The trailer for ‘Spring Breakers’ begins very calm with the sunshine creeping through the windows of a small bedroom, with Selena Gomez, one of the characters, in the film is being awoken; you can hear “wake up sunshine” suddenly there’s chaos, short and snappy flicks between shots begin and people saying “where’s the money?”. Already there’s an element of drama and panic, someone holding large amounts of money is shown applying emphasis on one of the themes of the film which is money. The trailer then becomes mysterious as there’s whispers of people saying ‘spring break’ which establishes the setting of the film. It becomes apparent that these four girls are University students from America who are experiencing Spring Break, Spring Break is a week's holiday for University students before Easter.
The girls now are holding guns, wearing balaclavas; it seems as they’re breaking into somewhere but the location is unknown. They begin to smash things up, holding down a guy who has attempted to stop them; the audience begins to question are they robbing a bank? However this question isn’t answered and leaves it on a cliff-hanger as it skips to party scenes. It’s possible that it’s a hot place as they girls are dressed in brightly coloured bikinis but it’s obvious they’re still in America. They all have different coloured scooter/motorbikes, however, it was obvious from the start of the trailer that they were short of money, and therefore this leads the audience to believe that they may have stolen money from somewhere, which links back to the violent scenes involving guns at the beginning of the trailer. The trailer continues but in slow-motion as gangster music begins to play; we see girls in bikinis, pool parties and alcohol which would appeal to the male audience. Suddenly there is more drama, all the girls get arrested and are taken to court in their bikinis; which is a humorous and a conflicting contrast. James Franco, an actor who plays in the film, is portraying a gangster, he’s been styled with both braids and grills and he has a dollar sign tattoo on his neck which also emphasis the movie’s theme of money but it appears as if he’s bailing them out? The words ‘This Spring’ lit up like a bar sign, with a flamingo and cocktail drink signifies the alcohol and the light-hearted element of the film. Following this it shows happier scenes; the girls driving in a car with the gangster man from the court scene, laughing and playing upbeat music. Then, as a twist, the chaos begins again in slow motion, showcasing another theme in the film which is violence; the gangsters whom the girls have recently become involved with are holding guns. This violence is then reinforced when all of them are standing in a line as they shout 'Spring Break bitches' then they fire bullets into the air signifying their 'freedom' and recklessness. The names of James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez and Ashley Benson show up on screen, in the same neon “bar-sign” font from before, showing us that the film includes actors and actresses who are huge in the film industry. This would allure people into seeing the film due the very established actors. It then shows a close-up of Franco's face as he says "this is the American dream y'all" which shows their actions and way of living, is their idea of 'freedom'. Franco later repeats and says "Spring Break, Spring Break, Spring Break forever" by repeating the words 'spring break' it puts emphasis on the movie title and it lets the audience remember it's about youths experiencing Spring Break. The director of Spring Breakers name appears, Harmony Korine; Korine is notorious for his dark humour as most of his movies involve themes of dysfunctional childhoods, mental disorders and poverty. He's the face of controversy and improvisation plays a huge part in most of his films, so by displaying his name in the trailer would make people want to watch it knowing it's been directed by him. At the end of the film after the release date it comes up with ' #springbreakforever' and the website ‘springbreakersmovie.com’; these lets people to read reviews and start to talk about the film through social media platforms instantly broadening the audience and promotion.
