Textual Analysis Of The Movie Beyondblue

In 2003, Beyondblue produced a cinema ad in which a boy was bullied for being left-handed – an analogy between discriminating against someone left-handed to a person who is not heterosexual (Beyondblue, 2003). Beyondblue has manipulated the characters to appear relatable – a technique called Plain Folks – so the audience connects on a social level with the portrayed message (visible in Appendix C) and reacts a desired way the director controls. Correspondingly, the film features Name-Calling where the term “freak” and “abnormal” is repeated, along with images that appeal to our emotions of sympathy, fear and possibly guilt.

Shot sizes also capture these techniques and skilfully expose the viewers through a tainted lens. Close-up shots have
been utilized to display the emotions of the victim to communicate to the audience how he is feeling (see Appendix D), and gain the viewers’ sympathy, subtly creating a connection and acquiring their interest.

As today’s audience has become desensitized to particular explicit images, Beyondblue created a subtle advertisement that still connected and proposed the anticipated message to the modernised viewers. By using an analogy/metaphor and chosen techniques that engaged the audience and forced them to become involved with what the propagandist was trying to convey, the intended impact was achieved.