*ooof*: Thornton, the Cover Boy

Hello everyone – have you all recovered from FanstRA 4? Or are you indeed suffering from acute withdrawal symptoms, now that we have returned to normal? I am not quite sure which applies to me. Let me preface today’s *ooof* quickly by saying that I have HUGELY enjoyed FanstRA 4. A massive thank you to Traxy at The Squeee for organising it and an equally massive thank you to all of you who engaged with me on my *spooof* series of less-than-perfect RA images. I appreciate your interest and your engagement – without you, this would be half as fun! – Today I am secretly relieved to be returning to my usual drooling analysing over perfect portraits of our man – somehow, it did not feel *quite right* to be pointing out the unattractiveness of some of his pictorial work… So here goes…

It was the role of “overbearing master” Thornton that initially brought my attention to the man who embodied mill owner John Thornton in the BBC dramatization of Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic novel North and South (2004). The expletive *ooof* was not yet part of my vocabulary, but there was already a quiet fascination with the dark haired, blue-eyed Northerner who greeted us from his high horse platform at the beginning of the series. It is only too fitting to take a closer look at an image that was not only part of the promo material for the series but has become somewhat of a placeholder for the BBC dramatization as it was used for the cover of the DVD set.

It was her brother, not the lark… or something like that.
Richard Armitage as John Thornton in episode 4 of North and South.
Image sourced via RAnet.

In order to determine whether this was a specifically taken still and not simply a frame from the film, I had to go through the film again (the hardship…) A number of small differences bring me to the conclusion that this was in fact shot by a stills photographer on set. Compare the image with the film caps: First of all we notice that the actual film frames have Higgins’ shoulder in the shot, rooting the images in the conversation between Thornton and his faithful employee. Secondly, the perspective is slightly different. The stills photographer, logically, was not standing in the same spot as the cinematographer but probably further to the right. Thus, Higgins does not appear in the still. It also gives the appearance of having been shot from further away. Thirdly, the still has been put through some colour post production, most notably the colours. The background has been lightened considerably while Mr Thornton’s skin colour has been enhanced so as to look less grey and more “natural”. On second glance you might also notice the specks of white cotton fluff that appear in the still. This is somewhat contextually wrong as the scene in the film takes place after the work in the mill has been wound down – therefore no cotton fluff graces Thornton’s features in that scene.

This is *really* the pivotal scene of the whole episode, if not the entire book: While Thornton had resigned himself to the fact that his love for Margaret Hale was unrequited, that he would never see her again, and that she had another lover, it now becomes clear to him that the man he had seen her with at the station and whom he took for her lover, is in fact her brother. This sets in motion the final dénouement of the story and is the beginning of the happy end. In that respect it is only fair that an image that represents the emotional high point of the story should be used as an illustration for the DVD cover. Moreover, it also encapsulates the backdrop of the whole novel: It places the story in an industrial setting (the machinery in the background) – or more specifically in a cotton mill (the fluff floating around indoors i.e. NOT snow flakes)– while also introducing one of the main characters to us. Never mind that the BBC also very quickly copped on to the fact that with the brooding dark looks of Mr Thornton they had a direct line to the female audience’s hearts – and wallets (as they would be unable to resist buying the DVD…)

That’s how marketing works, readers! Cover choices are not made lightly. Every trick in the book is employed to get the customer to buy a product. And when we are talking about a classic English novel, we can assume that the majority of the audience is female. Hence the graphic designer responsible for the cover, places a hunky male on it – and not the heroine. They have also chosen an image that shows the handsome features of the main male character – but one that is not too dark and brooding. No burrowed frowns here. The look on Thornton’s face is neutral enough to imagine him smiling as well as smouldering. The facial expression pictured here leaves room for the viewers’ imagination – there are hints of the “overbearing master” but also of the passionate lover and desperate suitor, as well as a thinking individual.

The photographer has shot this with a large aperture. This means that only the person in the foreground is in focus while the background has been blurred out. Our gaze does not find anything to get distracted by. As a cover shot, this image also works well in terms of its composition. The subject has been placed off-centre, leaving negative space to the right of him. This will serve well in the final design of the cover when text will be added to the image. Or other images – as a number of DVD versions feature a profile shot of Margaret Hale imposed into the image. Interestingly, those versions of the cover feature a larger image of Thornton than of Margaret – an unusual decision in light of the fact that the novel really centres on the female lead. Shouldn’t Margaret’s image have been the most prominent portrait on the cover then? Logically, yes. But for marketing reasons… see above *grins .

Not that I am blaming the BBC. There is nothing wrong with placing a handsome face promminently on a cover. I don’t mind my ovaries taking over my purse – at least with North and South one can still claim to be a literature buff when all one really wants to do is *swooooooon*…

~ by Guylty on March 19, 2013.