In general, movie posters are known for not providing much description on the plotline of the film. In comparison to commercials, these posters seem to provide just a short introduction to the purpose and story of the movie. However, there is always room for interpretation, and these movie posters must be closely analyzed as the viewers will likely come to similar conclusions after the examinations. Each viewer will see these visual texts with differing opinions, but the designing company clearly goes in with a general idea of what the viewers are expected to understand. Without revealing too much information on the storyline, movie posters often cause viewers to make decisions about whether or not they would like to watch the presented film. These posters include various types of detail that are often overlooked, such as shadowing, word choice, color choice, and focal points. Fox Movies' movie poster The Martian utilizes monochromatic coloring, the lack of a background, and little written description to provoke the viewers into imagining the most undesirable current situation for the protagonist.

By taking a quick look at this movie poster, it is pretty clear to all viewers that the story is based around the life of an astronaut. However, not much more is suggested by the artists due to the lack of a background. In order to protect a majority of the plotline of their story, Fox Movies must omit the current scene from their advertisement in order to draw the viewers in. It causes the audience to question to themselves what could currently be occurring in this scene, while the face provides more room for interpretation. Lacking a background allows for plenty of assumptions to be made, and this concealment permits the viewers to image what the current situation might be. While there is a slight reflection on the astronaut's helmet, not much can be deciphered from that small glance into his reality. Focusing in on the face of Matt Damon, the protagonist, makes up for the missing landscape. This is clearly a look of distress, sadness, or confusion, and it immediately becomes known that something has gone wrong in his journey. He is also the only living being that is presented in the advertisement, and it can be concluded that this is a journey he endures on his own. Although Fox Movies likely had a general idea in mind for what the audience should expect from this poster, the anonymity of the location does not provide a clear definition of where the story will lead.

The artists' choice to include neutral colors is surely not an accident, but the purpose of this decision might not be clear from quickly scanning the image. Perhaps there are bright lights and colorful objects behind the protagonist, but choosing one specific range of colors makes it easier for the audience to focus on the poster as a whole. Although it might have been interesting for some viewers to see flashy and neon colors, it could also be distracting to the general population and would, therefore, possibly downplay the importance of the duller areas in the poster. Certain areas of the poster are highlighted, such as the corneas of Matt Damon, the protagonist, but focusing on his eyes does not detract from every other detail in the image. In order to have a comprehensive idea of the film's storyline, the audience must analyze each point throughout the image. Had Fox Movies brightened up the protagonist's face and contrasted it to the rest of the image, certain areas could have been easily overlooked. The helmet and gear are darkened, suggesting that they are old and the protagonist has been sporting them for quite some time. Yet again, this proves how long he has been on a mission, and that it has very likely gone wrong. Though the protagonist's face as a whole can be considered the focal point of the image, Fox Movies makes sure not to minimize the importance of the other detailing by evening out the color tones.

Including the three words "Bring Him Home" suggests that the protagonist is certainly on a mission gone-wrong, but it leaves room for other interpretations from the audience. While it is clear that Matt Damon is alone and possibly helpless in this journey, the words from the poster hint at his incapability to bring himself home. The advertisement wittingly grips the emotional side of the viewers and makes the protagonist seem weak and in need of help from a greater force. Playing with emotions in the movie poster, Fox Movies can make the viewer feel attached to the protagonist and, furthermore, feel a desire to find out how he returns home safely. This intentionally attracts the audience to view the film after seeing the poster, but Fox Movies does not clearly state the climax of the movie. There are various possibilities that the audience can think up to bring the protagonist back home, but a quick connection is made that those monitoring his mission must go on a search to bring him back safely. It is most likely he is returning to Earth from Mars, as this is a quick association many viewers would make as human beings. This possibility makes the most sense, as the name of the film is The Martian, and the company likely wanted to make it more understandable for the audience by connecting it to their world on Earth.

A rather thought-provoking image, Fox Movies' poster for the film The Martian does appear somewhat bland and uninteresting from the first glance. However, it is proved otherwise after digging through the details of the seemingly normal aspects of the poster. Clearly, every characteristic of this poster was designed exactly the way it is for a reason, and that reason is to draw in the viewers and present the film as fascinating. By not including much background, written text, or contrasting colors, Fox Movies leaves it up to the reader to imagine what is to come. Examining these small details of a visual text is necessary but also exciting because it allows the audience to create their own personal interpretations and expectations for what the film will present. Very few certainties are deduced from a simple movie poster, but understanding while the image was designed as so can lead to general expectations.

