The film promotion for Porcelain exposes the unattainable nature of ‘perfection’, a quality that, when obsessively sought out for, is detrimental to the identity of young women who are pressured to attain it. The highly controlled visuals of the promotion reflect the process that is often undergone to reach ‘perfection’.
The promotion for Porcelain, a psychological drama film, are influenced by coming-of-age psychological drama films such as The Virgin Suicides, Priscilla, Black Swan and Girl, Interrupted. These films capture an essence of psychological unrest regarding young women, therefore, my research is highly rooted in analysis of the visual and auditory techniques that are implemented. A common technique of these films are visual motifs that reveal an inner conflict. Many of these films employ carefully curated elements of mise-en-scene to display the feminine influence that they adopt a focus upon. Porcelain utilizes motifs such as the mirror and makeup to symbolize the obsessive tendencies of the central character. The recurring presence of the lilies is a metaphorical representation of the psychological degradation that accompanies the strive toward ‘perfection’, eventually dying to display the destructive outcome. The production also facets a feminine influence through elements of mise-en-scene, especially costuming and props, where dresses and beauty products are relied on. Contrary to the conventions of psychological dramas, where a muted, neutral color palette is employed, the visuals in Porcelain adopt a soft, pastel color palette to reinforce the femininity of the central character and contrast her presentation to her internal struggles. However, due to the constraints of a course project, it is limited in the cinematic style developed through mise-en-scene and professional equipment. Despite these constraints, the realism that is created in response reflects the subject’s struggle, especially as a young woman.
Porcelain targets females that are close in age to the central character, who is sixteen years old, to foster an enhanced watching experience due to the sense of connection to the pressures that are exhibited. Therefore, the film is targeted at females thirteen to twenty years of age. This target audience is appropriate as young women are constantly exposed to societal expectations of themselves through the media, communicating that their lives must be without flaws, making the production a valuable personal message that this ideology is false. The moments of anxiety are represented in the trailers through close-up shots, a slow pace, and symbolic props, allowing for engagement with the narrative as the audience will be able to recognize this.
The promotional elements of Porcelain converge to create a branding centered upon femininity, fragility, and obsession. This is accomplished through the presence of a soft color palette, elegant typography, and symbolic props across all of the promotional components. The trailers, Instagram page, and posters/ thumbnails for Porcelain have a consistent visual language that is immediately recognizable to the audience of the production. The title, Porcelain, itself reinforces the branding, conveying aspects of delicacy, beauty, and fragility.
The Instagram page for Porcelain remains in the narrative world of the film, rather than serving solely as a promotional tool, to successfully engage the audience of the production. The typography is consistent with the trailers and posters/ thumbnails, reinforcing the soft and delicate feminine attributes that are associated with the film. This typography spans the entirety of the Instagram page. The motif of the flowers is prominent in the content of the Instagram page, working to reinforce the metaphor and foster recognizability within the audience. The page adopts a soft color palette, with the exception of a few posts that embrace a black background. Though the posts are intended to hint at the dark undertones of the plot, they compromise the consistency in the color palette, making the page appear less cohesive.
The posters/ thumbnails for Porcelain have visual cohesiveness within the font color and typography, varying in that they each present a different aspect of the production to widen the audience reachability. One of the posters displays the societal perception of the central character, taking on a more pastel and brightened color palette. Another poster displays the flowers, a visual metaphor within the narrative, with a darkened atmosphere to present the moody undertones of the film. Another presents the central character with cracks along her face to embrace the title of the film, Porcelain, and provide context about the narrative world.
The central character of Porcelain serves as a representation of the community of teenage girls who struggle with obsessive compulsive disorders, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and any issues that compromise their mental or physical well being. The extension to all teenage girls struggling is crucial to the success of the production as it aims to represent a much underrepresented topic within media. The issues present in Porcelain are often presented in a simplified way within other media texts, not fully reflecting the detriments that are associated with such issues. Porcelain aims to present these issues with as much realism as possible, displaying how obsessive tendencies can be present in everyday life, revealing the detriments associated with it that may not always be publicly displayed. The repeated focus on the girl’s excessive routine, eating habits, and the fit of her clothing shows how a daily life can become impossible when striving for perfection. The trailers represent this through the close-up shots and symbolic props. The Instagram page suggests this through the controlled, cohesive visuals. The focus on realism is crucial to reflecting that the experience of the central character is not an individual experience, but a wide social issue that affects many young women.
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