Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Reed College of Media

Department

Not Listed

Committee Chair

Robert Britten

Committee Co-Chair

Steve Urbanski

Committee Member

Steve Urbanski

Committee Member

Geah Pressgrove

Committee Member

Elizabeth Cohen

Abstract

The year 2020 brought a widespread closure of movie theaters, exacerbating a trend wherein streaming services gained an increasing importance in movie distribution. This study examines how the changing nature of the motion picture distribution market after the advent of the streaming service is reflected in movie advertising, specifically the movie poster. The research uses a content analysis methodology to compare film posters across time, from before the beginning of streaming services to the arrival of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Analysis is derived from Uses and Gratifications theory and scholarship on star power. The research shows filmmakers are related to both cognitive and affective appeals as well as growth in affective and integrative appeals.

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