Esther's Media studies blog

Television is a specialised industry Contextual notes:  Television had changed considerably since the advent of digital technology, (meaning any technology that involves computars. It has changed in terms of production, distribution, and consumption. Digitally convergent technology  Television used to be a national industry but now it has become global TV shows want to appeal to a wider audience Humans is a co-production between AMC and channel 4, so humans is not just a British show International co-production is growing and broadcasters such as HBO have achieved global success Broadcasters are now 'narrowcasters' with multiple channels targeting different (sometimes more niche audiences  Audiences consume texts in a variety of ways as the industry has increased portability via new platforms (tablets, phones, etc..) and streaming services (catch-up, netflixs, amazon etc...)  Interactive social media channels such as youtube have increased accessibility for the prosumer audienc

Gender Performativity is how our performance of gender affects the world around us. - Judith Butler Bell hooks - 'Feminism is for everyone'  Intersectional feminist  The ending montage scene: Media language   Cross Cut between a number of story arcs (characters storys) Camera work:  close up shots of Laura looking into Anita's eyes Close up zoom shot of Nishka in the brothel scene, where she is looing directly into the camera gives direct mode of adress Nishka is putting on an act, its an allegory of what issues some women face in today's society  The preferred reading of Nishka's assault in the brothel is to feel deeply uncomfortable, this is anchorded by the close up shot as it means you can't see anything else around her.  Setting: Leo and Max are staying in a car wherehouse with dark gloomy lighting which would stereotypically be a 'manly' place. - Hypermasuline  whereas Nishka is in the brothel with bright pink lighting (binary opposite) There is al

Gender performativity is how our performance of gender is shaping the world around us.  Example of gender performativity in Episode 1 - Humans  Anita is pretty, hegomonically sexually attractive  Anita is a stereotypical mother figure which intimidates Laura  Mattie is a moody teenager, the parents don't know how to talk to her but Anita does For Sophie, she sees Anita as a beautiful Disney princes  Toby sees her attractively Mattie see's her as a machine  Laura has an atypical job who doesn't spend a lot of time at home.   The representation of gender is extremely complicated. Why? Appeals to a wider target audience  More relatable  To demonstrate real society problems Multiple perspectives makes it more interesting to watch and more realistic  Because now it is more widely accepted that gender is not just 'black and white'  different representations reflects modern society  gender has become more complex  Feminist Theory - Lisebet van zoomen Men and Women are repr

What is Anita: Synth, mother figure, maid, cook, prostitute Maids normally gets paid, Anita doesn't - She's a slave  Modonna/Whore complex Mary from the bible is a virgin  Sigmund Freud developed a theory to explain men's anxiety towards women's sexuality. Suggesting men define women into one of two categories: the madonna (women he admires and respects) and the whore (women he is attracted to and therefore disrespects)  The only function of a media product is to be looked at by a heterosexual male audience. Patriarchal hegomony.  Fetishism - overwelming obsession with a particular concept or object.  Fetish - a small religious statue Commodity Fetishism - Obsessed with a product. Not what it can do but what it represents. eg. nike shoe advert, its all about the nike tick logo, people want these shoes because its trendy and is a brand every knows not because they are a function and a necessary.  Breakfast scene: 14.20 In what way are women and technology represented in

Representation - How someone or something is shown again by the producer. Re-presentation East Asia women to play Anita  Anita is 'the other' 'different'  Stereotypically they're over-sexulised  Often east Asian women are seen as being delicate and obedient to the media  Give further contrast between Anita and Hawkins family who are all white Rare to see an east Asian character  Representation demonstrate the ideology of the producer Watching a scene: From the first opening scene after the beginning creates up to the part where they buy Anita and she offers to drive them home.  Textual Analysis: Genre Conventions + codes:                                                                                                                      Intense music                                                                                                                                                                                  Shots of the synth - enigma code         

 Humans is set in England - London Target Audience - Middle class British Science fiction isn't actually about science or fiction. Its always an allegory, meaning something else. It tells us about the world we live in.  The robots are the 'other' they are different. The humans are afraid of them because they are taking over the world.  Ethical debate: The Hawkins family are a stereotypical middle class family  Anita is Asian - A British Chinese actor  Robots don't have ethnicity  Genre Conventions: Glowing eyes, 18+ card, Soundtrack is very techno like, lots of synths etc... Humans is both very conventional but its also not a hard sci-fi novel. Artificial intelligence, Robots vs Humans. Narrative - How a story is told Equilibrium (state of balance) Disequilibrium Partial restoration of Equilibrium  Todorov's theory is not just the beginning, middle and end. Its about moving from one equilibrium to another. For example: Episode 1: Equilibrium - Buys the robot Disequi

 Humans TV series  Genre - Sci-fi  Alternative Present Polysemic - has multiple meanings  Allegory - A stand in for somthing else, A metephor that makes a broader comment n society   Zeitgeist - The mood of an era, spirit of time  Humans reflect the zeitgeist of now  Important Themes: - Consciousness  - Slavery - Prostitution  - The dangers of technology - Work and the replacement of jobs - The representation of women  - Capitalism  - Monogamy - Ethics - Replacement of human roles - Family relationships - Tesla cars - "not a single verified example of a synth knowingly hurting a human" Episode 1 Title sequence has connotations of slavery with robots doing various chores and the narrator saying "do you need some extra help around the house?" Showshuman separation with many characters focusing on technology rather than social values More connotations of slavery with the owner allowing the robot to drive the car instead of him doing it. The older daughter is very ske