“Scarface poster. Ugh!” The protagonist of Trainwreck has only this to say upon waking up with a hangover and spying the item in question on her fling’s bedroom wall. She’s correct to feel apprehensive: her latest lay is not in good company. Other fictional characters who’ve hung a picture of Tony Montana on their walls include violent drug dealer Johnny in Alpha Dog, men’s rights activist Duke in Glass Onion, gang leader Sonny in Dead Man’s Shoes, and perennial manchild Joey on Friends. In short, over the years, a fondness for the poster has come to signify toxic masculinity, protracted adolescence or, at the very least, a bro-y attitude.
Another ubiquitous poster is Jaws — this one a symbol of nerdom rather than something nefarious. It’s popular wall decor for male geeks, from teenagers like Will Byers (Stranger Things) and Sam Weir (Freaks and Geeks) to older nebbish guys like Cooties’ Clint (Elijah Wood) and Love Actually’s Joe (Gregor Fisher).
(Jaws seen in Stranger Things)
Overall, movies love talking about movies, and they love featuring nods to other works of cinema — occasionally through posters. These are unassuming design elements (often out of focus in the background of the scene) that nonetheless add flavour to characters, interiors and city spaces. Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways that posters can enhance the films they’re in!
Showcase characters’ hobbies and wants
Movie posters offer extra glimpses into the likes and lives of the characters who own them. Re-Animator’s Dan is a Talking Heads fan, as judging by the Stop Making Sense artwork above his bed. The misfit protagonist of Pretty in Pink likes The Misfits (the film, not the band). Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker apparently got his investigative skills from classic thrillers like Rear Window and Blow-Up. Napoleon Dynamite enjoys the obscure Dragonslayer — a choice that’s woefully nerdy and out-of-date, much like the character himself.
(Blow-Up seen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
Will Ferrell’s disrespected cop in The Other Guys wants to be as cool as Stallone in the Cobra reproduction on his wall. Tootsie’s Michael Dorsey prepares for his act in front of a poster for The Entertainer and probably feels kinship with its struggling performer protagonist. Other aspiring industry professionals also gravitate towards classics, probably hoping to make a similar mark on the world of cinema: the titular unemployed actors of Withnail & I are fans of Modern Times and Gone with the Wind, and young filmmaker Greg of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is into foreign films — Berlin Alexanderplatz and 400 Blows.
Echo the film’s genre
Oftentimes, the film’s genre is reflected and further enhanced in the choice of wall decor. There’s a torn poster for The Hills Have Eyes in the cabin in The Evil Dead (a nod to the friendly rivalry between directors Wes Craven and Sam Raimi). Drew Struzan’s iconic artwork for The Thing is front and center in David’s (Thomas Jane) apartment in The Mist. It Happened One Night hangs above the bed in Friends with Benefits, and the same goes for Harold and Maude in Y tu mamá también. A poster for Stanley Kubrick’s depressing crime drama The Killing is glimpsed in the depressing crime drama Irréversible.
Happy Death Day’s Tree (Jessica Rothe) starts her time loop in a dorm room plastered with sci-fi posters: They Live!, Repo Man, Back to the Future and MST3K: The Movie. No wonder the dorm’s occupant, Carter, is willing to believe her talk of groundhog day shenanigans! Likewise, Shaun and Ed in Shaun of the Dead are no strangers to horror: they had previously shelled some money for Fred Deakin’s special edition Battle Royale art. And speaking of Shaun of the Dead, that’s apparently a favorite of horror buff Kumail’s — fitting, since it’s a romcom in addition to being a zombie movie!
(Battle Royale poster by Airside seen in Shaun of the Dead)
Foreshadow events and supply irony
Sometimes the hints are even heavier. In 25th Hour, Monty’s (Edward Norton) apartment is decorated with a giant Cool Hand Luke poster — a reference to his impending imprisonment. Alex, the love interest in An American Werewolf in London, owns a Casablanca poster — too bad she’s not in a romance movie herself! Zodiac’s Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) is apparently a fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man — a little on the nose, yes, but only for those who notice it.
(Cool Hand Luke seen in 25th Hour)
P.S. Big thanks to the website Films in Films for providing the stills. What movie posters in movies have you spotted?
