Humans Textual Analysis

Voyeurism: The composition of the first shot at the farm is through a car window, showing a snippet of the man's face, the same can be said for the long shot of the greenhouse. It creates a tense atmosphere which reflects the subject matter of the scene.

Music: Overall, the music in this scene and throughout the show is heavily representative of the Sci-Fi genre, with many electric instruments and otherworldly sounds that suggest dystopian future, akin to the one that this show takes place in. We know this because of the genre conventions of Sci-Fi. The music picks up as Peter calls one of the Synths, this continues through the greenhouse scene but quickly drops to portray the dialogue. The dialogue is tense and dramatic, and portrayed like a crime show, almost like an interrogation, portraying genre fluidity between Sci-Fi and Crime Thrillers. The music picks up again when Fred, the Synth, starts to run, and is shut down. The music mellows out again when the focus is back on Peter and Frank at the rendezvous point.

Frank is with Peter because he can't be trusted to be by himself, as his mind is too childlike. This is represented by symbolic codes such as Frank wishing to tell Peter a joke, and holding a branch at the end of the scene, much like a child would.

There is a cut from Anita being electrically charged to an electricity pylon, which Peter is next to. This foreshadows the connection between the two, and the editing shows continuity between the two, as well as the scenes. This is also a symbolic code, Anita and the pylon show some characteristics that are similar, as well as reinforcing the fact that Anita is a synth.

Make-up on the actors are used to reinforce various characteristics, the Synths have strong colours and stand out, such as their eyes being bold, yet they all look the same and robotic. The humans have quite washed out outfits, and move more naturally, yet they show their dependence on the Synths.

The show itself is made to be thought-provoking, and challenging to typical Sci-Fi genre conventions. There are three main subplots within the show, and these all follow the same ideals.

His arm has a branded tattoo, which looks painful as there is visible dried Synth juice and it shows his 'ownership' to the farms. The Synths are being treated like animals and slaves, as both of these groups have also been branded. This shows historical context and it also challenging to the audience. This contradicts some of the main key issues of the show, the Synths being used as slaves is allegorical to real life as well as the past, and the show is generally about freedom, as Fred in particular has developed a free will, and is trying to break out of the system.

There are many action codes within the scene, such as Fred running away from the people aiming at him, this shows fear within Fred. The people appearing from within the bushes with Synth tranquilliser also accentuates this.

Peter and Frank are seen in nature by themselves, they have to essentially fend for themselves as a group. When this is juxtaposed with the other locations such as the farm and the hospital, the colours are dull and the locations are generally sanitised, furthering the sense of dystopia seen within the entire world. The only free parts are nature, which are also relevant to our world.

Synth Dialogue - The Synths have been programmed in a way which makes them feel unnatural and clearly separates them from the humans - and shows hegemony over the synths. Their dialogue is quite stiff and simplistic, without showing signs of emotion, which puts the humans above the synths. Perhaps this is to avoid a singularity, in which the Synths have emotion and overdevelop, not being reliant on humans anymore. This is one of the key plot points as to why the man wanted Fred, as he was developing emotions.

Hermeneutic codes are seen with the different story lines, they present more questions than they answer, this is a narrative technique to build up suspense and make a more captivating story for the audience.

Close-up shots present the intensity of the situations as well as the emotions present in both of the characters, you can see the subtle change in the emotions in Fred, as his lip quivers when he realises he's been compromised. This can be compared with a look of genuine fear when he is shut down.

The show explores an alternate spin or potential future for the human race when the technology becomes too strong and the humans become subservient to technology.

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