Teen Beach Movie Trailer Rhetorical Analysis
The trailer used: https://youtu.be/6FuIBuXCiTo
All three rhetorical devices were present in the trailer. The logos was presented by the “Disney Channel Original Movie.” The characters involved in the movie were a form of Ethos because Ross Lynch was a fairly well-known actor on Disney Channel at the time and Maia Mitchell was an up and coming actor, always appearing but never being a main role. Lastly, as with most trailers from Disney and Pixar and movies targeted at children, Pathos was used intensely.
This trailer followed the 3-Act Structure. In the first act, the main characters, setting, and important details (Brady’s favorite movie and Mack’s opinion of it) were introduced. In the second act, a conflict was stated (the reality of life hits and the friendship between the two main characters are tested because McKenzie has to leave to pursue a dream that was never told to Brady once summer ends), a semi-solution was applied (the two are swept away to a land without their “real world” problems), and finally, a major conflict/climax of movie (getting stuck in the movie because they are changing the plot) helped draw in the viewer’s curiosity. Lastly, in act three, “Cruisin’ For A Bruisin’” (referring to just live in the moment and stop stressing the future) played as the trailer ran through the funnier and more memorable scenes of the movie.
There were many emotions the characters and the storyline evoked from the audience. The trailer asked questions like “how would you feel and what would you do if you got pulled into your favorite movie?” Or, “how would you feel if your best friend was leaving you without prior mention?” Following the question before, “if you had the chance to keep him or her with you would you, even if it meant he or she would be forced to give up their dream?” Even, “what’s more important, friendship, your personal dream, or the dream others expect you to live?” These questions are more mature and require the audience - which could even include an adult - to think about the tough reality of life in comparison to an ideal world.
The questions were not the only use of Pathos. There are two contradicting emotions constantly battling for attention. The first is an urgency to leave, and the second is the desire to sit back and enjoy. McKenzie is determined to find a way home. The audience knows about her deal with her aunt, her emotional turmoil between leaving her best friend and doing what her mother wanted, and her fear of getting trapped in a different universe. The blonde, Brady, is more focused on enjoying the once in a lifetime opportunity to do something he’d always dreamed of; live a day in Westside Story. He understands “Mac’s” concern about returning home, but he wants to have one last great memory with his best friend before he has to let her leave. The overall emotion is a sense of sadness. The two friends have different views on how to spend their time, and ultimately, it seems to be pulling them apart. The audience is pulled left and right to decide who is right in this situation, and it relates back to the questions before, what is more important to the specific viewer.
Another convincer to see the movie is the narrator’s drop in tone as he introduces the climax of the story. “Now, they’re changing the movie, and if they don’t change it back, it may change them. And they’ll never get home.” The sense of urgency comes rushing back and the audience is on edge, wondering will the characters really become stuck in a movie. The characters panicked faces as they realize what’s happening to them creates an exciting change in their thought patterns. Brady, originally against going home so early because it meant they were “hurrying to grow up,” finally understands the dire situation and begins to work with McKenzie to try and get the movie plot back on track, which may be a little difficult when discussing the real problem. They have to find a way for the main characters, turf rivals, to fall out of love with them, and in love with each other, without giving away their real identities.
The genre of the movie is a Disney comedic parody of cheesy musicals. The movie appears to be Disney’s idea of a cheesy musical because there are numerous songs, the dance moves are all bright, expressive, and cheery, the clothes and sets are very vibrant and colorful, and there is a consistent comedic undertone, even in the most dramatic moments. Although the movie is targeted at children, if the actors were replaced with more well-known adult actors and a little of the humor became more mature, the movie trailer could potentially draw in the interests of more adults.
Certain phrases were effectively scattered throughout the trailer to help the viewer retain key points from the quick commercial.
Brady exclaims at the beginning of the trailer, “Summer’s not over yet.” The audience can share in his enthusiasm for the desire to be on an everlasting vacation, but soon after, we are introduced to the plot turner. What will happen when summer ends? This sentence symbolizes a lot more than just the ending of a vacation. The ending of summer, in a literal sense, means McKenzie leaving for college. In a more subtle sense, it means the possible end of McKenzie and Brady’s friendship. Again, the trailer attacks this idea by throwing the characters into a universe where their main problem becomes overshadowed by an even more dire situation.
Brady’s goal in keeping Mack in the movie is not only to selfishly keep her away from her dreams. Brady also genuinely wants to explore what this new world has to offer after watching from behind a screen for so many years. The general eagerness he has is passed on to the audience through a sense of irony. “When will you get another chance to be in a movie?” He is an actor playing a regular character experiencing what it would be like to physically be in a movie. Whereas the audience is living through his experience as though we are in the movie with him. Would it really be this scary, this fun, this cool to go into our favorite movie and never return home to our reality?
“Every moment I’m here, I’m not doing what my mother wanted me to do.” McKenzie tries to explain her side of the situation to Brady, who’d rather enjoy his once in a lifetime moment in a movie and his last moments with his best friends. Her concern is apparent as she states, “My entire future depends on us getting out of here.” If the viewer were to only see her side of the story, the entire genre of the movie would change because her perspective is different from that of Brady, the other characters, and the moral of the story.
“We’re morphing into the movie!” The word morphing ignites a sense of fear. There is a negative connotation behind the word that brings this feeling of doom. Morphing means their physically changing and adapting to the movie, which means their losing a sense of themselves. That’s a terrifying prospect that makes the viewer fear for the safety of the characters, again, effectively evoking an interest in seeing the full movie as a trailer is supposed to do.
Overall, the trailer does what it is supposed to do. It catches the viewer’s attention, keeps the attention for the entire two minutes, and remains interesting enough until the next viewing of the trailer. The song was catchy and the colors were vibrant. The accent of the female lead also echoes in one’s ear after the trailer has ended because it was so different from the other characters. The director of the trailer did an excellent job of selecting specific details and scenes from the movie. Teen Beach Movie sounds like an amazingly fun movie to watch during the summer.
