Representing national identity: a multimodal analysis of Saudi film posters

Saudi Arabia is undergoing rapid socio-economic transformation under Saudi Vision 2030. Among these changes is the emergence of a domestic film industry as a new site of cultural production. This study examines how contemporary Saudi film posters function as visual texts through which national identity is articulated and negotiated. Drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) visual grammar framework, the study analyzes four Saudi film posters released between 2023 and 2024: Naga, Mandoob, Norah, and Hobal. By examining representational, interactive, and compositional meanings, the analysis demonstrates how these posters articulate national identity through gender representation, spatial positioning, labor experience, and heritage symbolism. The findings indicate a shift from singular, unified representations of national identity toward multiple, differentiated representations shaped by social roles, geography, and transformation dynamics. Female visibility emerges through individualized forms of agency. Masculine identity is reframed through vulnerability and labor pressure. Heritage serves both as a source of cultural continuity and as a stabilizing response to transformation. The study contributes to theory by extending multimodal discourse analysis to identity negotiation in an underexplored context characterized by simultaneous socioeconomic transformation and cultural continuity. More broadly, it highlights the role of visual culture in mediating discourse on national identity within contemporary processes of modernization.