Representation analysis

The women in the film poster and the trailer have been presented as they have always been in Hollywood movies, by this I mean where women are symbolized as sex objects to their male counter parts and also seem to have a more inferior role. Such as the film poster, it shows a woman half naked, which fits the role of sex object and also the party atmosphere that is shown in the background of the poster. This could also suggest that the women in the background are the ‘entertainment’ of the party, where their purpose is to please the majority of the males at the party.  

DiCaprio is portrayed as the dominant character, as can be seen in the film poster. He is shown front and center of the poster, with his hands clasped in front of him. The pose he is in shows that he is comfortable in his position and also possesses a powerful personality. He is also seen wearing an expensive suit and you can also see a gold watch on his wrist; this once again reinforces the idea of DiCaprio being comfortable in his own skin and having that dominant personality of a typical protagonist. DiCaprio is also seen smiling in the film poster, the smile itself can be seen as smug or arrogant, suggesting he is very sure of himself and the fact that the watch is on his left wrist and at his side symbolize that he has time on his side, whereby he is able to accumulate a mass amount of wealth. This also fits in to the stereotype to the male being the most superior.

Narrative theory

The Wolf of Wall Street also uses a variety of narrative techniques. Applying Propp’s theory of character types, we can identify some characters and their roles played in the movie. Jordan Belfort is played by Leonardo DiCaprio and is introduced as the main protagonist. Also, the character of Jordan Belfort’s wife, Naomi Lapagilia, is played by Margot Robbie who could be seen as the heroine or a protagonist in the trailer. We can see this in the scene at 0.48-52 seconds where her husband crawls towards her which could suggest she is quite dominant. Margot Robbie’s character is also seen as a potential love interest for Jordan Belfort which helps the audience identify the relationships between the characters. The character of Donnie Azoff who is played by Jonah Hill can be seen as the ‘sidekick’ because of his humorous input. However, the main characters don’t quite fit their roles according to Propp’s theory. For example, the character of Jordan Belfort can be seen as a hero and villain because he is celebrated and criticised for his work. As well as the role of the FBI, they can be seen as a hero for preventing crime within the world of stock broking but can be viewed as a villain for ruining Jordan Belfort’s life.

The film’s narrative is clearly introduced in the trailer and follows Todorov’s theory of equilibrium.  The state of balance is the character of Jordan Belfort creating a name for him in the world of stock- broking. We know this because in the opening of the trailer, Jordan Belfort says: “The year I turned 26, I made 49 million dollars.” This allows the audience to understand that Jordan Belfort is leading a good life.  The disequilibrium is introduced at 1.43seconds into the trailer where the FBI arrives with guns and dogs. That is when Jordan Belfort tries to find a way where the government would not be able to arrest him for defrauding investors in a massive securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden. The new equilibrium is not shown in the trailer so that the audience would have to watch the whole film to enjoy this resolution.

Barthes enigma and action codes have been used in this trailer which means that the audience will be intrigued to this film and will want to watch the whole film to find out what happens in the end. The fact that The Wolf of Wall Street was based on a true story, most people would know how it would end but the audience would still ask “what did he do that the FBI are after him?” and “How did he become so wealthy?” We can clearly see that there are quite a few action codes seen within the trailer, for example at 1.49 seconds the audience sees Jordan Belfort holding a gun and a few scenes where there are extreme parties being held in the office throughout the trailer.