Analysis of Easy A trailer (Teen angst)

Analysis of Easy A trailer

Easy A is a teen angst film, directed by Will Gluck, and released on 22nd October 2010 (UK). Its target audience is teenagers of both genders, but primarily aimed at girls.

The beginning of the Easy A trailer starts with the main character, Olive, setting up a camera and recording herself telling a story, which continues throughout the entirety of the trailer. As the perspective (while focusing on Olive) is that of the camera, it makes the audience feel as though they are connecting with her instantly - even though we don't know anything about her at that point - and therefore engages the audience as we want to know more about her. The diegetic sound is of her talking and explaining the idea behind the trailer, this idea then continues on using voice-overs throughout the trailer alongside some cheerful music. The cheerful music makes it seem quite innocent which is a contrast to what happens later on in the trailer, this is also representative of the teen angst genre; it usually starts off very cheerful and upbeat but a conflict follows which creates various problems.

There is then a montage of various clips from a school, which is very stereotypical of a teen angst film as school is heavily associated with teenagers as they spend a majority of their time there or doing things associated with it. This makes it relatable to the target audience and alongside the direct address aids in making them feel close to the main character.

After this montage various conversations unfold, the first between Olive and another character who asks about Olive, unaware of the fact that they have been numerous classes together. This makes the character seem quite unintelligent, which is a staple of teen angst films, another example of this is in the trailer for Mean Girls where one of the girls is implied to be unintelligent as she gets hit in the face by a basketball after attempting to catch it. Another conversation is between Olive and a boy who asks her to go out with him, Olive then mentions that he recently told her he was gay. This is also stereotypical of teenage life, as many teenagers are in relationships. This further develops into them pretending to be going out with each other, and then pretending to have sex by making various noises and jumping on the bed. This is quite comedic as the boy explains he wants to do it to become more popular, and the scenes themselves are also quite funny. This may attract an audience as many people will find it funny, and will therefore want to watch the film if they have enjoyed the trailer.