The poster for The Martian uses several techniques to define its genre and target audience. It establishes the science fiction genre through Matt Damon's space suit and helmet, as well as the film's director Ridley Scott who is known for sci-fi films. The tagline "Bring Him Home" piques audience curiosity about whether the character will survive being stranded on Mars. Matt Damon's prominent close-up on the poster aims to attract his typical male audience. Through these visual and textual elements, the poster communicates that the film will be a serious male-oriented science fiction thriller.

1. Direct mode of
address
Formal mode of
address
Weak fallow area
The terminal area
Axis of
orientation
Tagline

2. Weak Fallow Area:
In the weak fallow area of the poster there is the space helmet that Matt Damon is wearing. This helps define
the genre because in Science-Fiction films they are very unrealistic and they usually include a hero or some
sortof alien,astronautor a fantasy location. The space suits fit into the conventions of the genre because they
are located in space or an alternative version of Earth. We see that the film will be set around/in space
because of the title and the costume they are wearing. Another convention that the film uses is close ups,
these shots are predominately featured in a Science-Fiction production. Close ups are usually used to show
the emotion on the character’s face. Another way the poster gives us a hint to the genre is in the top centre
where it says “A RIDLEY SCOTT FILM”. Ridley Scott is mostly known for directing Science-Fiction films and
Thrillers such as; Prometheus, Alien and Someone to Watch over Me.
Tagline:
A tagline is a catchphrase or slogan, usually used in advertising, or in posters. In the poster for ‘The Martian’
the tagline is “Bring Him Home”. Usually film producers use taglines to persuade the audience to go see the
film when it comes out or to tease the audience into the plot of the film, with the tagline being “Bring Him
Home” it makes the audience curious to whether or not Matt Damon comes home or if he even lives to try and
get home from Mars. The audience has a clue to the film being about someone on mars because the name of
the filmis “The Martian”,a Martian is a somethingthat lives on mars,by naming the film this it makes us think
that Matt Damon’s character is either stuck on the deserted planet or that he is on a mission to the planet.
With people thinking of the different plots the film could have it will attract a more mainstream audience.
Axis of Orientation:
The axis of orientation on the poster draws our attention to the star of the film Matt Damon, who takes up the
whole background of the poster with a close up of his face. Matt Damon is known for starring in the Bourne
series, Ocean Twelve, and Ocean Thirteen. As a result of hiring Matt Damon as the lead actor the director has
secured the target audience because Matt Damon is mostly known for starring in films aimed at a male
audience.
Modes of Address:
The modes of address are defined as different ways in which the poster could address the audience; they can
be distinguished in directness, point-of-view, and formality. The poster has direct mode of address and it is
also formal. Direct mode of address is when the person in the poster is looking at you instead of looking away
or having their eyes covered. By using a direct mode of address it helps create a relationship with the
audience, this is done because when someone’s looking at you directly you can see their emotion and you
then have a connection with that character.This is important because the poster shows the main character so
the producer wants the audience to like him especially with the tagline being “Bring Him Home”. We know
from the tagline that the main character will be trapped somewhere so the producer will want us to have a
connection with the main character so we want him to come home. The poster is also formal because of the
font used. By using a more serious font the producer is saying to the audience that it is going to be a s erious
film.If the producer used a more informal fontit would give of the impression that the film will be funnier and
that it would be seen as a joke instead of a serious film,another thing that is insinuated by usinga more formal
font the producer is playing into the needs of the target audience. He has done this based on the fact that
young teens wouldn’t be interested in a more serious film but they would be more interested in a film where
the poster has doodles and bubble writing, an example of a poster like this would be “The Diary of a Teenage
Girl”.

3. Target Audience:
The film poster for “The Martian” is aimed at men who are late teens to mid-twenties. I think this because
stereo-typically men who fit into this age range would be more interested in Science-Fiction films than
someone who was older.