A textual analysis of Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation season 2 episode 1: 'Pawnee Zoo'

Representation - what groups are represented, how are they represented, and why?

Gay people 

Positively and stereotypically. Confident, loud, and motivated by partying. In The Bulge , a tightly packed group of gay men excitedly chant Leslie's name, which constructs gay men as over enthusiastic, loud, proud and confident. Exclusively gay men. Use of Lady Gaga as a gay icon reinforces stereotypical representations of gay men. However, this episode arguably perpetuates a simplistic and straightforward stereotype of gay men, which can cause issues for gay men in real life, as it constructs an idea, standard, and stereotype. Gay men in this episode are an accessory and a function rather than being a fully fleshed character attribute. The gay best friend stereotype. Thingy is represented as feminine for the purposes of comedy, which also represents stereotypes surrounding gay people

Middle-aged women 

Awkward and cringy. This also reinforces a stereotypical representation of middle aged women. Lacks knowledge on current life, on LGBT+ lifestyles, is clueless, ditzy, scatty, and barely competent.

Young people 

[The homeless] - creepy, stalker-y, but also, really funny. Homelessness is a joke in this narrative. The MES of the pit in his former garden is a ridiculously over the top aspect MES. The serious issue of homelessness is so unrelatable to working class audiences that it is treated as straightforward.

Media language - close textual analysis

Genre - what genre is this show and what are the conventions that make it?

Genre - comedy

Subgenres and styles - situation comedy, mockumentary

Conventions of the mocumentary -  handheld camera, single camera setup, long take, shakeycam, low production values 

This Country, Modern Family, The Office, Brooklyn 99 (borderline!), Trailer Park Boys, Always Sunny

Generic fluidity - how genres change over time. Genres will evolve to appeal to the tastes of the public

Comedy elements - foolish characters for the audience to identify with, fast paced punchy editing, the use of reaction shots, use of song, dance and movement, use of colour constructing a positive atmosphere

Audience - how does this product appeal to multiple audiences?

Uses and gratifications -the ways in which audiences use and take pleasure from a media product

Uses and pleasures of Parks and Rec - themes of the show provide escapism for the target audiences. The characters provide an escapist fantasy, through being relatable. They make mistakes, but then they solve them by the end of the episode. This is in stark opposition to real life, where being threatened with forced resignation and having to go on local news to defend your job would of course be highly stressful and upsetting.

Explore how ownership shapes media products. Make reference to The Returned to support your response

Example introduction

Shaping refers to how a media product is formed by the contexts in which it was created. In this essay, I shall argue that Les Revenants was shaped to a significant degree through its ownership. In fact, Les Revenants is a show which could only be made by Canal +. Canal + is an established premium subscription channel that appeals to a predominantly middle-class audience.

What kind of TV programme is Les Revenants?

• Zombie
• Supernatural
• Mysterious
• Weird
• Exciting?
• Boring
• Confusing
• Unconventional 
• Spooky
• Unexplainable 
• Atypical
• Emotional
• Violent
• Dramatic 
• Depressing 
• Sexually explicit 
• Triggering
• Big issues
• Uncommercial 
• Slow paced 

Research

• What other shows does Canal + put out?
• Budget
• Funding
• International distribution
• Production: how was it made? Who made it? Etc
• Revenue: earnings!
• Advertising: both nationally and internationally

Findings

• 1.91 million views for the first episode, which is fairly significant for a show like this
• 2 seasons of 8 episodes demonstrates high production costs 
• Funded through grants from Creative Europe and The French Alps Tourist Board . A diverse range of funding, typical of an independent productions
• Shot in Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps
• US distributor: Sundance TV, a premium US subscription channel
• Grant of 450000euros for 1st season and 1000000euros for the second, which indicates a return on the investment
• Aired at 2050 on Canal+. Prime time!

Paragraph starters

• One way in which Les Revenants was clearly shaped by the context of it’s ownership is through the highly non commercial and highly atypical nature of this show
• Another way in which Les Revenants was shaped through its ownership is through the surprisingly high budget and production values
• Yet another way in which Les Revenants was clearly shaped through ownership is it’s unique funding model
• A final way in which Les Revenants was shaped through the context of it’s ownership is through the shows graphic themes of sex and violence, which can only be achieved through an independent and commercially adventurous producer

The television industry is a specialised industry. Explore how The Returned is a product of a specialised industry

Example introduction

When an industry is specialised, this means that it does one thing extremely well. In this essay, I shall argue that Les Revenants is the product of a specialised industry, and could only be made by a producer that specialises in TV production. Les Revenants is a French language, highly atypical horror TV show that first broadcast in 2012.

What kind of TV show is Les Revenants?

• Niche audience 
• Flexi-narrative multi strand narrative, typical of TV show
• Complex
• Stereotypically French 
• Slow paced
• Weird 
• Atypical
• High Budget
• Polysemic
• Dark
• Depressing
• Washed out colour palette
• Mysterious
• Hermeneutic
• Unsettling
• Confusing
• Complex

Questions

• What is Canal +?
• What other shows does Canal + put out?
• Budget
• Funding
• International distribution
• Production: how was it made? Who made it? Etc
• Revenue: earnings!
• Advertising: both nationally and internationally

Findings - what kind of organisation is Canal +?

• Canal + is a multinational conglomerate. It owns a number of different channels, including Canal +, Cine Grande, Canal + Series, Canal + Foot, Canal + Kids, which indicates that it is horizontally integrated. However it also produces films, and has its own international digital streaming services, which means that it is also vertically integrated. In short, it is absolutely massive. A show like Les Revs is only possible to be produced by an enormous company like Canal +
• International distribution: in order to minimise risk and to maximise profit, Canal + chose to distribute and licence this show internationally. It was first broadcast in the UK on Channel 4, a channel with a reputation for edgy and experimental television. Channel 4 is funded through a mixture of traditional advertising and the UK TV licence. It was distributed in America on the Sundance channel, an independent, small US channel that specialises in international films and TV shows. By distributing this show internationally in a variety of different contexts, it allows the producer to minimise risk and to maximise profit, something that is only possible for the TV industry. 
• The first series of Les Revenants cost $11million, which categorises this show as a surprisingly high budget. It was funded through a variety of sources, including a funding grant from Creative Europe, which amounted to 45000 euro for the first series, and a million for the second. This varied form of funding is typical for less commercially successful TV shows. In doing so, this promotes French national culture, and presents France in a positive light. This can ultimately increase foreign tourist investment. The show features many montages of attractive scenes of the beautiful French countryside 

Paragraph starters

1. Les Revenants is a niche show that targets a niche audience, and this is reflected in the funding of the show, which is highly typical of the television industry…
2. Les Revenants is produced by Canal +, French based, internationally minded conglomerate that charges a monthly subscription fee for its premium service. This means that Les Revenants reflects the high production values of it’s producer…
3. While the primary audience for Les Revenants is a domestic, French audience, the show also targets an international audience. This is typical of a specialised, multinational media conglomerate…

Audience responses to Les Revenants

Cultivation theory - the idea that being repeatedly exposed to an ideological perspective or representation will cultivate or grow an ideological perspective in the audience.

What stereotypical representations does Les Revs perpetuate?

• Stereotypical representations of French women. For example, the representation of Adelle being hegemonically attractive and stylish from  a French perspective.
• Stereotypical representations of teenagers. Obsessed with sex, socialising, and rebelliously defying their parents
• Stereotypical representations of children. Victor is represented as confused, but ultimately creepy, which is a representation of children that is cultivated time and time again in the horror genre. It is uncanny to see a small person doing things that they should not do, for example standing in the garden in the middle of the night, or taking the bus by himself 

Conclusion: the representations in Les Revenants are highly stereotypical to present a simple and straightforward ideology to the target audience. While the narrative may be complicated and confusing, at it's heart, the ideological messages of this shows are very simple indeed!

Stuart Hall - Reception theory - how the audience receive ideology encoded in the media product by the producer

The ideology of the producer isn’t completely clear, and the result is that Les Revs presents a complicated, confusing, yet potentially rewarding set of messages which will polarise audiences.

Preferred - audience agrees with the ideology - the audience would understand that Les Revs is an atypical horror show, and would take pleasure from the horror conventions, and the way the show subverts them. The audience will take pleasure with how confusing the show is, and the use of hermeneutic codes. The show is emotionally involved, and says something about our own lives. The characters are highly relatable and appeal to many target audiences. Audiences will take pleasure in the intellectual combination of sex and death. They will also take pleasure in the symbolic encoding of adolescent problems. The unconventional characters may delight audiences. The show also presents a complex representation of teenagers, who are usually not represented at all in TV shows. the audience agrees with the ideology of the producer. The show has a highly confusing atmosphere, and some audiences may find this compelling. The show is completely constructed from hermeneutic codes, which can be compelling. Additionally the audience should feel highly unnerved by what they are seeing. In order to find this show creepy, the audience must accept the narrative, and must accept the reactions of the characters that something impossible has happened. However, the show focuses on the characters and their personal lives, which infers we are supposed to find the characters relatable. Audiences might also relate to the narrative, and may be able to empathise with certain events, for example, sneaking off to the pub, or the death of a loved one.

Oppositional - the audience disagrees with the ideology - the show is boring, it makes no sense, it is frustrating to watch, and it is smug and pretentious. It’s too slow, and not exciting enough. The characters lack any emotion that makes them relatable. Audiences may find the combination of sex and death disgusting, confusing, and just plain offensive. the audience disagrees with the ideology of the producer. The audience may find the show confusing in an unsatisfactory and distracting way, which means they miss out on the show’s creepy atmosphere. Audiences may not relate to any of the characters in this show. This is especially true of children, and working class audience. Audiences may not find the show unnerving because is subverts genre expectations, which the audience may not understand. Audiences might also be put off by the melodramatic performances, which take them out of the narrative

Negotiated: a combination of agreeing and disagreeing with the producer:

• Intrigued by the mystery but hate all the characters
• Really like the characters but hate the supernatural elements 
• May feel conflicted about certain characters, eg Mr Costa
• May enjoy horror conventions, but absolutely are not scared by the show…

Issues with representation

Argument: Les Revenants is highly progressive in many ways, especially in its representation of age and gender. However, it is also extremely lacking in other regards.

• There is an almost total lack of representation of people of colour. France is an ethnically diverse country. Some parts of France are more diverse than others, however, it is unlikely to find an area which is exclusively white. This is almost certainly an attempt to appeal exclusively to a perceived white and middle class audience. We could argue that this approach is highly short sighted, and means Les Revenants is not only missing an opportunity to present atypical representations of POC, but also to appeal to wider audiences. Almost every character in the show is white, which presents a narrow and straightforward representation of ethnicity. This is an example of something that George Gerbner refers to as ‘symbolic annihilation’ 
• It could also be an attempt to represent an area that is predominantly white. 
• Additionally, the producer was clearly making a horror TV show, and has chosen to deliberately not tackle racial issues
• For every positive representation of women, there is also a highly stereotypical one. Two women are murdered in this first episode, in both cases by men. In the scene with the bartender who is murdered in the underpass, the use of low key lighting constructs a stereotypical and threatening mode of address, that reinforces the ideology that women should not walk home alone at night. The POV shot of the murderer stalking the bartender down the ally is an explicit reference to the slasher genre, and once more reinforces and ideological perspective where women are vulnerable. The hooded jacket of the killer symbolically encodes a world in which powerful men attack women. This reinforces stereotypical and patriarchal hierarchies of power. Finally the setting of the abandoned underpass constructs a stereotypical representation of poor and working class areas. The sexualisation of teenage girls. Lena is hegemonically sexually attractive, and by being represented as overtly sexually available, she reinforces a patriarchal hegemonic stereotype, and appeal to a heterosexual male fantasy.
• The show is targeting and almost universally represents a middle class audience. The show asks the audience to not only identify with the middle class characters, but also assumes a certain level of intelligence and education. It assumes a certain knowledge of French culture, French geography, horror film conventions, and the conventions of art films.
• There are a number of stereotypical representations of gender. For example, Claire is a stereotypical gendered representation of a caring mother. Additionally, two women die in this first episode, in both cases at the hands of a male character!

Les Revenants: industry questions

Which question scares you the most out of these four?

Why?

What can you do about it?

• Media products are shaped by regulation. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make explicit reference to The Returned to support your answer
• Explore how economic factors influenced the production and distribution of The Returned
• The television industry is a specialised industry. Explore how The Returned is a product of a specialised industry
• Explore how ownership shapes media products. Make reference to The Returned to support your response

Considering the marketing campaign for Humans within an economic context

Marketing and advertising 

The following task looks at a pivotal element of Human's advertising campaign, and uses it to answer two different exam questions: one on audience, and one on media industries 

Persona Synthetics commercial: industry and audience approach

How significant are economic factors in the TV industry? Refer to Humans to support your answer.

Knee jerk reaction: Economic factors are essential to the TV industry

Plan

MES

Target audience

Representation

Camera angles

Preferred reading

Narrative

Polysemic

Metanarrative 

Allegory 

Multi-strand narrative

Archetypes

Construction

Intertextual readings 

Editing

Fast paced editing

Montage

Semiotics (roland, codes)

Binary Oppostions 

Gender performativity

Postmodernism 

DAC

Definition, argument, context

• Economic factors refer to the financial implications of making and distribution a TV show. In this essay, I shall argue economic factors are essential to the production and distribution of TV shows, as the purpose of every TV show is to minimise risk and to maximise profit for it's producer. In order to explore this point, I shall refer to Humans, a sci-fi series first broadcast 2015 on Channel 4 in the UK, and AMC in America. This US/UK co-production conveys a variety of different meanings to different audiences, and was a remake of a Swedish TV show. 
• The marketing campaign for Humans was highly atypical and even controversial, breaking many of the so-called rules of advertising. An excellent example of this is the Persona Synthetics TV spot advert, which takes a highly unusual mode of address. 
• In a highly atypical move, the Persona Synthetics trailer choses to advertise the cyborg (or synth) from the TV show, as opposed to the TV show itself. None of the main characters appear at any stage, and there is even no reference to the title of the TV show itself. The advert accomplishes a fascinating feat: it is literally placing the audience in to the world of the Humans narrative, and demonstrating an advert that the Hawkins family is likely to have seen. This advert is an excellent example of the company apparently self-sabotaging. The advert completely lacks any information, such as the name of the TV show, any of the names of the characters, and even what time the show will be broadcast. However, this highly atypical mode of address will actively encourage audiences to engage with this advert, for example looking up the website, searching for the included hashtag. This will ultimately encourage audiences to engage with the product both online and in person, and is an excellent example of viral media. 
• It's mysterious nature functions as a hermeneutic code, creating a powerful sense of mystery for the target audience
• The advert constructs a highly shocking and manipulative mode of address, heavily inferring to the mass audience that synthetic lifeforms actually do exist. It is an example of augmented reality, and actively positions audiences within the world of the narrative. It uses many conventions of the advert, including the casting of a stereotypical family, the use of a stereotypical futuristic household , and the use of an upbeat song in a major key, as well as the link to a website and the on screen graphic 'Regent Street Store Open Soon'. All of these elements combine to construct and augmented reality where robots exist.
• While this trailer does not include footage or characters from the show, it does expertly introduce a range of important themes:
• Artificial intelligence "closer to humans than ever before"
• The obsolescence of humans - synths are represented as being more capable, more safe, more reliable 
• Foreshadowing many controversial and unpleasant themes of the TV show: the montage of the kid coming downstairs/reaction of mother /synth walking kid upstairs is absolutely wonderful 
• Sale of merchandise, for example DVDs etc...
• Middle class science fiction fans are a desirable target audience, and advertisers will potential pay a premium for this
• MES of the nuclear family is anchored through the depiction of a mother, a father, and two children. They are white, and extremely middle class, a fact which which is anchored through the highly middle class setting
• The MES of the clean and extremely modern family household constructs a clear ideology of a middle class family. However, the household does not resemble a 'real' house, but instead functions as a hyperreal simulation. It resembles a house that we may see in an advert or in a high end showroom. This advert is clearly trying to resemble an advert. 
• The Persona Synthetics commercial is an advert for a synth, a synthetic human, or cyborg. However, they clearly do not exist. This is a highly convincing advert for a fictitious product. Other elements which make this a highly conventional product advert include the generically appropriate soundtrack, which features a positive, major key piano motif.  It's convincing nature is further anchored through montage of the synth carrying out a range of stereotypically 'feminine' tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare. It's conventions are similar to that of a kitchen appliance advert, functioning as a highly complex system of intertextual relay, creating a satisfying mode of address for the target, niche sci fi audience
• This highly convincing advert actually convinced a small minority of audience members that cyborgs do in fact exist. This is partly due to it's highly convincing genre conventions. The trailer ends with a title card/on screen graphic with the Persona Synthetics logo. This diegetically situated element of mise en scene essentially communicates to the target audience that Persona Synthetics is a real corporation, and wonderfully positions the audience not as a potential audience for the TV show Humans, but actually in the world of the narrative. 
• AR - augmented reality. Through it's highly convincing set of generic conventions, the trailer forces the target audience to answer the question: is this real? This proairetically brings up one of the main themes of humans, 'what is reality? What is humanity? And other extremely complicated, and highly postmodern. The advert is deliberately creating a sense of anxiety, confusion, and a nightmarish atmosphere. This is a highly atypical way of selling a new TV show! This indicates that Humans is clearly targeting a niche audience.
• The use of the hashtag hashtag humans functions as an example digitally convergent media, encouraging the niche target audience to engage with the show online before ever actually having seen it
• However, the advert also incorporates a highly problematic proairetic code, foreshadowing the themes of the collapse of the nuclear family.
• While the trailer for Humans radically does not include any traditional trailer conventions, it does include it's own self contained an highly effective narrative. The final montage of shots constructs a highly effective deconstruction of the nuclear family. A low angle mid-shot sees a young boy walking down dark stairs in a position of distress. He directly addresses his parents, However, the mother's expression is one of annoyance. This highly effective montage explores the deconstruction and the problems facing the nuclear in the early 21st century. This raises a range of problematic and highly polysemic issues for the niche target audience, and reinforces the complexity of the show before audiences are even aware that it exists

Life imitating art: delivery robots

 

• The dull, drab mise-en-scene of the above image demonstrates that when actual, radical technological change is implemented, it will not be exciting, but will happen through the medium of bureaucratic announcements and legal red tape
• Robots in real life is an exciting idea!
• Technological advancements can help the world become a better place!
• Much technological advancement is not actually based on progress, but instead on emulating science fiction
• Robots are potentially a cost efficient way of cutting down wages. They can potentially replace 
• The design of these robots must be non-threatening, which suggests a public fear of robots, technology, and change in general
• But how much of our fear of robots is actually derived from exploitative science fiction dramas? Are we guilty of stereotyping robots?

Representations of age and gender: Lena and Simon walk home

Representation is where the producer presents someone or something again, to show their ideas, beliefs and ideology. 

Van Zoonen - feminist theory - women are sexualised through representation for the pleasure of a heterosexual male audience. The male gaze theory 

Hall - representation theory  - representations are constructed through media language, and make heavy use of stereotypes. Representations construct reality. The way in which we see the world effectively comes from media 

Butler - gender performativity - the ways in which we perform our gender has an effect on the world around us

Lena - young woman 

Simon - young man

 

Key scene one - the Lake Pub

• The low key lighting of the bar creates a friendly and welcoming mode of address for the teenage secondary audience
• The low key lighting is red, which has connotations of love and passion, which is further anchored through Lena’s flirtatious performance 
• Lena bargains with Simon: “I’ll only tell you if you buy me a drink”. Her performance is very forward and highly assertive. This is further anchored through Lena keeping constant eye contact with Simon, and she is happily drunk and smiling 
• Lena is clearly trying to seduce Simon
• This representation is in many ways highly atypical. Lena is actively flirting with Simon, which subverts stereotypical expectations of gender performance
• A subversion of the stereotype that that men are interested in sex and women are not is presented 
• A binary opposition
• Lena is young and stereotypically hegemonically attractive woman. She’s wearing a dress, which is symbolically connotative of femininity. However, this forms a binary opposition with her scruffy denim jacket, which has connotations of masculinity. This binary opposition constructs a complicated representation of gender
• Lena is clearly sexually active, yet she is not presented in a negative way, which may be atypical
• The representation of Lena constructs a range of polysemic interpretations. Audiences may appreciate and identify with her demonstration of sexual freedom, yet others may be critical of her over drinking and her reckless behaviour
• Immediately before this scene, we see a shot of Julie on an empty bus, which constructs a vulnerable and bleak atmosphere. The scene immediately after is set in the Seurat family house, which presents an aspirational mode of address to the middle class French audience. French media, for example films and TV shows are far more likely to feature wealthy characters and aspirational upper middle class settings. These two scenes also forma a diegetic binary opposition to Simon and Lena’s night.
• The Lake Pub is lively, exciting, and inviting, and positions the target audience in an exciting mode of address. This mode of address is constructed. The MES of pool tables function as a proairetic code for social interaction and fun. The low key orange lighting presents a warm and inviting colour palette, that suggests the potential of a welcoming atmosphere. The MES of bottles of alcohol form a proairetic code, for drinking, fun and excitement. Finally, the clientele of the pub are young and hegemonically attractive people, which constructs a symbolic atmosphere of sexual potential. 
• Lena makes constant eye contact with Simon, which connotes her desire to seduce him. Her body language indicates her interest in him, by moving in close towards him. She asks Simón to “buy me a drink”, which indicates her interest in him. 
• Lena’s assertion is potentially stereotypically masculine. By actively picking up a man at a pub, and demonstrating her sexual interest, the producer of Les Revenants is actively contradicting Liesbet’s Van Zoonen’s feminist theory, and is potentially presenting an atypical, and even feminist ideology. By reinforcing the atypical representation of women being sexually active, Les Revenants challenges hegemonic norms and values that exist around women 
• Simon acts in a grumpy, impatient and even desperate manner. He clearly has no sexual interest in Lena, which is encoded through his complete lack of dialogue, and the short terse delivery of his questions. Simon almost seems surprised and even uncomfortable with Lena’s assertiveness. Simon’s uninterested approach here presents an extremely atypical representation of men, and challenges the stereotypical expectation that men are motivated by sex. In short, this scene constructs a highly complex representation of gender norms for a niche audience
• David Guantlett- pick and mix - audiences can pick and mix different elements of a TV show to construct their own identity

Key scene two - Lena and Simon walk home 

• While Simon is in many ways stereotypically masculine, including through his terse and grumpy performance, he also subverts these gender expectations by not running off to sleep with the hegemonically attractive and sexually available Lena 
• Simon walks much faster than Lena, and completely ignores her, which visibly upsets her. His terse and blunt manner is simultaneously highly typical and atypical
• Lena is convinced that her hegemonically attractive looks and assertive manner can ‘turn’ Simon. However, he is clearly not interested in her, which subverts not only gender stereotypes. Simon is completely uninterested in her gender performance, which subverts the idea of gender performativity, or rather reinforces a complex representation of gender
• Lena shouts ‘de rien connard’, which is vulgar and angry, and presents a subversive and non-stereotypical representation of women

Subverting representations of women - Julie

Les Revenants = 'the returned'

In the exam, Les Revenants will be referred to as The Returned. But we refer to it as Les Revenants.

Why?

• It’s more authentic and more academic
• It sounds more sophisticated 
• The Returned is a wildly unpopular American remake of Les Revenants. The less we talk about this, the better

Recap

Last time we explored the representation of teenage girls. The French for ‘orgasm’ is ‘le petit mort’, which is a reference to the fact that every time we make love, we are one step closer to death . Life and death is the ultimate binary opposition, and is a fascinating and philosophical contradiction. This difficult and problematic binary opposition presents teenage girls as rebellious, irrational. To be a teenager is exciting, scary, and terrifying. 

What other groups are represented in Les Revs?

• Mothers (Claire)
• Middle aged women (Claire)
• Middle aged men (Camille’s dad)
• Teenage boys (hat guy)
• Young children - Victor
• Parents - The Suerats 
• Elderly people - Mr Costa 
• Women - Julie

What Makes Le Revs 'French'

This is a bit weird to try and say, but Les Revs is really really French. It presents a stereotypical French mode of address for a French audience. This is highly similar to how Humans uses stereotypically British characters, dialogue and settings to appeal to a British audience, and how Real Humans uses Swedish stereotypes to engage a Swedish audience. But what makes Les Revs 'French'?

• French Setting 
• Set in the French Alps, a setting that would only be relevant to French audiences 
• In French
• Dark, dismal moody setting 
• Themes: death, depression, philosophy 
• Stereotypically French actors 
• Architecture: the Seurat family’s house has an Alpine feel

Explore how the TV shows you have studied construct representations of gender. Make reference to Humans and Les Revenants in your response

Gender performativity - Judith Butler - gender is a social construct, and the way in which we perform gender constructs the world around us

Stuart Hall - theories of representation: stereotypes and their function

Liesbet van Zoonen  - representation of women - women in media products have a completely different function to men, often for pure sex appeal

Introducing Julie - how is Julie’s representation constructed through media language?

• Establishing shot of Julies flat shows that she lives in social housing, and is therefore working class
• The setting of Julie’s flat is run down and empty. 
• The use of low key lighting constructs ideologies of loneliness and isolation
• This is further anchored through the cluttered, messy mise en scene of her apartment, which is typified by stacks pf books, magazines, and other objects
• The cluttered nature of the apartment represents Julie as disorganised and untidy, which is a highly unconventional representation of women
• The MES of books also functions as a symbolic code for Julie being an intellectual character
• Julie’s costume is baggy, casual and understated. Dressed in dark colours she is rather atypical in her representation.
• Julie, through her hair and costume and lack of makeup, is not coded as being  hegemonically attractive
• Julie is watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, an intertextual reference to a notoriously violent slasher film. This constructs Julie as being edgy, fearless, and different from stereotypical women 
• Julie is a highly complicated representation of women! While her representation is highly relatable and even ‘realistic’, it is not a commonly seen representation in commercial TV
• External establishing long shot of a gritty, concrete apartment block. This has a symbolic connotation, connotations of crime, danger, violence. Julie clearly is a rough and dangerous 
• Julie is stereotypically working class. She lives in a social housing block, which forms a stark binary opposition to the Seurat family 
• The Mise en scene of the set design of Julie’s apartment is lit through low key lighting , and her apartment is littered with stacks of books . This symbolically encodes that julie is educated, and messy
• Julie’s costume comprises of a baggy jumper and baggy jeans, and has connotations of comfiness and relaxation. 
• Despite her costume being highly realtle to the target audience, it is in fact a subversive representation of women . It completely contrasts with Liesbet Van Zoonen’s theory that women in media products are presented purely for the purpose of sexualisation
• Julie is watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a violent slasher horror film that features the torture and torment of many female characters. Julie’s bored reaction to this extremely violent film constructs a highly atypical representation. Not only does Julie not subscribe to gender norms and genre norms are also broken

Julie and Victor come home 

• The non diegetic soundtrack is creepy, eerie, and highly typical of horror films
• This entire montage is highly conventional of the slasher genre
• Slow, POV MS of her face as she gets off the bus positions the audience with julie , and allows the audience to  to see things from Julie’s perspective
• MES of extreme low key lighting throughout these scene connotes mystery and loneliness 
• The light is yellow, dull, menacing and artificial, which has symbolic connotations of fear and misery
• This is further anchored through the completely empty, run down suburban setting, concrete blocks of flats and overgrown weeds is symbolic of crime and danger. This highly stereotypical mode of address will resonate with audiences 
• Julie’s performance is highly atypical. Rather than being scared of her isolation, she appears to be bored. Additionally, by not being attacked, julie breaks this stereotype of women being vulnerable 
• The character Julie presents a highly complex representation of women that demonstrates the ideological perspective of the producer. She is represented most effectively in the montage of scenes that introducts
• Victor is establishes through a series of highly isolating shots. A high angled extreme long shot of victor is presented from Julie’s perspective, which positions the audience with Julie. This action reinforces Julie’s caring persona, and the idea that she is secretly protective of those around her
• The low key used throughout this montage is highly stereotypical of the horror genre, which positions Julie is a dangerous and threatening situation. 
• The lighting is low key, and comes from a lonely bus the light from the bus shelter. This artificial light take s on a sickly yellow quality, which gives the light a cheap, nasty, and threatening quality. This reinforces the stereotypical danger than Julie faces
• Julie’s actions reinforce however that she is clearly unafraid of this situation. This constructs a highly atypical representation of women for the target audience. This confusing and atypical subversion of genre expectations may make the target audience feel uncomfortable and even creeped out. Why is isn’t Julie more scared, and why isn't she behaving like women stereotypically would in this situation???
• However, the soundtrack, which combines a thrumming bass noise with eerie sound effects, which is highly typical of the horror genre. Additionally, the iconography of a creepy child all by himself 

Considering the representation of Camille and Lena

In what ways is age represented in the TV shows that you have studied?

In what ways does this scene construct an uncomfortable mode of address, and what message does this construct about teenage girls?

Les Revenants uses fantasy and horror conventions to emphasise and to allegorically draw attention to the issues that young women may face

Representation refers to how something is re-presented by the producer of a media product using media language to reflect their own ideology. Therefore, when a producer choses to re-present middle class teenage girls, they are not strictly re-creating reality, but instead are reinforcing and re-presenting certain ideologies about teenage girls. This process is extremely complicated, and must be analysed in detail. 

Representations construct reality. They reinforce and communicate to audiences what something ‘should’ look like, or how someone ‘should’ behave’. 

One way in which teenage girls is represented in Les Revenants is through the deliberately uncomfortable and potentially problematic final sex/death scene. 

• A close up birds eye view shot is shown for an extended period of time, deliberately positioning the audience not as a casual observer, but in the bedroom, right next to the couple as they have sex. This uncomfortable mode of address is anchored through the lack of musical/non-diegetic soundtrack, forcing the audience to confront the sounds of the couple. This is further emphasised through the characters whispering loudly, again positioning the target audience in an intrusive and intimate mode of address. Finally, this is yet further anchored through the deeply off-putting dialogue from Lena, as she discusses her resemblance to her twin sister during sex. 
• Awkward performance
• The MES of the hat...

What message about teenagers is being constructed through media language in this scene?

While the scene is highly uncomfortable and highly atypical in terms of how it represents sex, it arguably represents teenagers in a stereotypical way. Lena is represented as being rebellious and independent. We are positioned with her rather than her lover in this scene, which is highly relatable to the secondary teenage female audience. It reinforces a not often seen stereotype that sex is often awkward, especially if it's for the first time. 

However, it also reinforces a further ideological perspective, that sex is dangerous as has hidden implications. Throughout this scene, we cross cut from the Sexually active, rebellious Lena to the stereotypically innocent Camille. 

In cross cutting between this two highly dichotomous scenes, a binary opposition in constructed between life and death. Sex is typically symbolic of reproduction, as in creating new life. However, this scene presents an ironic symbolic code, where sex instead is symbolic of death. A symbolic bond is constructed between these two sisters which constructs a highly confusing and upsetting mode of address for the target audience, which reinforces a stereotypical representation of the confusion and upsetting nature of being a teenager

How does this scene position it’s audiences? What is the intended response? 

• The sex scene positions the audience in a deeply uncomfortable mode of address. This is constructed through a variety of different ways:
• The apparent age of the characters is very young. Lena (the character) is 14 years old, which may mean that some audiences may feel uncomfortable by this. 
• The use of close up BEV shots position the audience literally on top of the young couple as they have sex, which again is a deliberately uncomfortable mode of address
• A highly voyeuristic mode of address, where the audience are essentially seeing something that they shouldn’t see
• The MES of the duvet completely obscures the audiences vision, and heightens the voyeuristic mode of address. Additionally the performance is very innocent, awkward and naïve 
• Lena makes explicit reference to her own sister in bed, which is highly innapropriate, and a little creepy
• The pleonastic sound of the characters whispering construct a deeply voyeuristic, intimate and off putting mode of address for the target audience. 
• Ultimately this sex scene is potentially relatable for teenage audiences, who may be going through similar things
• Lena loses her virginity in this scene. To loose one’s virginity is symbolic of losing one’s innocence, and in this scene, this is symbolically occurring with both Lena and Camille.
• Le petit mort - the little death. This oxymoronic term is confusing considering one ‘function’ of sex is to create life. It could refer to the death of one’s childhood and innocence, and the vulnerability that one has in such in a situation. 
• However, Camille, experiencing what her sister experiences, has a violent panic attack in confusion, and ultimately this Camille and all her friends. 
• This scene makes a profound and symbolic comment on what it is like to be a teenager. It is uncomfortable, strange, awkward, scary, terrifying and confusing 

Les Revenants initial discussion

The following notes were pulled from two different classes as a starter activity. As ever, if there's repetition, this means it's a good point worth making twice!

• The link between Lena and Camille is bizarre! Camille essentially crashes a bus killing everybody because her sister has an orgasm 
• Les Revs is an extremely unconventional show!
• But what genre is Les Revs? A drama? A zombie horror??? Is Camille a Zombie?
• Use of soundtrack: eerie soundtrack 
• A highly confusing narrative featuring a range of different characters. A flexi narrative or multi strand narrative
• A deliberately confusing narrative that forces us to engage with the topic of death 
• An extremely confusing use of time and space deliberately positions the target audience in a confusing mode of address, and will lead to confusion as to the relationship between Lena and Camille (actually twin sisters!)
• The use of long takes: continuous shots with no editing create a deliberately slow and awkward pace
• The narrative is highly unorthodox. There is not traditional typical build up to the bus crashing off the cliff, and this is potentially very unsatisfying to the target audience
• The final sex scene takes place between two 15 year olds having sex, which is below the age of consent in the UK. However, this scene clearly does not breach any UK guidelines, beyond offending certain audiences. This scene clearly reflects the differences in values between France and The UK
• The aesthetic: very dark, very gloomy 
• The show is set not in Paris or a major city as the audience might expect , but instead in the French ALPS, deep in the countryside
• Metaphysical: something beyond the physical realm and our understanding
• The concept of death itself is broken in this TV show, which constructs a highly confusing mode of address for the target audience
• Les revenants is a mysterious show. It makes extensive use of hermeneutic codes to position the audience in an inquisitive 
• The entire show is completely predicated on hermeneutic codes. It is reliant on them to an extreme degree, as many of the mysteries never get resolved?
• For example: 
• how did Camille come back to life?
• Why is it so jarring? This isn’t normal?
• How isn’t Camille eating anyone’s brains
• What are our expectations of this show? Because it is targeting a niche audience, it is very likely that audiences that stumble across this show rather than seeing advertising for it for example. 
• Audiences may choose to watch this show because of the music, which was composed by a band called Mogwai, an instrumental rock band from Glasgow. But why did they do the soundtrack? It acts as a unique selling point, and allows the show to target a pre-sold audience. Their music is also loud and mysterious, which suits the theme and the aesthetic of the show 
• It’s very creepy! The central theme is quite horrifying! Camille coming back from the dead, not as a zombie but as an identical girl to how she died is extremely unsettling to the audience. It completely subverts our expectations of the zombie genre, as none of the zombies/les revenants seem to be in any way aware of what’s going on, which is highly creepy, in a far more subtle way
• Deeply confusing narrative can be completely off putting to the audience, leaving them confused, overwhelmed, and even bored 
• The narrative is actually extremely straightforward, and for much of the episode, characters act in an off putting and emotionless way, which can be pretty distancing for certain audiences 
• A focus on ‘normal’ and relatable people. There is no struggle for life, there is no barricading in a house. In fact, ‘normal’ and relatable things happen, such as having sex, picking up guys, trying to find a house, and grieving over the death of a daughter. 
• However, there are two moments of shocking violence in this episode, including a scene where Mr Costa ties up and burns alive Mme costa, the bridge suicide, and the waitress being stabbed to death in the underpass. 
• Les Revenants is highly atypical in every conceivable way

Researching Les Revenants

This set of tasks is frankly absolutely essential. But they are all as straightforward as possible, to ensure that you are able to complete them without a teacher present. This means that we can spend the time when I return working on more complicated and knotty issues, such as representation. 

So please take this seriously. This is an easy lesson, but we will not have any time to go over this again!

Please note before you start: while we refer to this show by it's correct, French title of Les Revenants, internationally it was released as 'The Returned'. So, when researching merchandise for this show, try googling 'the returned merchandise' or 'the returned tv show t shirts' or something. You can also search for Les Revenants as well. Go wild!

The Les Revenants EP by Mogwai

Les Revenants: absolute basic facts

Task 1 - please copy the following information in to a new blog post called 'Les Revenants research'

• 26 November 2012 on Canal+
• United Kingdom 9 June 2013 on Channel 4
• 2 series, 8 episodes each
• Based on the French film They Came Back (Les Revenants, dir. Robin Campillo 2004)
• Created by Fabrice Gobert

Music

Stick this on in the background as you complete the next research task 

The soundtrack to Les Revenants is pretty atypical. This is partly because instead of being scored by a conventional composer, or being made up of a selection of music from other artists, it is written be a single band, Mogwai. 

Task 2 - research Mogwai

• Who are Mogwai?
• What kind of music do they make?
• What does this mean? 
• Jot down some facts about them
• Why was this band in particular selected to compose the music for the French TV show Les Revenants?
• What possible advantages does featuring Mogwai in this show have for audiences and the producers of this show?

Trailer 

This trailer is not for the original run of the show in French. Instead, it's for the Australian DVD release of this show. So this trailer gives you a fairly good indication of how this show was marketed to foreign (as in not French) audiences.

Task 3 - Watch and analyse the below trailer

How does this trailer target it's audiences? What techniques does it use? And how does it appeal to potential new audiences?

Merchandise

While Les Revenants is a highly atypical show, it still does have a smattering of merchandise, both official and unofficial that can be found online. This is an excellent example of not only producers minimising risk and maximising profit through vertically integrated business practices (Hesmondhalgh), but it's also an excellent example of audiences interacting with this confusing TV show in completely new ways (Jenkins).

Task 4 - research and screenshot examples of merchandise for The Returned, both official and unofficial

Canal+

Canal+ is the name of the 'channel' that commissioned and funded Les Revs. However, Canal+ is a very different TV channel to something like Channel 4 (which is funded commercially and in part by the licence fee), AMC (an American 'basic cable' channel that is primarily funded through advertising but also increasingly through international franchising of it's often wildly popular TV shows) or even the BBC (a UK conglomerate that is funded primarily through a state mandated licence fee, which makes the BBC 'public access'). Canal+ is a bit different.

Task 5 - Spend five minutes researching Canal+.

They're big! So only include the most straightforward facts. Who are they? How did they start? How much money do they have? What notable shows do they have? How are they funded? Etc!

Regulatory issues

Regulation refers to the rules and restrictions that a media product must face. In the UK, TV is regulated by OFCOM, and DVDs, other physical releases and theatrical releases are regulated by the BBFC.

The principal way in which the BBFC regulate media products is to 

1. Take in to account the context of any sex, violence, swearing, and so on, and 
2. Assess the potential harm and offense caused to the target audience

Task 6 - harm and offense in Les Revenants

• Make a list of everything in Les Revs that might get it shown after 2100 on TV. I'm talking swearing, sex, sexual references, spooky scenes, whatever. Go wild. You may wish to access the episode to help you, and even make screenshots of these scenes and subtitles (!)
• Which scenes in Les Revenants are most likely to cause harm and offense to the target audience? 
• Check out the BBFC page for the episode of Les Revs you watched. Do you agree with this rating? Why?

Les Revenants: considering genre

Starting with the conclusion: Les Revenants is atypical

In this absolutely bizarre scene, Claire is absolutely terrified by her long dead daughter Camille seemingly returning from the grave. However, Camille to have no idea what has happened. This engrossing scene captures the appeal of Les Revenants, an arguably fascinating show that expertly blends expectations of genre with a highly confusing and involving family drama

By now you will have watched the first episode of the French TV thriller/horror/zombie/drama/tragic romance/surreal/whatever show Les Revenants (AKA The Returned). Les Revs is very very different from the other TV show we have studied (which is either Humans if you are taking the exam in 2023 or Black Mirror if you are taking the exam in 2024 and beyond. In fact, we can take a second right now to present a specific and straightforward argument that you will use in the final exam:

Les Revenants is highly atypical

or

Les Revenants is particularly subversive

or

Les Revenants is extremely unconventional

So if you found Les Revenants difficult, impenetrable, weird, confusing, subversive or just plain odd, then good! Your argument will be that this show clearly does things different. How and why are the questions we need to answer here.

Les Revenants is extremely unconventional in terms of generic conventions 

Most of the things we have looked at so far, with the exception of Adbusters have been extremely conventional in terms of genre. However, it is clear the Les Revenants is very unconventional in terms of genre. It doesn't really fit clearly in to one genre. 

Task 1: generic conventions

Below are a number of genres and subgenres that Les Revs could fit in to. This is all highly debatable. For each of these, make a list of conventional elements and unconventional elements. These should all be related to the textual analysis toolkit, for example shot types, camera angles and so on. Please use the episode itself as guidance for this task.

Genre: Horror

Subgenres: psychological horror, zombie, supernatural horror, folk horror

Genre: Drama

Subgenres: thriller, psychological thriller, soap opera, romantic tragedy, paranormal romance

Examples:

Psychological horror: themes of madness and confusion are encoded through the use of long takes, and through the isolated and nightmarish setting. Further examples include...

Psychological thriller: The use of over the top performances, particularly in the scene when Lena is reunited with Camille emphasise the intense psychological trauma experienced by the main characters. This is further anchored through...

Les Revenant is extremely unconventional in terms of narrative

Task 2 - what narrative techniques does Les Revenants utilise

Consider the following narrative techniques, and explain to what extent Les Revenants uses these elements. Remember to check the glossary (or just google) if there's anything you need a refresher on!

• Todorovian equilibrium
• Multi-strand/flexi-narratives
• Character arcs

Les Revenants is unconventional with it's cinematography

Let's tie together the elements of cinematography and narrative with editing. 

Task 3 - watch the scene where Camille comes home

This is the scene where Camille returns to the Seurat family household and meets with her mum. A very alienating, confusing, and potentially satisfying scene is played out, making full use of a variety of different elements of media language. But what does it mean? Why is Claire freaking out? Why is Camille so chilled? And how can we make sense of this scene?

Task 4 - watch this video 

And make notes on how the 'Camille comes home' scene creates meaning for the target audience.... whoever that may be! 

Humans fact file

Here are a few facts about Humans that will make excellent contextual information in the final exam!

• Budget of £12million for the whole of the eight episodes of the first series
• C4s 'highest rated' drama since 1992 (lol)
• Written by Sam Vincent and Jonathon Ratcliffe
• Screened on Channel in the UK, and AMC in America
• American UK co-production. Allows producers to maximise audiences and minimises financial risk
• Cancelled in 2019, four years after starting, due to decline in viewing figures, especially in America 
• Commissioned in America due to the success of British exports such as Dr Who and Black Mirror 
• Laura had given birth six weeks before film 
• A remake of a Swedish show called Real Humans, with many of the same elements, but the sex and violence were significantly toned down for local audiences
• AMC - American Movie Channel. Previously a low-rent basic cable. However, they pivoted to 'serious' prestige TV, including The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Preacher, Mad Men. Humans totally fits in to their ethos of mid-budget prestige TV. A slightly different version of the show was aired in America to correspond to local regulations
• Channel 4. UK commercial TV channel with a reputation for edgy, out-there TV. The Inbetweeners, Broadchurch, Naked Attraction, GBBO, Gogglebox, Big Brother, Hunted, Black Mirror, Top Boy, Brass Eye, Taskmaster
• Aired on Thursdays at 2100. Post watershed, the time when it is accepted that adult shows may be broadcast (self-regulation). Primetime!

Negotiating Humans

The common consensus regarding 'the media' and how audiences are affected through media, is that media 'brainwashes' us. This idea is what we refer to as a passive model of audience interaction. When someone is passive, they go with the flow, and agree with whatever they are shown. However, in media studies, we generally argue that things are a lot more complicated than this. Stuart Hall's reception theory helps us to explore this idea. 

Stuart hall - reception theory

Reception theory refers to the many different ways that audiences can decode, or make sense of a message within a media product.

Every media product has an ideology, message of belief encoded in it by the producer. However, audiences can decode this meaning in many different ways. This process can be referred to as audience negotiation. In other words, a compromise is reached.

There are three broad ways to interpret a media product:

• The preferred reading - where the audience agrees with the ideology of the producer, and decodes the product in the way they 'should do' 
• The oppositional reading - where the audience disagrees with the ideology of the producer
• The negotiated reading -where the audience agree to some extent, but disagree with other elements of the producer's ideologies

Audiences can negotiate a media product in almost infinite ways. This can be mediated through the audience's

• Morals
• Personality 
• Social groups
• Social class (working class, middle class)
• Upbringing 
• Influence of others 
• Body type 
• Age
• Gender identity 
• Sexual preference
• Ethnicity 
• Race
• Religion 
• Level of education

Applying reception theory to the final montage sequence of Humans

The ending montage of humans constructs a highly inviting and highly polysemic mode of address to it's many target audiences, encouraging a range of wildly different negotiations

• East Asian audiences may have a complicated reaction to the character of Anita. these audieces may take exception to Anita's stereotypical representation as an emotionless sex slave, which frankly reinforces racist stereotypes that exist regarding East Asian women. However, Anita is the protagonist, and East Asian audiences may simultaniously take pleasure from seeing an East Asian Brit in the main role, as she increases visibility. 
• Themes of remembering may be both compelling and deeply stressful to older audiences, as it will bring up themes of dementia and aging
• Audiences who have grown in non-traditional household, for example without a mo0ther figure, may find the character Anita as compelling. Additionally, families who are unable to have children may find Anita's desire to have a child compelling and relatable
• Leo has lost Mia/Anita, and is desperate to find her, which calso could be a relatable situation for the audience
• Exclusive representation of heterosexal relationships may of course appeal to heterosexual audiences, but may also alioenbce gay audiences
• Gemma Chan's casting as Anita is clearly becuase she is a hegemonically attractive woman, and many audience memebers, will find her attractive
• The character of Mattie is encoded as hegemonically attractive, and may appeal to teenage audiences in particular. This idea of Mattie being a relatable character is anchored through the MES of her staring into her device in bed, which may connote inteleigence, seriousness, but also ecodes her as a stereotypical teenager. She represents teenage girls, and may appeal to a teenage secondary audience who would not engage with this show otherwise
• The man who visits the brothel is represented as a stereotypical working class man. His appearance is highly stereotypical, being a bald, hegemonically unattractive white man in a tracksuit, all of which reinforce a highly leading and stereotypical representation of working class men. His costume has connotations of blue collar manual work. Working class people may react negatively to this scene, and be angry at the use of stereotyping. However the middle class target audience may simply have their worldview reinforced
• The representation of the scientist is also potentially problematic. He is a stereotypically nerdy east Asian man, who is presented in this context to be as easily identifiable to audiences as possible. East Asian audiences may take offense at this straightforward and lazy stereotype. Even positive stereotypes can be problematic, and arguably even this apparently straightforward scene can be decoded as racist and highly alienating

Exploring marketing material for Humans

Humans has a rich and diverse marketing campaign that utilises a number of techniques not commonly associated with traditional marketing. Many of these adverts are diegetically situated, as in they exist in the world of the narrative of the TV show, and advertise (or active make warnings about) 'Synths', the synthetic humans that are pivotal to the narrative of Humans.

Additionally, it could (and should!) be argued the Humans' marketing campaign positions the audience in an augmented reality, one where it insists that diegetic aspects of the show are real. In this sense, it resembles Orson Welles's infamous War Of The Worlds hoax that freaked out a lot of American radio audiences, as well as the use of street maps and phone cameras in Pokémon Go (click here to check out a write-up I did on this 10000000 years ago).

If nothing else, these key words sum up the marketing campaign for Humans was:

Unconventional

Atypical

Controversial

Economically risky

Augmented reality

Diegetically situated 

Task - Using the resources linked below, answer the following questions in a new blog post:

• What is the importance/ significance of new digital technology in marketing?
• How far was the marketing campaign successful in engaging a wide audience and why is this so important in the global age of TV?
• Explain why guerrilla marketing was an effective strategy for Channel 4 to use to promote the first series of Humans
• How does the marketing campaign support Baudrillard’s theory about hyper-reality?
• Write a “Perfect Paragraph” on one of the above question with examples from the marketing campaign

Click here to access an archive of marketing material. Thank you Naamah for compiling this!

Applying postmodern theory to Humans

Jean Baudrillard – theories surrounding postmodernism

Odi is a hyperreal construct. To George, he is far more real than anything else in his life. But is this in spite of, or because of how irreparably broken he is? Does Odi and George's intense and subversive relationship reflect a breakdown in societal values? Why does George love Odi so much? What is real, and does it matter?

This 'theory' is extremely difficult to define, as it's an 'anti-theory' theory. So things are going to get very complicated very quickly. Luckily, postmodernism as a critical approach is often applied in a loose way, so don't worry too much about how you apply it in your written work. 

Concept one – it is impossible to objectively define what is real. Therefore, there is no such thing as reality

Concept two – we live in an age where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning

Concept three – Since all forms of meaning have collapsed, media products reflect ideologies and messages that have never even existed in the first place

Hyperreality

Hyperreality - where the representation is more real that the thing that is represented 

Baudrillard argued that we are increasingly unable to differentiate between what is real and what is not, but this does not matter, as there is no quantifiable, objective reality

Examples of hyperreality 

• Instagram accounts of famous models, for example Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid generally feature highly editing, 'perfect' reconstructions of reality, that are far more interesting than how they actually live their lives. Audiences are absolutely aware that Jenner is a hyperreal construct, and is 'fake' or not real... but we don't care! This is because the world is so complicated that we have absolutely no idea what is actually going on anymore, and it is preferable to simply accept the surface value of representations. The fake is BETTER than reality.
• News headlines and reportage of big stories, often reduce difficult situations to more easily digestible examples
• Advertisements: chocolate bars, for example Lindt chocolate sell an exciting sexual lifestyle that goes beyond the simple act of eating chocolate 
• Makeup, clothing, brands, products, all promise to transform us in to something completely different 

What examples of hyperreality are evident in the breakfast scene?

Sophie - "is this a party?"
Joe - "No Soph, this is what breakfast is supposed to be like!"

But what is breakfast 'supposed' to look like? For one thing, the whole family are eating together 

The family are surrounded by a number of different options, including the MES of teapots, a range of cutlery, toast in a toast rack, and little pots of jam and milk. It resembles a breakfast at a hotel rather than a 'real' breakfast at home. When Joe says 'this is what breakfast is supposed to be like', he is making reference to breakfast scenes on TV and in adverts.

The Hawkins family themselves are a stereotypical ,hyperreal and traditional white middle class family. They resemble other stereotypical white middle class groups, such as in Friends, Home Alone, Modern Family, My Family, Outnumbered, and many more examples. They fulfil every hegemonic norm and expectation. Even if you are from a white, middle class, nuclear family, it is frankly very unlikely you live in a similar manner to the Hawkins family. Yet, despite not resembling the vast majority of even white middle class families, they still seem more real through their familiarity. The audience not only suspend their disbelief, but simply accept this contradiction. 

Anita as a hyperreal construct

Anita herself is a hyperreal representation. She is absolutely perfect. What makes her perfect?

• Symmetrical facial features
• Well spoken 
• She is very tall
• Her movements are soft and graceful
• She is emotionless
• She laughs when she is told to 
• She is controllable
• She does what you tell her
• She is subservient 
• She is submissive
• She is conservative
• She doesn't need to eat or drink

But these ideas of 'perfection' are highly problematic! Anita resembles a hyperreal hegemonic approximation not of a real woman, but of a simulacrum of a 1950s British housewife 

The collapse of meaning

Baudrillard argued that we live in a world with more and more information and less and less meaning. This is a concept that has become more apparent since his death. 

The news cycle is engineered to be highly stressful and extremely confusing, with a number of highly contradictory stories. On any given day, themes of nuclear annihilation, economic collapse, and political manipulation are combined with stories about football, celebrity gameshows, and how thin Bela Hadid is. This extremely confusing mode of address instigate feeling of depression, misery, anxiety, resignation and confusion. The news cycle could be argued to be a form of social control. By presenting such a confusing, misleading and highly inflammatory set of contradictory narratives, audiences are simply so confused that they slip in to other media products, and escape in to less stressful situations. The world in which we live in has been structured in such a way that it is impossible to understand. 

The main news headlines from The Mail Online, 16th November 2022. A highly confusing and contradictory mess of information is presented to the audience

How are themes of confusion, anxiety and paranoia encoded in Humans?

• Laura is anxious and paranoid about being replaced as both a mother and a Lover, by Anita, a perfect, fake human. This could symbolise the collapse of the metanarrative of marriage, and traditional values that generally state we should remain with one partner
• Matty has completely lost all motivation, as traditional metanarratives of work and employment have been replaced. Increasingly, even highly skilled jobs can be carried out by robots and artificial intelligence. Traditional jobs, such as security guards, flight attendants, mail people, factory workers, media studies teachers, artists replaced with artificial intelligence
• Many of the human characters have found it hard to adjust to robots just existing. Laura refuses to get one, and inspector Drummond is highly critical of his wife's rehabilitation synth. 
• Laura gets very defensive: it's just a robot, she isn't your friend. "you're just a stupid machine, aren't you?" Constructs a 'them and us' situation
• George is highly critical of the police and the government for interfering with his private life with Odi. The MES of George's DON'T RING/NO VISITORS sign indicates his preference for isolation
• Leo has had his friends and lovers stolen from him, and he is desperately trying to get them back
• Leo is going through a significant identity crisis. He is not human. Or is he? He is half robot, and has essentially been bought back to life through technology. In many ways he should not exist, which adds to the confusing nature of the show
• The use of low key lighting throughout the show encodes a sense of paranoia
• Laura has a significant fear of being replaced by Anita. She is terrified of her role as a mother being replaced by Anita. Previously, she cleaned the house, read stories and cooked for her children. All these aspects have now been taken away from her.
• Themes of the singularity. Matty is absolutely dejected by the idea of the singularity. She has completely given up, because artificial intelligence will take any job that she applies for. Her future is completely uncertain, and frankly pointless

Key scene - breakfast

• While the breakfast scene may seem on the surface to be nothing but comic relief, the escapist hyperreal fantasy it offers presents deeply rooted themes of anxiety, distrust and depression, which are fundamental to the postmodern condition.
• The mid-shot reaction shot of Anita's laughing at Joe's performatively terrible joke anchors and emphasises the creepy and robotic nature of this laugh. This laugh has been digitally looped in post production to further emphasises her robotic nature, and the simple fact that she does not exist. This is further anchored through a montage of mid-shots of the increasingly confused reactions of the Hawkins family, followed by absolute silence, which constructs an awkward and uncomfortable binary opposition.
• Laura is clearly highly irritated by Anita's presence, at one stage shouting "for God's sake, that's already clean, just sit down'. This exasperated outburst is further anchored through the gesture of her hand being held up to her face in resignation 
• Joe's attempt at a joke is clearly an attempt to distract from a toxic situation 
• After referring to Anita as a 'dishwasher', Matty admonishes Toby with the line "because we can't guess why you like her so much , crusty sheets'. Matty realises and is disgusted by Toby's sexual desire for Anita, and by bringing up his masturbation in front of his family, is desperately trying to upset toby. This is symbolic of a collapse of the traditional nuclear family, and deliberately breaches sexual taboos 
  
  

Key scene - the brothel

• The montage of Leo walking down the narrow of the brothel draws attention to the MES of the building itself. The tight corridors function as a hermeneutic code, constructing a powerful sense of mystery and confusion for the target audience
• The gesture of Niska slapping Leo in the face is anchored through the use of a close-up reaction shot of Leo's confused face. This highly contradictory binary opposition further reinforces the themes of anxiety and confusions
• There is a huge contradiction formed between Leo walking in to the brothel, and Leo leaving Niska's room. Walking in to the brothel, Leo is constructed as a stereotypical, patriarchally dominant man. His sharp, dominant delivery of the line "keep walking" reinforces his dominant status as a hegemonically powerful man. However, this quickly unravels as he enter the brothel. A close up of his face as he rings the doorbell symbolises his nervousness, which stands in stark contrast to his earlier confidence. Through the use of POV shots, we as an audience are suddenly positioned as Leo himself. A close up reaction of his facial expression reveals a complicated polysemic mixture of disgust, confusion, paranoia and anxiety. This highly confusing and highly contradictory collection of emotions informs the audience that the world in which we live in is so completely complicated and contradictory that we have no hope of understanding
• The brothel itself is a hyperreal construction of a locations that audiences will be both highly familiar with, yet have no direct experience of. The MES of pink lighting, coupled with the uncomfortable MES of hegemonically attractive women dancing seductively behind glass makes intertextual reference to crime dramas. This contradictory and confusing mode of address positions the audience in a confusing way. 
• MES captured of panning shot of the already established brothel encodes women as a mere commodity, a highly dehumanising, anxiety inducing and emotionally distancing technique. It symbolises that prostitution is accepted or at least tolerated in a postmodern society, which forms a proairetic code, encoding the potential anxiety of the audience as they consider the outcome of sexualising women, which supports the postmodern theory that previously held metanarratives have been destroyed, and the audience must accept a confusing new world.
• "I was meant to feel pain". Niska defines her humanity through her ability to feel pain, and chooses to feel the pain of sexual exploitation even though she technically doesn't have to. This draws attention to uncomfortable and challenging themes surrounding sexualisation and objectification. 
• The character of Niska herself is particularly confusing. She is a cyborg. but she believes/knows that she is a human. She is also a prostitute, as encoded through the MES of her lingerie, and she is a friend, a murderer...

These elements underline and reinforce a powerful critique of the postmodern condition 

Distrust of metanarratives

Metanarrative: a way of understanding the world

• Examples of metanarratives include marriage, the nuclear family, traditional career paths, traditional gender roles, traditional sexuality, religion
• Postmodern theory not only disagree with these, but simply presents that they do not exist anymore. They never even existed in the first place...

Further examples of metanarratives include...

• Parenthood, with clearly defined gender boundaries as to what parents should do
• Sexuality - heteronormativity. Being heterosexual is 'normal', and being gay is tolerated, but generally seen as different, or 'abnormal'
• Capitalism! Getting money is important! You can buy stuff with it! Success in life can clearly be defined through earnings 
• Religion. Live a good life and receive an eternal reward

Simulacra and Simulation

This is the title of perhaps Baudrillard's most famous essay, which was published in a book of the same title. 

A Baudrillardian simulacra is a representation of something that never existed in the first place. It is a representation of a representation of a representation. An excellent example is Anita, who appears as a combination of a stereotypical 1950s housewife, a maid/butler and prostitute. Yet Anita is none of these things. She is not even Anita.

A simulation is a virtual world. Since we have ascertained that nothing is real, we all live in a simulation. Yep. Sorry. This isn’t real.

Negative criticisms of postmodernism 

• Theory is highly inconsistent, and has no sense of continuity
• Theory has no structure, and is completely unsubstantiated
• Self-destructive. How can a theory be 'anti-theory'?
• Postmodernism is arguably a metanarrative. It is a way of thinking about the world. However, it also argues that metanarrative do not exist. This is highly contradictory
• There is no objective accuracy, and we can never make definitive conclusions
• It's extremely confusing and difficult (impossible!) to understand 
• It is not a sustainable way to think about the world. Without some form of positivity, everything will collapse and no one will ever do anything
• Highly destructive, nihilistic, damaging to society
• It is a black hole of theory, it goes nowhere, and it contradicts
• It is extremely unpopular in academic circles 
• It's simply a cool and edgy theory, nothing more
• Postmodernism is yet another passive media theory. It argues that life sucks and we have no power
• Highly deterministic, absolutely lacking in nuance, it doesn't consider individual aspects