Each soundtrack promotes a different aspect of the film. For example, in the first one, the first song we hear is "All you need is love", which promotes the romantic side of the film. However, in the second trailer, we hear two very different songs. The first is "You turn me on" by Norah Jones, a slow and sensual song to appeal to the romance fans. The background music also ties in with the action on screen, in that Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) enters the scene at the precise moment the lyrics "You turn me on" are sung. This shows the audience that romance will blossom between these characters, one who is clearly high-class and the other who is only a tea lady,a further incentive to watch for those who are fans of the "cinderella story" which is sure to ensue. After these lyrics, the background music changes and becomes a faster, more upbeat song. This ties in with the comedy side of the film. Each trailer approaches the soundtracks in different ways, with the intention of attracting the widest audience possible. While "All you need is love" and "You turn me on" are likely to attract romance fans, the faster song would be more likely to attract fans of comedy, as it sends the message that Love Actually will be a fast-paced film, as opposed to a slower-paced, more purely romantic film.
A central image in both trailers is the love heart, which is used in different ways. The heart was most probably chosen as it is the symbol most widely connoted with love, and the ways in which it is presented reinforce the romantic yet light-hearted impression of the trailers. In trailer one, a heart is shown as 19 broken pieces coming together. This is used to represent the 19 people whose lives will intertwine during the course of the film, and the image of the broken heart shows that the film will be a "comedy" in the Shakespearean sense of the word- with the film starting at the lowest point in the character's lives, and finishing happily. This would attract those who are fans of happy endings.
In trailer two, the love hearts are used in two different ways. Firstly, they are shown falling as petals behind the titles. This connotes confetti, which is thrown at a wedding, and reinforces the implied promise that the film will contain lots of marriage and true love for the more romantic viewer. The love heart also appears spinning quickly in the background of the trailer, and this quick speed connotes the chaos and the various ups and downs of any natural relationship. This craziness implies that the relationships shown will be full of blunders and comic moments, and therefore attracts the comedy fan. The differing presentations of each love heart show the many sides and faces of love, and are therefore able to attract viewers who wish to see one particular type of love.
Love Actually perpetuates a number of stereotypes held in modern society. The first and most obvious of these is the gender stereotyping, that while men are dominant in society, women take lower-class jobs and a more passive role in relationships. This is shown when Hugh Grant says "Who do you have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit?", proving that although he is the Prime Minister, he is still "one of the lads" and therefore able to make the type of sexist comment that is equated with typical male behaviour. After this line, Martine McCutcheon enters, and the first we see of her is her bottom in a tight skirt. After she enters, she then smiles as though she is eager to please him. This shows that the women are seen as more passive and simply a pretty sex object for the men. The fact that he is higher class while she is lower also shows the nature of our patriarchal society.
Another stereotype here is the representation of race. Apart from one black man, the trailers do not recognise the city of London's true ethnic diversity. This shows that Working Title films want to give the image of London as a predominantly white area, although this is not reflected in reality. The reason behind this is that, in the hope that Love Actually would have worldwide (and not just nationwide) appeal, the trailers have been used to market the film towards the American audience. By showing London as a white, middle-class area, Working Title films are feeding the traditional stereotyping given to the English by Americans, that they are all traditionalistic and middle-class. When lower-class citizens have been shown, they are usually as assistants or cleaners to the more prominent middle-class character, reinforcing the stereotype that everything in English society revolves around the bourgeois.
Another way in which trailer two has specifically been used to attract Americans is by the fast-paced montage of the most famous scenes around London, such as Tower Bridge and the London Eye. These images reinforce the location of the film, and therefore attract American viewers who are interested in British culture by feeding the sugar-coated perspective they have of the country. Another reason for this setting is that it contributes to the traditionally romantic theme of the film. Love is generally expected to happen in a "fairy-tale" romantic area, rather than somewhere more realistic such as Brixton market.
These stereotypes provide the perfect set-up for all sorts of traditional relationships, such as the "rags-to-riches" story. However, these are very much fictional situations and not likely to occur in real life.
Another, though less obvious, form of stereotype is the stereotyping of certain actors. If an actor plays one type of role for too long, society may type-cast him into that role and he may find it very difficult to play anything else. The most obvious example of this is Hugh Grant, who plays the leading male in almost every Working Title film. These roles include Notting Hill (as William Thacker), Four Weddings and a Funeral (as Charles), and Two Weeks Notice (as George Wade). In each of these, the role is essentially the same: the bumbling, middle-class gentleman who is in love with a girl but too shy to tell her. This gentlemanly image is reflected in his personal life, growing up in suburbia and winning a scholarship to Oxford university. Using Hugh Grant as a lead character also has obvious advantages: the image of the stereotypical English man is exploited to further appeal to Americans with an interest in British culture.
However, Martine McCutcheon is portrayed very differently. After a role in Eastenders, she progressed onto the West End with the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady before appearing in her first film, Love Actually. In each of these, she is depicted as a typical East End girl who suddenly rises to riches thanks to some benefactor, in these cases Henry Higgins and the Prime Minister. This too mirrors her real life story, in that she was a typical girl before becoming an actress and achieving fame. Indeed, the role of Natalie was written especially for her.
Not only these two, but the entire cast has been chosen to improve the success of the film. Each actor is well-known, and therefore has followings of fans who would see a film in order to see their favourite actor or actress, and due to the stellar-cast of Love Actually, these fans would dramatically improve the box office ratings. Each actor, moreover, comes with his or her particular stereotype, so we know what to expect from the film. Bill Nighy, for example, is depicted as an ageing rocker, and Alan Rickman as an older man who falls for a younger woman. Each of these roles is typical of the actor who portrays them, and so adds a sense of familiarity to the film, making it easier for the viewers to involve themselves.
The film is also stereotypical in that it is a perfect example of a Working Title film, with its genre of romantic comedy. As has previously been mentioned, Working Title films are most well-known for having essentially created their own film genre of romantic comedy, having produced some of the viewer's favourite romantic comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones' Diary. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the romantic comedy is not a new film genre, as many of Working Title's ideas have been borrowed from older films and plays such as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In Love Actually, one of the most prominent actresses is Martine McCutcheon. As has previously been noted, most public knowledge of Martine centres around her rags-to-riches story, which she epitomises both on-screen and in real life. Having skyrocketed to fame via Eastenders, naturally the press has taken a great interest in her. For example, in Closer magazine, a two-page article has been written detailing her weight losses and gains over the years. This magazine criticises her for weighing "over 10 stone", although in reality 10 stone is not overweight. In this way, the press are using her as a tool to promote the diet-obsessed culture for which the magazine caters. This is reinforced by the fact that the article contains a subsection entitled "Martine's low dairy diet", to provide assistance for anyone who wants to look like her.
All of this is a side effect of the modern society which dictates that people should not be happy with themselves and constantly strive to look like and be like their favourite celebrities. This is shown in the Closer magazine article, especially in the "low dairy diet" section- for example, when it says "if you want to give up dairy products to try and lose weight, try these simple swaps". This proves that one of the aims of the article is to inform readers as to how to become thinner. The majority of women reading will not be overweight, but may feel as though they are after hearing a size 12 figure described as too heavy. Although physical beauty does not play a major part in anything but a short-term relationship, women are constantly fed the message that in order to get a better husband they must look better and weigh less. This is evident in the entire magazine article, the effect of which is to make its readers feel bad about their weight and so make them wish to buy the magazine, which reveals the "secret" of fast and effective weight loss.
Martine's role in Love Actually is that of a tea lady falling in love with the Prime Minister. However, due to their widely different classes, upbringings and backgrounds, the chances of this really happening are very slim. Nevertheless, it does add to the fairy-tale like, happy ever after quality of the film.
Within the trailers, the language chosen is there to promote the film. For example, when Hugh Grant says "Who do you have to shag around here to get a cup of coffee and a chocolate biscuit?", the viewer is taken into the more private life of the Prime Minister, and the informal style of speech indicates this. Another effect of this is that it shows that although he is the most important man in the country, he is only an ordinary and approachable man, making the concept of a relationship between him and Natalie more realistic. Although it is fictional, many people would be interested in this as they would like to know what the Prime Minister is like behind his public image.
Also, the language used in each trailer differs. For example, in the first trailer when a girl says to Kris Marshall "There's one problem. We would be naked." He replies with: "No, I think that would be fine." However, in the second trailer his reply is: "Praise the lord!". This agrees with the two different audiences the trailer is marketed towards: the first shows a more quiet and noncommital reply for the fans of romance, and the second shows a more cheerful and witty response to show the comedic aspects of the film. Also, in the second trailer, the line "Praise the lord!" is shown after the title "Love is miraculous". This connects the title and the scene, as both make some reference to God.
In the trailers, a mise-en-scene can often tell the viewer more about the images within the film. For this purpose, the mise-en-scene chosen is the long shot image of Laura Linney's character on the phone to her brother while about to have sex with Rodrigo Santoro's character. The long shot has been chosen to establish the scene for the benefit of the audience. This scene is the only one to subvert the conventional gender stereotypes, in that she is on top of him, instead of the traditional position of the woman, which is underneath. This shows that out of the two, she holds the power dynamics. This is further reinforced by the fact that as she tells her brother that she is not busy, he looks up at her in a confused manner, as if he is unable to stop her. A further image in this scene is the fact that her slip is pink, a colour which traditionally connotes feminity. It is not, however, white or red, as many of the women in the trailer are depicted wearing. This implies that the relationship will not be fulfilled, or does not have the depth to continue.
Each trailer promotes its message with the use of film techniques such as titles and animations. The most obvious of these titles are those which attempt to explain what love really is, and these are used in both trailers. However, even in these, there are differences between the two. For example, in trailer one, just before Bill Nighy says that the best shag he ever had was "Britney Spears", the title shown is "Love is honest". However, in trailer two, the title is "Love is easy". These also cater to the two different audiences: in trailer one, the word "honest" is a more positive and endearing quality, whereas in trailer two, "easy" shows a more flippant, short-term side of love.
Also, the first trailer uses an animation technique, in which mini-scenes are shown scrolling across the screen. This coincides with the caption "it's about 19 people". Therefore, this technique is effective in showing the viewer as many of these 19 people as possible. Also, the audience is shown highlights of the film itself, and becomes acquainted with the variety of things which happen during the course of the film.
Another technique used during the trailers is that of juxtaposition. Traditionally, juxtaposition would show two people in entirely different locations, usually talking to each other on the phone. However, when juxtaposition has been used in these trailers (between the characters of Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro), all that separates them is a wall. This gives a comic effect, because although neither can see what the other is doing, the audience is able to see both. In this way, juxtaposition has been used to create a kind of soliloquy- with Laura Linney revealing her true feelings to the camera and no-one but the audience knowing.
In addition, various framing decisions have been made by the director. For example, in the scene where the secretary attempts to seduce Alan Rickman, the shot used is a high angle shot. This attempts to show us what Alan Rickman would be seeing from his point of view. It also mirrors the stereotypical roles of men and women, as the woman is below and seems to have less power, while the man is above and more powerful.
After watching these trailers, I would not personally have wanted to go and see the film, because romantic comedy is not a genre I would usually watch. However, after studying media and the techniques used within trailers, I have realised that more goes into the production and marketing of a film than I previously thought. Also, it has been shown that the media perpetuates many old-fashioned stereotypes, which is not what would be expected in today's multicultural society, especially in a film about modern relationships.
Each trailer is littered with subjective views of love, presenting it as more fairy-tale like than realistic. Furthermore, the gender and racial stereotypes shown present London as nothing more than a one-dimensional stereotype. These stereotypes have not been created by Working Title films, but originated many years ago when woman was seen as "a man's possession", and the only non-white people in Britain were slaves. However, the trailers were not designed for realism, but to make money, and it is clear that they have achieved this, this being proved by the film's success at the box office, grossing over £25 million.
