Wednesday, 9 December 2015

How can Sense8 be considered a postmodern production?


Sense8 is a science fiction drama television series broadcast via the Netflix online streaming service, and is one of their original series, standing alongside such others as House of Cards and Narcos. It could be considered a very postmodern work in a number of different ways. For example, the whole concept could be considered postmodern. It tells a non-linear narrative about eight individual characters, each with their own storyline, told through short sections of around four to six minutes, which are seemingly unrelated but connected by themes. The story features telepathy, which is a non-standard form of communication and a fantastical element that does not exist in the real world. The pilot episode features characters appearing out of thin air, either as a hallucination or as a spectral illusion, which is not made fully clear, and is not apparent in the real world, or only apparent to the person having the visions, which invites the audience into the world of the show and almost breaks the fourth wall. The multiple storylines are confusing, and throw characters in and out left, right and centre, much like reality, where there are many people we do not know around us all the time. The show is blurring the lines between reality and fiction in this way. It features characters who are a part of the LGBT community, which is a very modern development and has only recently become socially acceptable. One character is both trans and gay, which stays true to the actor playing the part. One character hears things that are not there, and it is unclear whether this is diegetic or non-diegetic, which can be seen as postmodern. There is a story within a story. The whole thing is very blurred and postmodern.

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