Representation is a re-presentation
The representation of women in Humans is significantly more complicated than anything we have looked at before. It is also significantly more challenging than anything we have looked at before, and raises some difficult issues and concepts. The re-presentation of social groups in media products is always done for ideological purposes, so what is the message or moral of the producer of Humans? What are we supposed to make of such a frankly sexist, problematic representation? And is the relentless objectification justified through the context of the show?
Fetishism - an intense, obsessional, almost religious desire
Commodity fetishism - the process of ascribing a 'mystical power' to a product, that goes beyond its monetary value
Sexual fetishism - an intense sexual desire to a particular aspect, which may be confusing for other people
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| Anita is 'unboxed' in a fetishistic montage of close up shots, that emphasises her desirability as both a consumer product, and a sexual object. The problematic and highly polysemic interpretation is further anchored by the binary opposition between Sophie's innocent response ("yay, that means she's ours now!"), and Joe's deliberately manly performativity as he attempts to hide his obvious discomfort at his sexual attraction to her. The casting of Gemma Chan, a hegemonically attractive East Asian woman further reinforces the uncomfortable mode of address, and draws attention to the postcolonial fetishization of East Asian women in media products. |
Humans draws attention to many societal issues. The desire to be sexually attractive, and the issues surrounding commodity fetishism and sexual fetishism are explored in detail in this show, which presents a powerful and also controversial allegory to it's target audience. In the scene where Joe Hawkins literally buys Abita, Anita is constructed as both a commodity and a sexual fetish object simultaneously. This draws attention to serious issues with how we deal with sex and consumerism in our society. For example...
Evidence
- Montage of extreme close up shots of zips being slowly unfastened are symbolic of sex and sexualisation, and construct an almost erotic atmosphere for the target audience. Additionally, the use of extreme close ups function as a hermeneutic code, suggesting to the audience the wonderful things that are contained inside. It is highly suggestive of the desire involved in opening a new product, and insinuates that Anita will be highly desirable.
- A binary opposition is constructed through the montage that contrasts Anita and Laura. Anita is highly hegemonically attractive, while Laura is more conventional and even relatable for the target audience
- Immediately after, Anita approaches Toby in the stereotypical white middle class setting of the Hawkins household, and formally introduces herself. There is an exaggerated slow zoom reaction shot on Toby's face, which emphasises the proairetic code of him licking his lips. This clearly communicates to the audience Toby's sexual attraction to Anita, which ultimately presents Anita as a sexualised object
- "Soph, look, there's a really posh one' - emphasises the commodity status of the synths
- Anita's eyes are heavily made up, and form a point of fascination for Joe
- The scene where Joe buys Anita draws attention to a significant societal issue that we are all facing: the idea that artificial intelligence is progressing so quickly, that soon it will outperform us humans. These themes of anxiety are encoded through the casting of Anita and Laura. A binary opposition is constructed between these two women. Gemma Chan, who plays Anita, is hegemonically very attractive, which is emphasised through the close up of her face, and then further anchored through the reaction shot of Joe quickly looking at the floor. After Joe has purchased Anita, we cut back to Laura. he dark, dull, boring and dreary MES encodes that Laura is significantly less hegemonically attractive than Laura.
- An establishing montage of Anita's zip being slowly unzipped in a close, panning shot, constructs a highly fetishistic and obsessional mode of address. However, these shots also encode Anita as not just a sexual fetish object, but also a commodity.
- The negotiation of exoticism. Anita is an East Asian woman, and the casting of Gemma Chan was deliberate and considered. In the Swedish original version of Humans, an East Asian actor was also cast in the role of Anita. By selecting an East Asian actor, the producers are drawing attention to the stereotypical fetishization of East Asian women. Anita draws attention to the stereotypical assumption that East Asian women are both submissive and sexually desirable through being submissive. This is further reinforced through the stereotypical representation of the Hawkins family being a stereotypical white nuclear middle class family. Joe's decision to buy Anita potions the target audience in a highly uncomfortable mode of address, ads the binary opposition constructed through their differences functions as an allegorical reference to slavery.