TV Unit - Technology

TV Unit

Humans

Allegory & zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is originally an expression in German. The spirit (Geist) of the time (Zeit.) It announces the conceptual and cultural environment of a period of time.

e.g Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (captures the 90's)

Allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

A metaphor that makes a broader comment on society

e.g Animal Farm (communism, politics, Russian revolution)

Sci-Fi film knowledge

1. Godzilla (1950. Japan)

• An allegory for the destruction of Japan during World War 2
• Godzilla = America
• Represents the world going through war
• The film used Godzilla as a way of voicing their feelings of America without being insensitive with direct recreation 

2. Invasion Of The Saucer Men (1957. US)

• An allegory for the first cold war - Nuclear arms race, spies, assassinations, Russia
• Russia v.s US
• Saucer man = Russia 
• Not directly about Russia because of it being dangerous if Russia would identify the correlation

3. Independence Day (1996. US)

• An allegory for the Middle East
• Anxiety about terrorism 
• Simplify the complications of that current state of the world
• Use the presentation of America being able to fight back 
• Can be racist as much to the Aliens, because we are unable to say that towards the people of the human race

Allegorical Aspects in Humans

Paradigmatic features - Genre Conventions 

• Racism - Because these robots are not inherently human (or so they believe them to be) there is a more natural assumption of being able to hold a particular bias against them, unlike if these robots were what society deemed 'real'.
• The lack of needs from humans - They don't need to be paid, they don't need independence, the humans are making one payment that does not go towards that robot and programming them to be at the service of 'real people'. But this exploitation of technology has a caused companies to buy these workers in mass to make more money, not needing to spend money on wages, their profits are higher and the human function becomes obsolete as the idea of human rights is taken out of the equation. 
• Sexual exploitation (prostitution) - Robots in this universe are used in brothels as sex workers, men will come in, pay for however long they want and do whatever they want to them. The idea of consent is taken away, the power dynamic is evident and it's exploiting the true meaning of their creation. It's corrupting what they are meant to be for monetary gain.  

Theorist For Genre - Steve Neale

What makes humans Sci-Fi

• synths presentation
• robotic

binary opposition - calm Annita, angry Laura, Asian vs white,