The Peaky Blinders

After World War I the economy was hit with some harsh economic times resulting in an increase in crime, robbery, violence and racketeering. In September 2013, Netflix started a series called Peaky Blinders which was created around gangs that were formed after the men returned home from World War I. The Peaky Blinders was a gangster family that was formed in Birmingham, England in 1919 which was several months after the war ended. 

The gangster leader for the Peaky Blinders was the ambitious and highly cunning Tommy Shelby.  Tommy had two brothers that were also very active in the family business.  The family owned several pubs in England, which they ran their betting and racketeering out of their pubs. The members of the Peaky Blinder gang wore distinctive clothing which included tailored jackets, bell-bottom trousers and brass lined button jackets and lapel overcoats.  Their clothing selection was worn to be noticed and potentially strike fear when they roamed the streets in their town.  However, the gang name “Peaky Blinders” was derived from the razorblades that were stitched in to the peak of their flap caps that were used as a weapon when the gang would fight with other gangs.

The main character, Tommy Shelby who is centered in the middle of the picture displays himself as the leader of the gang. He is positioned between his two brothers and shows confidence by his relaxed stance with his left hand in his pocket.  His two brothers stand next to him symbolizing unity, teamwork and loyalty.  Their appearance represents a business side of their profession, yet the flap caps are viewed as being dangerous and represent fear to the public. Their clothing style is clearly meant to separate themselves from the wealthy English gentlemen from that era. The detachable collar and three-piece tweed suits they wore were very popular with the wealthy in the mid 1920’s.  The dark color suits tweed suites represented the working man.  The gang members could wear lighter colored suits which were much more expensive but they did not want to viewed like others who lived in the same town.  Smoking during this era was not that popular but the Peak Blinders constantly smoked when doing business.  Smoking cigarettes represented confidence and control.

Liam N-

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial can be argued as one of the most iconic American movies. The movie portrays a young boy named Elliot befriending an alien who accidently ended up on Earth. The two become very close and help each other through many experiences. 

The first thing that catches your eye is the glowing light between the E.T.’s and Elliot’s fingers. The glowing light is an example of one of the basic forms of shapes used in advertisements, a circle. Circles are basic but the brain is drawn to the circle. Using the smaller circle where the fingers touch and then having a larger circle the make it more dramatic gives the image that feeling of how connected the two are.  

The colors used in the movie poster also helps with what you look at first which would be that red of the glowing light. The whole image uses different shades of blues, greys, white, and black. Adding in that pop of red makes your eye direct toward there because its different from the rest of the picture. The value and brightness of the glowing light stands out more and looks as if it’s really glowing. Blue is said to be a color of trust and loyalty. As shown in the movie, E.T. and Elliot stay with each other through thick and thin, so the light and dark blues used helps create that sense of softness and friendliness. Red can be described as strong so using the light red for the fingers touching can indicate that their friendship was close, and their bond was strong. 

To add to the poster, the placement of the fingers touching, the moon, and E.T. and Elliot on the bike all give the image more of an illusion. Having the bike going past the moon creates movement in the picture because your eye goes left to right. It almost looks as if they are moving across the poster. The colors used in the moon give it a life-like look and seems as the moon is coming out of the poster. Again, using the basic circle forms gets the attention of the brain.