Fake trailers as imaginary paratexts

Abstract

In recent years, trailers have undergone several changes due to the fact that they are now distributed online. The new possibilities in digital production and distribution have also led to the rise of new remix formats that parody and challenge trailer conventions. This article engages with the audiovisual aesthetics of so-called fake trailers in order to deliberate on their paradoxical promotional status. In terms of their audiovisual aesthetics, it is shown how such trailer remixes are driven equally much by the creative (mis)use of sound/music as by rearranging pre-existing shots visually. In terms of their promotional status, it is argued that even though fake trailers have most commonly been seen as proof of an increase in media literacy or as a means for ridiculing trailer conventions, they are nonetheless also firmly entangled in the promotional culture they allegedly aim to denounce. This is exemplified through an examination of the trailer parody "How To Make A Blockbuster Movie Trailer” (2017) made by the remix-duo Auralnauts.