
revolving around the word “Rent” in the center of the poster. The author of
this visual text can be identified as the production team of the original
Broadway production of Rent. This includes Jonathon Larson, the writer and
composer, and Michael Greif, the original director. As the writer and original
director, Mr. Larson and Mr. Greif respectively are the most qualified sources
in producing a visual to accurately convey the message of the show. The
promotion poster’s target audience at the time of its release was the
theater-going community, specifically those who may not have been aware of the
new show coming to the Nederlander Theatre. The purpose of the poster,
obviously, was to persuade people to come and see Rent.
Juxtaposition is extremely prevalent in
this poster. The eleven photographs feature the leads in unique and contrasting
positions. Placing these photographs side by side to create one big rectangle
displays the differences between the characters, while also showing in a larger
sense that they are all interconnected. This message is a preview of many of
the themes in the show. This interesting and striking visual work pretty well
towards attracting an audience for Rent. I believe that this poster is
effective in achieving its purpose of promoting the show Rent and attracting an
audience. However, I feel that a few words pertaining to the shows content or
an important line from one of the songs would have enhanced the poster and
given the viewers a more direct preview of the musical’s content.
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