Homework Mock - by Mia and Maddie

What are the genre conventions of this product, how do they work, and how have they developed?

The television series that we have been studying, Humans belongs to the Sci-fi genre. This is noticeable from the very first few minutes of the series; a pylon is filmed from an angle underneath looking up in a spinning motion, an unusual technique which is typical of Sci-fi. Pylons connote metallic, technology and electricity, all themes of the Sci-fi genre, which is then placed in an isolated green landscape, much like the binary opposition between life and technology. This is complimented by the use of non-diegetic electrical sounds that are typical conventions of the genre, which the producer continuously uses. Monotone robotic voices take role in the synth characters, creating more binary opposition between human and robot. These genre conventions develop through repetition and difference. Steve Neale believes that texts need to conform to some generic paradigms to be identified within a certain genre- but must also subverts these conventions in order to not appear identical.

How (and why!) have stereotypes in this media product been used both positively and negatively?

In negative ways, Humans stereotype women through objectification and sexualisation. For example, Anita’s role as a synth plays a housewife, cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. This is a huge stereotype of what people, mainly men, think women should do. Furthermore, Anita is objectified when the youngest daughter of the family says ‘I hope she’s pretty’ and if not can they ‘send her back’. This connotes to the idea that women should look a certain way. Additionally, Niska is sexualised in the first episode when she is forced to work as a prostitute. This is another stereotype of women that their pure purpose is for the pleasure of men. Overall, I would argue there are no positive stereotypes in the first episode of Humans.

In what ways does the specific industry (i.e. Television) use specialised forms of production, distribution and circulation?

I would say in some ways that television is the easiest way to project ideas and ideologies to audiences. This is because you can physically see the ideas and actions of the characters or programme and the audience can follow it more easily. For example, in Humans, you can see that Anita is a synth not only by being told but also by her actions, costume, facial expressions and speech. The format of the media product (tv) is extremely popular so is available on different platforms such as TV, on demand and catch up. It is also available to stream on multiple different devices such phones, tablets and laptops. This could be seen as an example of media convergence.