The study Posters of Brazilian Cinema: Image and the Social Imaginary reflects on the imagistic universe contained in the posters of Brazilian cinema, and attempts to identify recurrent (icons) or reference images that could have contributed to building the social imaginary about the country in national theater, seeking to identify the origins of Brazilian social identity, how the social imaginary was formed and if it could be represented by certain images from posters of brazilian cinema. The reflection is mainly developed from the relations between society and culture, the field of art and its production systems. Such relationships provide evidence of the fact that the representations are constructed through social history, from symbolic configurations that define its final form and from pre-established concepts – conventions – that promote ease of recognition for the observer , and gives the image producers some control over its use. The existence of visual culture highlights the cultural practices within society, while the cultural industry uses conventions to form a set of images that ends up defining the modern visual universe, making it possible to notice when an image tries to escape tthe established patern. The thesis of this research is set on a path that attempts to theoretically define what would constitute the Brazilian social identity in relation to the types of representation of the Brazilian people and the country; it encircles thoughts about the national cinema industry and their mechanisms of distribution and dissemination, which determine, among other factors, the design of posters and also the types of image representation; and finally, the social representations and images of movie posters belonging to brazilian national films. As part of a universe where representations are based on foreing imagery of films, Brazilian cinema is closed between a practice that seeks to mimic the international productions and its image patterns, or find elements of Brazilian culture to try to build an image of it own, reinforcing myths and reaffirming the national culture. Posters of Brazilian cinema finds itself in the same paradox: repeat graphic patterns consolidated by the international film industry and imposed by foreign distributors, or seek a chart pattern that can be considered national.