textual poaching

Henry Jenkins:

This is where fans of the media product read it in a way that is wasn't really intended. an example of this is shipping- where fans will take two characters and they will want them to be together. this is a type of negotiated reading, as it is not what the producer intended for the audience to see. it is an active audience theory as the audience is choosing what they want to take from it 


Fan sub- a subtitled file made by a fan

Regulation

Regulation: Media regulation is the control or guidance of mass media by governments and other bodies.

• Used in tv to stop children seeing certain things
• Television is regulated through the use of the watershed in order for them not to get complaints  (watershed 9pm)
• Mass media- The mass media is a diversified collection of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. hypodermic needle theory
• Ofcom - harm and offence and limiting it - harm and offence: this is where something can cause someone to be upset
• Sonya Livingston and peter hunt- theory it is getting harder to regulate media as there are so many more ways to access things such as digital media
• self regulation e.g parent control on tv shows (sky pin)

Harm and offence in Humans:

you can get hold of an air riffle much easier than another gun-
this is offence as it is rebelling outside of social norms
she is finding fun in shooting someone because she finds it
funny (sadism)

    

Reception theory:

Stuart Hall's theory:  media products are received 3 different ways- all to do with ideology 

1- dominant reading

2- negotiated reading

3- oppositional reading

Humans ideology- we are all too dependant on the use of technology

fanbase: Reddit

The Television Industry / channel 4

How does this product use intertextuality:

Humans makes references to outnumbered the family television throughout the episode. one scene this is shown is when the father is on the phone and the house phone rings and he asks the children to get it and none of them move and they're all glued to their phones. therefore is like a family comedy drama through the use of the dynamics. 

Humans is a-typical to the sci-fi genres 
genre conventions are used to allow the audience to understand the media product 



Persona synthetics website:
marketing campaign- we know it worked because there is 3 uk series
allows audiences to explore the narrative of the show beyond the show 
the fact there is a returns label is a proairtetic code- when they go wrong e.g. when Anita trys to steal the little girl
the twitter adds to the emersion of the show

Channel 4 made Humans:
Statement of promises:

This states that Channel 4 should “foster the new and experimental in television.  It will encourage pluralism, provide a favoured place for the untried and encourage innovation in style content perspective and talent on and off screen”.

Our aim is to maintain the salience of Channel 4’s remit and values in the new media landscape of the digital age.  Channel 4 will increasingly grow its strengths from its core of terrestrial broadcasting to provide creative content across different media platforms.  Events as different from each other as “Kumbh Mela” and “Big Brother” have demonstrated the resonance of such multi-media events and we will build upon them.

the first film it ever showed was: "Le age d'or"

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority(IBA),^[1] the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,^[2] which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital on 31 March 2010, Channel 4 became a UK-wide TV channel for the first time.

The channel was established to provide a fourth television service to the United Kingdom in addition to the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and the single commercial broadcasting network ITV.

Ideological perspectives
Funding- initially 100% funded b advertising, however channel four is also partially funded by public funding through a small proportion of the licence fee
Associated channels- channel 4, E4, film4, more 4- channel itself opened by then popular youth icon Ali G
Scheduling: makes use of the watershed, placing shows later at night, reputation for challenging programming
Notable releases- big brother, Hollyoaks, brookside, celebs go dating, googlebox, made in Chelsea, the Inbetweeners, misfits

Ownership: channel four television corporation 

- T.v shows aren't sold to advertisers, the audience are being sold

Possible question: how have ownership and economic factors shaped the TV programs you have studied?

• the conventions
• that its a remake
• that it was made by channel 4 

Humans target audience:

Age: 37

Gender: Male

Nationality: British

Location: Kent

Sexuality: Heterosexual
Occupation: Engineer
Hobbies:  Cycling 
Car: Vauxhall 
Socio-economic class: Lower middle class
Name: Gary

Breakfast scene:

• establishing shot of the kitchen and breakfast- slow pan to the Mise-En-Scene of the breakfast table, an easily identifiable scene for the middle class audience
• close up of Laura's face- establishes her dislike of Anita- a relatable situation for the target audience who may debate over if they should get a maid or cleaner
• low angle shot of tom makes him appear more authoritative
• mid shot of Anita laughing
• close up of Anita cleaning 
• establishing shot of nuclear family- creates aspirational audience for the 30 something year old male, middle class audience
• father (Joe): "this is what breakfast is supposed too be like"- low key dig at Laura that she is falling to provide and play to the role of mother
• provides a hyperreal fantasy/aspiration for the middle class audience (to all sit together at the breakfast table)
• Mise-en-scene of clothing- dressing gowns- conventional of the sitcom genre- unconventional of the sci-fi genre 
• Another way it attracts the target audience as it attracts debates

humans continued

Humans has an ensemble cast - and this means that it is hard to tell who the protagonist is due to the fact there are so many people within the cast. This also means there are a lot of character arcs within the show. The closest we could get to protagonists within the first episode are Leo and Anita.

Different story arcs/character arc ep1:
- Joe's struggle within the household and buying Anita
- George and Odi's relationship
- George's declining health
- Laura's insecurity of Anita
- Matilda's struggle with the Synth
- Leo and the synths being taken
- Leo trying to find Anita
- Niska in the brothel
- Detective Drummond and the synth
- Anita stealing Sophie

'Humans' starts "in medias res" - in the middle of a story. This means that hermeneutic codes are created much more easily and the characters develop in a much more interesting way. The stories intertwine and flow in a more interesting way.

Van Zoonen suggested that gender is constructed by the producers of media products, and that it depends on when a media product has been released - this is because it would reflect the values and gender representations of the time of release. 'Humans' is a representation of a modern world, with modern values of gender, and this is why it is such a highly allegorical show.

HOW LEO'S CHARACTER IS PRESENTED

• The camera is close to his face which implies that he could be intimidating, someone that close to your face is quite scary
• His clothes and hair are slightly messy, he seems quite rough
• Tone of voice is quite low and gruff, or slightly stern, which presents him as strong or powerful
• He comes up to Sadiq when his back is turned, where he is more vulnerable
• His unshaven face could make him seem quite tough
• Scruffiness suggests that he is an outlaw
• Uses physical gestures and hits the wall in order to display dominance
• Seems quite smart and tactical, knows what he wants and how to get it
• Photo of Anita creates a binary opposition, because she is very white and angelic in the photograph and he seems quite dark and rough
• His eyes are wide and strongly focussed on Sadiq, and the blue colour is bright and could be scary
• Wild, like a fighter, running away from things
• His respect and personality is also constricted through intradiegetic gaze (the way other characters see him)

Mini Mini Mock

Within Episode 1 of 'Humans', the binary opposition between human and synth (cyborg) is cleverly conveyed through several features of mise-en-scene. For example, in the first cut, the warehouse filled with synths has a blue tint to it and the lighting is incredibly high key, connoting to something modern and futuristic, and also has a coldness about it. This compares to the next image of nature, which is filled with colours like green and yellow, connoting warmth and life. As well as this, when Anita first enters the Hawkins' home, she is dressed in a plain blue outfit and has straight and shiny hair. She over takes the stereotypically maternal role within the family, and she is seen holding cleaning products when Laura walks in. She seems much more clean whereas Laura has messy hair and more brown coloured clothes. Even though Anita has taken on Laura's role, there is still a separation between them, and the synth taking care of Sophie seems unnatural. Laura reinforces this by repeatedly telling Anita, "that's my job", which we can infer displays how uncomfortable Laura is having a cyborg in her home. The binary opposition of what Anita is wearing therefore adds to how she is abnormal, and does not fit into the family, conveying to the audience Laura's intimidation on witnessing Anita within her home - she could feel that Anita's clean and perfect looks challenge her, and her actions also displace her position in the household. 

What this also cultivates is the idea of a 'nuclear family', as Joe's decision to buy a female synth reflects a husband and wife dynamic that he wishes to achieve. Although Laura is uncomfortable with the synth, Joe is dominant and tells her that "we're not taking it back". This could reflect that Joe enjoys having her around the house, and taps into the fact that gender is constructed through your actions, as theorised by Judith Butler. At the start of the episode, Joe is seen washing dishes and caring for the family while Laura is away, which subverts from stereotypical views of men working away from the family and the mother caring for them. In order to tip it back, Joe has taken on a more assertive stance and chosen the female synth to fit in with gender and cultural norms associated within a household. 

hyper-reality

hyperreality = beyond reality

The premise of hyperreality is that the representation of real life is actually more real than what people actually consider 'real life'.

"it is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real" - Jean Baudrillard

Simulacra - a representation of something that never existed to begin with.

Examples of SIMULACRA in 'Humans':
- the synths are simulacra because they are not the same as robots that exist now
- the parallel world to our own

POSTMODERNISM includes making media which is deliberately outrageous and grabs the attention of their audience by being particularly daring. An example of postmodernism is 'bricolage', where things are just thrown together and some of the time it is purposefully bad. It's anti-theory, as in that the world should not rely on what is theoretical because the world is meaningless.

the television industry

UK drama tends to be 6-8 episodes long, UK comedy series tend to be around 6 and Humans has 8 episodes per season - it is a sci-fi/drama series. The original show was Swedish.

The BBC started out as a non-commercial venture, made to educate and inform it's audience. However, TV has become more global and this means that it has had to adapt its structure, role and function in order to achieve global success.

HBO (home box office) is a company who uses things like streaming to get around regulations in America. This means that they can also distribute their shows worldwide.

The TV industry is very fragmented, because there are so many channels and cable options and streaming services which people can use. This makes television much more diverse and it can be confusing to know when we are actually watching television.

Documentary
- on November 2nd 1936, the BBC's first broadcast in HD
- countries all over the world were competing with one another to create TV
- John Baird wanted to create TV and make it for everyone, however John Reeth was more focussed on the money and the fame
- in 1925, Baird displayed television at Selfridges. Shortly after, Baird started producing and distributing TV sets

Hypodermic syringe theory is a passive media theory where the audience is influence by television automatically, without the audience choosing it to.

Marketing, Distribution and Circulation
The "Persona Synthetics" advert for Humans is much different compared to others. It is and advert for a product which isn't real, however the convincing nature of it makes it much more intriguing and the hermeneutic codes within it draws the audience to find out more. It has been distributed on YouTube which means that it can access a much wider audience, as well as the fact it is much easier to share. It is almost intertextual, as though it is referring to the show but also the facial expressions make you feel uncomfortable, as well as awkward body movements - these proairetic codes link to cheesy adverts stereotypical to a plain product, and quite an American-style advert.

more representation

AUTOMATON - a robot which is controlled by someone else

Representation is used to show something again, often the way something is represented is chosen by the producer. This emits and ideology to the audience. They are manipulating the audience to think in a certain way, and challenges what the audience normally thinks. The ideology will slowly grow within the audience and cultivate their own beliefs.

What roles do 'synths' and women play in Humans?

• slaves
• cleaners
• prostitutes
• workers
• mother
• housewife
• children
• a friend or companion
• professionals

Early on in the episode, the young girl says to her father, "I hope she's pretty", and this adds to the element of Anita being almost like a doll, and the young girl wants to aspire to be like her. She also wants to have something she can show off like a pretty posession.

The Closing Montage - 

• both Anita and Laura show affection towards the child, motherly, as shown by the mid shots of them both looking over the child
• the husband plainly says "we're not taking her back" and shows his patriarchal authority, and at the start of the episode he is doing the housework however Anita is used to bring back his authority and his more manly role
• the sex worker is ordered by the male and does as he asks which is patriarchal
• Anita clearly yearns for a maternal connection
• the audience is forced to look the prostitute synth in the eyes, which makes the audience uncomfortable as we can see how she is trying her hardest to control her emotions
• when the little girl is taken, we as an audience know it is wrong however we want to know why Anita is so happy with the child (hermeneutic code)
• the mise-en-scene of the toy creates a proairetic code
• symbolism of the toy is that the girl is taken from her family and loses them
• two women are being exploited in this, Anita being controlled by the family and the prostitute controlled by the man
• the news show implies that the synths have no feelings, and this seems to remove Anita's emotions form her actions - she takes the child and seems to have no guilt or remorse and seems to have no motive

MADONNA / WHORE COMPLEX

- the madonna, traditionally, is a statue which is based from the virgin Mary from the bible, and represents virginity and chastity, they are typically nurturing, saintly and sexually repressed

- whores are sexually promiscuous and connotes to something dirty and disgusting, often a prostitute, and are sexualised

- devised by Sigmund Freud, and what he theorises is that men will judge women and define them through these two categories, if they are a 'madonna' they will admire and respect her and if she is a 'whore' he is more anxious about her and does not respect her

Sci-fi genre and sociohistorical context

Allegory- a media product that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one- a media product that has a hidden meaning. e.g. animal farm

Zeitgeist- the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time. Something that defines the times 

An example of an allegory would be Godzilla (Japan 1950), which is an allegory for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The monster represents America, and the fact that he is a mutated species represents the nuclear/toxic waste and the way that it was unnatural and inhuman. once America had overtaken Japan they made them become more left wing and westernised. 

Zeitgeist examples:
All examples are sci-fi films

Invasion of the saucer men (USA1957): cold war (USA and the Soviet union)

Independence day (USA 1996): Global terrorism- associated with the middle east- the war against terror- white house represents America and everything that it stands for. 


Humans sci-fi conventions:

• blue eyes
• the use of the word 'synth'
• theme tune- computer generated
• robotic speech 
• robotic head movements
• electronic sound effects - when the synth is turned on 
• clean mise-en-scene  
• very stiff, awkward and upright posture
• themes of artificial intelligence
• clean blue mise-en-scene 
• synths stand out 
• the use of robot

Allegorical aspects of 'HUMANS':

• sexualisation 
• sexual exploitation
• modern slavery
• capitalism and the nuclear family
• prostitution and the rights of sex workers
• racism

Capitalism and the nuclear family:

within 'humans' we can see that the father of the family seems stressed and overwhelmed by the housework. He then buys a female synth, making it once again a nuclear family while the mother is away. he is not a stereotypical man of the household.When the mother (Laura)  also sees Anita with the child she gets protective of her and this challenges the audience to think about what makes people human and the family relationships of the people. the synths make life convenient, and this makes people want to buy them and it is a very profitable business. There is also the aspect that they synths are being used to make a profit, for example in the tomato farm and the synths that are used in order to be carers for the elderly.

• sex robots are actually a real life thing- which people are trying to ban- considered ethically wrong as they are a representation of humans- could lead to boundaries and expectations being changed- linked to the cultivation theory - it cultivates the ideology that sex is purely for pleasure, and also that sex has little boundaries or foundations in real love.
• The show is also about pornography- when the son first sees Anita
• Linked to modern slavery- when Anita is in the warehouse it is like what would happen at a slave market
• exploitation- encoded through the way that the synths have been programmed to do all the housework for the family when they aren't getting anything out of it like money-you can also turn off their pain 

Laura meets Anita scene:

Laura is visibly annoyed that her husband has brought a synth

slow zoom on Anita and Laura's face which emphasises Laura's annoyance- also creates a contrast between them- shot reverse shot they're the opposite of each other- Laura is older, and english,  Anita is younger, east asian - the mise- en- scene shows Anita has been cleaning emphasising her role in the house