Bridget Jones Baby (2016) - Teaser Trailer Analysis

Bridget Jones's Baby is going to be released simultaneously in the UK and the US at the same time. We can assume that the Gant Rule is not going to apply, because it it a British film with mostly British characters that is also set in Britain.

It was a very clever distribution move from the distributors of this movie, because there was a small teaser that was released the day before the actual trailer release, saying "the trailer debuts tomorrow".
This was meant to give the audience an insight of what is going to happen, but also something to look forward too. Moreover, everyone was aware that the trailer would come out, and so the amounts of how many people watched the trailer through the US Ellen Degeneres Show was enormous.



To analyse this teaser I am applying the theory called "Dennis McQuail's Uses and Gratifications Theory" from 1972.

As you can see the theory explains how the audience each analyse the text with different meanings. Dividing it up into 4 categories being Diversion/Escapism, Personal relationship, personal identity and surveillance.

Diversion/Escapism:

An audience might select this text because the comedy aspect gives the audience the opportunity to escape into the movie for an hour or two and just laugh of Bridget's clumsiness and love life.
Furthermore, the scene with the music festival clearly denotes that she is having a good time. It is denoted by her body language and facial expression. She is smiling and laughing out loud.

Moreover, the clothing that Bridget is wearing at the festival. There is escapism in her T-Shirt, since  it is very loose and the pattern on it suggest that it could come from a country like India, which let's the audience thoughts circulate around that as well. The colours connote that everything is nice and bright and that Bridget feels comfortable.

Personal relationship:

This teaser offers a certain talking point for people who have heard about it and seen it already. In terms of this teaser it is saying that the old Bridget is back, so an old friend is back. There is a talking point in how Bridget has changed, in terms of clothing and job. She is now wearing really tight dresses rather than loose clothing. Also, the music festival scene denotes that she is having fun and that she is feeling much more comfortable with herself. This is a talking point for the audience, because they see that the character has changed a bit, which can also be refreshing.

The franchising is also an important point to note, since the first movie came out in 2001.
Her old friends are still there, which created a lot of excitement within the audience because they still see the same characters, although Hugh Grant is not in it anymore.
There has been a 12 year gap in between the 2nd Bridget Jones movie and this 3rd one called "Bridget Jones Baby". Due to this, the audience also wants to know how she is looking and how she is feeling. Also, there was a major discussion when Renee Zellweger had changed her looks completely and didn't look like herself anymore. Due to this, the audience has been wanting to see that she is still her and still feeling well.


Personal Identity:

There are two main ways in which the female audience can identify and relate themselves to Bridget's character. First of all, the 15 second teaser manages to show that she is still as clumsy as in the first two movies. This also represents the slightly clumsy American.



The audience has also identified with the way that Bridget Jones is growing up and so has the audience. As mentioned above there is a 12 year gap and therefore the audience can identify with the fact of growing older.
Furthermore, she looks more serious and the audience might also have been able to personally identify themselves with the fact, that as you grow older the job gets more serious and frustrating.

Surveillance:

By watching this text the audience is being better informed on what is fashionable and what the character is like. The dress that she is wearing in the first show is probably from a fashionably designer.
One of the key psychological motivations could be to see what is fashionable and what a woman should wear.