Poster Analysis - The Bourne Ultimatum

The film poster for The Bourne Ultimatum denotes the back of the protagonist character Jason Bourne as well as the location in which the film is set. As this image of Jason Bourne is a medium long shot and has been taken from behind and he is looking out on the view this connotes that he wants his identity to be hidden. As the image looks like Jason Bourne from behind, this appeals to the audience as in some aspect it could potentially not actually be him due to the fact the audience are unable to see his facial features. The audience are unaware of the storyline of the film before seeing the film so by not showing the audience Jason Bourne’s face could imply that something has happened to him and he has been taken over. As the poster denotes a male looking out to the city of London, it connotes that he is protecting the city as well as thinking about what missions he is going to complete next. As the target audience are able to see the back of the male character they are able to see his physique clearly and he is a broad built man, which represents him being a strong character. This conforms the ideologies of a male as males are represented as being powerful, independent and dominate. This appeals to the target audience, as they want to find out what occurs in the film and wont be able to unless they see the film. In addition to this, the primary and secondary target audience will also want to go and see the film due to the fact the character of Jason Bourne will be familiar to them therefore they feel they have connection with him.

The film poster follows the narrative theory of Roland Barthes and Claude Levi Strauss, as Roland Barthes believes that there are five codes, which are woven into any narrative. These consist of the hermeneutic code, which is the code of enigmas, and puzzles as well as the porairetic code which is the code of action and any action initiated must be completed. In addition to this narrative theory, Claude Levi Strauss as he believes all narratives are driven by binary oppositions. As Jason Bourne is globally known, it is clear to audiences worldwide that Jason Bourne who is the protagonist character in this film is needed by the society to save them and the city as well as capture and kill the antagonist characters. This appeals to the target audience, as they know Jason Bourne and they want to see if he will be successful once again, yet they will only know if he has completed his mission by watching the film. This leaves the audience with hermeneutic code an enigma and it can only be solved by the porairetic code, which is the action, completed by Batman in the film. Yet following the narrative theory of Claude Levi Strauss, Jason Bourne can be viewed as both the protagonist and antagonist characters throughout the film in different aspects, which creates confusion, suspense and anxiety which conforms the conventions of an action film. The main assumptions underpinning the poster is that Jason Bourne is the powerful male figure who is relied on by numerous of people to protect himself, the people around him as well as the society in general. The audience are able to see that Jason Bourne is strong due to his physique, which can be seen clearly on the film poster. Therefore the film poster appeals to the target audience as they encouraged to see if Bourne would be fortunate again to win the battle that is about to commence with the antagonist. The target audience I think The Bourne Ultimatum appeals to is both males and females from the age of twelve upwards who are predominately from America or England as this is an American film. However this film could appeal to anyone from any ethnicity or occupation. As this film is the third film in the Bourne film series, this film could appeal to both the primary and secondary target audience.