Soundboard

The Shrug, and Other Crimes Against DVD Covers

Is shrugging on the cover of a DVD hilarious? Apparently some graphic designer out there thinks so.

Several of us at Sodapop Journal are graphic designers by trade, so naturally we’re interested in the way our entertainment ephemera is represented visually. Recently, a terrible scourge has befallen comedy DVDs, and it has a name: The Shrug. It’s easy to design for an action film, just show a lot of stuff blowing up. But comedy’s a little tougher. Do you show plot points? Do you try to make something that’s funny as a still image? Do you take the abstract route? Usually, they take the path of least resistance, which is representing the leading man as a natural born cynic, shrugging off a mad world that understands him even less than he understands it and its zany goings-on.

I first noticed this trend with Idiocracy, one of the funniest comedies of the last decade, but one that was rushed into theaters unfinished. It never even had an official poster, so for the DVD, this happened.

The Larry Charles-directed, Bill Maher-hosted anti-religion essay film Religulous is another tough sell. It mocks all the world’s religions and ends in a breathless tirade warning us that we will all die in an apocalyptic fervor if we don’t ditch God. Since the film didn’t pull punches, the poster takes the most gutless way out.

“What’s with you people?!? I’m Larry David! You’re all dumb!” A poster that phones it in, making it a perfect representation of late-era Woody Allen.

This monstrosity of a film may not get intentional laughs, but Travolta’s pose on this poster is so insane and completely disconnected from reality that it made me laugh about five minutes straight when I first saw it.

This got us thinking about other DVD cover laziness.

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  • walkeriszoesfriend

    What John Travolta's doing is less of a shrug and more of a 'Price-Is-Right-Girl-Take a-Look-at-This' gesture.
    Either way, it's not the appropriate reaction when somebody in front of you is mortally endangered by a gorilla.

  • http://sodapopjournal.com Robert Cortez

    I can't tell what the shrugs are supposed to actually say. “What the hell?” or “Why not?” or “Who had the steak platter?” Then again, I guess that's what's so offensive about them.

    And I can't believe you didn't include any of American Pie covers in there. That's like the granddaddy of bold red text cover design.

  • http://twitter.com/twobitme twobitme

    I have to agree with the shrug, except for Larry David's. For some reason, I can't imagine him doing anything BUT the shrug.

    If I had my DVD collection near me, I could spend hours rattling off cover art that offends my design degree sensibilities. I do remember really hating the single disc art that came out for Fight Club though.

  • wintersweet

    The top shrug is the least awful to me–his shrug appears to be having the effect of parting the waters, which is mildly amusing. (I haven't seen the movie, though.) Now, of course, I'm double-parsing these as the Bleh Comedy Shrug *and* the Kanye Asshat shrug…Ugh! Movie posters and DVD covers in general are so bad these days that it's amazing when they DON'T show up on the Photoshop Disasters blog. :/

  • wintersweet

    The top shrug is the least awful to me–his shrug appears to be having the effect of parting the waters, which is mildly amusing. (I haven't seen the movie, though.) Now, of course, I'm double-parsing these as the Bleh Comedy Shrug *and* the Kanye Asshat shrug…Ugh! Movie posters and DVD covers in general are so bad these days that it's amazing when they DON'T show up on the Photoshop Disasters blog. :/

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-Bacon/607685936 Jason Bacon

    Uh, Larry Charles directed “Religulous”, Scott.

  • http://www.sodapopjournal.com/ Scott Howard

    Uh, what the hell is wrong with me?? Fixed. I just couldn't contain my excitement for seeing that sexy little bald man just a little further down.