Written Codes - Written codes in a film poster are the range of contexts in which the words are used and the actual text itself including the Title and Taglines. Taglines are used to reinforce what the film is about and the short phrases should be catchy and clever in order to sell the movie while being able to sum up the plot, tone and themes of the film.
Classic Film Taglines are:
Robocop (1987) - Part man. Part Machine. All Cop. The future of the law enforcement: The power of three is used for the first three sentences and the punctuation of a full stop emphasises each phrase. The repetition of ‘part’ emphasises the fact that he is of different parts and how much they merge together to make something fantastic. The contrast of All in comparison to the previous two sentences which had ‘Part’ emphasises that although he is part man and part machine he is a fully working cop that is the best, the word ‘all’ suggests he has all the criteria and ticks all the boxes to be the best cop – a phenomenon. The words ‘law’ and ‘future’ suggest that this is going to be futuristic (sci-fi) and espionage film. The title ‘Robocop’ re-affirms the genre of this film. 
American Pie – “There’s something about your first piece”: The tagline cleverly holds sexual connotations as the ‘first piece’ refers to someone’s ‘first sexual encounter’. The tagline is saying that there is always something unique/special etc about your first piece/grab at a sexual encounter. The word ‘piece’ refers back to the title of the Film as a piece of pie. This gives emphasis on the actual meaning of American Pie as something sexual, meaning that ‘American Pie’ is the life of sexual activities. This Clever title and tagline highlights the genre of comedy.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) – “Same make. Same Model. New mission”: The Title of Terminator suggests the main character has no remorse and can literally destroy anything, ‘Judgement Day’ suggests that the Terminator will be facing someone on this Judgement day and he will either face his downfall or be triumphant. The tagline uses the power of three and in combination with the use of punctuation of the full stop after each phrase it has a punchy tone to it, leaving a longer lasting thought in the reader/viewers mind. The contrast of ‘same’ and ‘new’ shows that the terminator has been through a lot already hasn’t changed but is still ready to challenge something that he hasn’t confronted before. The repetition of ‘same’ shows how triumphant he has been in the past. ‘Terminator’ highlights the genre of action, as the word terminator links with words such is destruction.
Schindler’s list (1998) – “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world”: A contrast of ‘one’ to ‘entire’ emphasises the magnitude of the work that one man did to help the people in the situation of the film. It also emphasises the fact that the act of one man or the deed done for one person can have a great affect on everyone in that same situation or just in society. This uplifting tagline makes the main character seem very inspirational, attracting the public to find out why this person was so magnificent and how they had such an affect on other people’s lives. 
Groundhog Day (1993) – “He’s having the worst day of his life. Over and over…” When you first look at the title you wouldn’t know what the film is about, so in this case the tagline helps tell the public what it is about. After this famous film the term ‘Groundhog (day)” was associated with this film and given its on unique meaning of things repeating itself, this shows the great effectiveness of the film. The superlative ‘worst’ emphasises how bad this day is, we don’t know if its because its being repeated or because its just the worst day and he is even more unlucky that its being repeated. The repetition of ‘over’ is used to represent the plot of the film which is: that his day is repeated over and over again, the repetition also emphasises the monotonous feeling he has because of the repetition of his day. Punctuation is very important here as ellipses are used to intrigue the audience as enigmas are created from that. What happened? Why is he having the worst day? How is his worst day happening over and over? The tagline is able to entice the public and attract them to the Film poster as they would want to find out why the worst day he has ever had is being repeated.
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) – “What if someone you never met, someone you never knew, was the only someone for you?” The title, in combination with the tagline instantly highlights the theme of love and this theme is further emphasised in the alliteration that is used in the title. The word ‘sleepless’ suggest someone has been love struck and that is the reason why they are not able to sleep. The fact that the tagline is in form of a question makes it direct to the public and makes the audience ponder on what they have just read, helping to attract and intrigue them into seeing it as they want to explore the statement by seeing the film. The power of three, in combination with the fact it rhymes puts emphasis on the statement and makes it more memorable for the public, making them want to see the film even more. The repetition of ‘you’ & ‘someone’, again like it being in a form of a question makes it personal to the public and they begin to think about themselves, wanting to see the film so they could compare it to their own experiences. The contrast of ‘never’ and ‘only’ is used to show a theme of fate in the film and how it plays a very big part in our lives.
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