Line #35 Main/PistolPose


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheMatrixReloaded https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/agentsmith_9.png]]]]
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6	A very common pose for movie posters and game cover art is to feature the main character posing with a firearm, often a pistol. A pistol is usually used to convey that the character is armed and dangerous and has intent to shoot, but not as overpowering as an assault rifle would be. Sometimes this is done for marketing reasons: a character may be known for their martial arts or other character traits, but if they hold a pistol anywhere in the story it'll be presented in promotional art to make the work look more action-focused and appeal to a broader audience. But since a pistol is small, it's also easier to downplay it visually by holding it to the side.
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8	This isn't exclusive to pistols: assault rifles and shotguns are also used for more aggressive characters, but they're more limited in how they can pose and express with them. It is also common to spoof this by having something else being held, like a banana or finger-guns, [[SeriousBusiness but still pose with the same serious reverence as with a real firearm]].
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10	See also: SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou, the more audience-aggressive variant. If there are two characters, it may also be a BackToBackPoster.
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12	----
13	!!Examples:
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15	[[foldercontrol]]
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17	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
18	* ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' has an in-story war propaganda commercial in which Sheryl Nome gives a pistol pose [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou after she shoots you]].
19	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Spike and Faye do this.
20	* A-Drei in the ED for ''Anime/ValvraveTheLiberator''.
21	* ''Manga/SakamotoDays'' has many volume covers and chapter illustrations holding pistols, [[CoversAlwaysLie including the characters who rarely, if ever, use guns]].
22	[[/folder]]
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24	[[folder:Arts]]
25	* Banksy's famous ''Film/PulpFiction'' painting near London's Old Street. It depicted the characters of Jules and Vincent in their famous pistol pose, but [[http://www.banksy-wallpaper.com/banksy-wallpapers/pulp-fiction-wallpaper.php holding bananas instead of guns]]... until the council decided it was graffiti, not art, and had it painted over. A version was promptly produced with Jules and Vincent actually holding guns... [[http://farm1.static.flickr.com/81/239298396_ecc0e07054.jpg While wearing banana suits]].
26	[[/folder]]
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28	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
29	* ''Film/JamesBond''. Actually, there are ''tons'' of such poses on promotional material. On the DVD covers, they even added arms with pistols. Sometimes it's pretty obvious.
30	* ''Film/ThreeTenToYuma2007'' featured a variant: the character depicted was holding on to a revolver, but by the chamber, not the handle.
31	* The poster and DVD art for the film version of ''Film/UndercoverBrother''. Star Eddie Griffin complained about this, noting that the character never uses a gun.
32	* Posters for ''Film/YouDontMessWithTheZohan'' have the title character (an Israeli commando who wants to be a hair dresser) brandishing hair dryers. Interestingly, at least one poster shows him with a rifle strapped to his back.
33	* The poster art for the Creator/WesleySnipes movie ''Film/TheArtOfWar''.
34	* Not the standard "hand-on-the-elbow" pistol pose, but the posters for ''Film/{{Wanted}}'' resulted in protests in the UK because of their [[http://io9.com/5044825/uk-authorities-dont-want-wanted glamorizing gun violence.]]
35	* On [[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/09/xin_2921004091354312413210.jpg the poster]] for ''Film/TheKiller1989'', Creator/ChowYunFat combines this with GoryDiscretionShot.
36	* Some of the promotional posters for ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' show River posing with a pistol which, ironically, is used by Jayne in the movie, though she steals it from him and [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou levels it at the camera in one scene.]]
37	* Both ''Film/{{Nikita}}'' and the English-language remake ''Film/PointOfNoReturn'' both had movie posters that feature this trope.
38	* ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' had various characters doing so in their promo posters. The page pic is Agent Smith's poster, featuring the film's title across his crotch.
39	* A common subversion is to have the character holding the pistol loose in one hand by their side, indicating that they're highly tired:
40	** The Creator/JodieFoster film ''Film/TheBraveOne''.
41	* The poster for ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'' has the other three Untouchables holding rifles in the back as Creator/KevinCostner [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou is about to shoot you]] and under a giant Creator/RobertDeNiro as EvilOverlooker.
42	* Posters for the ''Film/HarryPotter'' films have done with with wands instead of guns.
43	* ''Film/JohnnyEnglish'': the first film has Creator/RowanAtkinson [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou pointing a gun at the camera]].
44	[[/folder]]
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46	[[folder:Literature]]
47	* US editions of ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' invariably have someone who's presumably meant to be the protagonist dressed like a SpaceMarine and doing some kind of heroic pose on the cover. nothing remotely like this event ever happens in the book, and later volumes in the series actually start LeaningOnTheFourthWall to complain about it.
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50	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
51	* Although it's not a firearm, some of the Publicity Stills from the new ''Series/DoctorWho'' show the Ninth Doctor holding his sonic screwdriver in a similar manner. Although in the right circumstances, it's ''more'' useful than a gun. After all, you can only shoot the lock off so many times, and you can't shoot the lock ''on'' even once. (Except with Captain Jack's Sonic Disrupter.)
52	* [[AngelsPose Such a pose]] is part of the standard ''Series/CharliesAngels'' logo, although it's often just one of the three.
53	[[/folder]]
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55	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
56	* Legend Mick Foley, in his Cactus Jack persona, does this with his fingers as his signature pose.
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59	[[folder:Video Games]]
60	* Campaign posters in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''.
61	** The posters in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' mix it up with melee weapons instead of guns.
62	** Similarly, all the characters in the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s "Meet the Team" line-up, the Spy in particular.
63	* Shadow the Hedgehog pulls this off on the box art of [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his own game]], as well as some promotional artwork.
64	* Lara Croft in most ''Franchise/TombRaider'' games is seen holding her pistols on the box art.
65	* The cover of ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' predominantly features Booker (the player protagonist) slinging a shotgun on his shoulder. The cover art actually triggered a pretty massive debate around its release, with many criticizing the cover as a "dumbing down" of the artistically-challenging prestige established with ''{{VideoGame/BioShock}}'' (the cover arts of ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' and ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' similarly focused on a single character, but evoking much more of their gritty, ArtDeco and DieselPunk style). [[https://web.archive.org/web/20131211195318/https://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/the-art-of-commerce-why-bioshock-infinites-cover-doesnt-matter The official reasoning for the cover]] is that 1) it already is reflecting of [[ActionizedSequel the game's more action-y tone]], 2) it was indeed meant to appeal to the LowestCommonDenominator, built on a presumption that those that were already interested in its setting, story, and themes were most likely already going to buy the game anyway, and didn't need an artsier cover to convince them, and 3) it was also meant to appeal to the game's publisher during mid-development, as playing with the intent of broad appeal allowed them to be more forgiving regarding delays and additional budget matters.
66	* ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' also rather infamously had one of these covers, a static image of the Doom Slayer standing with a shotgun and not much else. This was widely slammed for being generic, and was one of the factors that led to [[TaintedByThePreview initial skepticism]] that [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail ironically accentuated the almost universal acclaim the game itself received]]. Even during the leadup to the release, Creator/IdSoftware provided an alternate reversible cover -- instead a much more ornate, mural-like shot of [[OneManArmy Doom Slayer in the middle of singlehandedly fighting through a horde of demons]] -- a style which was locked in for ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'''s cover art from the get-go.
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69	[[folder:Real Life]]
70	* One, the right arm pointing to the shoulder, is in fact the British Sign Language symbol for James Bond.
71	* There are a number of accepted methods of holding a weapon that resemble this trope, albeit with little details like keeping ones finger off the trigger for safety. The easiest ways to hold a weapon without pointing it at something unintentionally are to hold it pointing upwards or downwards. In the case of a longer weapon like a rifle or shotgun, the most practical method typically is to hold the weapon against your torso, with the weapon pointed across your chest and upwards ("Ready Arms") or downward ("Port Arms").
72	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PistolPose