Life on Mars
Life on Mars is a crime detective show on BBC. its based on Sam Tyler, a detective who gets hit by a car, transporting him back 33 years into 1973.
The shows plays with multiple enigma codes: the main one played with is proairetic code, otherwise known as the action code. The main one that comes to mind is the revelation that the protagonist wakes up in 1973 with no recollection of how this could have happened, claiming to own a jeep, a "military vehicle" in the 1970's. This plays into the heremunic code, a question that is posed that is used to keep the audience hooked and keeps them watching. There are many questions to answer here: How did he end up in 1973? Is there any way for him to connect back to the real world? Will his actions in this alternate timeline effect the world of his current timeline?
The representation of race in this show is intriguing. There is a lack of representation of other races in 1973, with white males and females taking up a majority of the screen time and the area. The few characters who do represent race lay on the idea heavily. For example, the bartender from Jamaica is very heavy with his accent when talking to customers. However, when the protagonist approaches the bartender, he drops the accent to show that he's to exact same as everyone else but plays the accent up as an act to attempt to fit in with the worlds perception of him a this time. This can be linked to Enoch Powell's speech on "rivers of blood": Mass immigration to the UK and how it be very negative and a bad move.
The representation of women in this show is negative. They are presented primarily as sex objects, seen not fit to work in a police force as they are seen as too empathetic and kinds for said job. This is disproven directly by Annie, who is smarter than majority of the police force, with a degree in psychology to her name yet is treated as inferior and not as valuable information wise. Woman are presented as sex objects specifically by the police force, flirted with and almost seen as a toy that can be used to tempt men in the 1970's: Like they have next to no purpose other than to be used in unethical ways.
The them of an audience surrogate is played with a lot. The police are meant to represent our confusion and shock as the protagonist storms into the office claiming it belongs to him and that the desk he sat at in 2006 is no longer present. The idea that this alternate world is so different yet similar in terms of roles played is intriguing. He joined this alternate timeline still a detective, just of a lower rank, this implies he could be apart of a dreamworld but then is shown to have cognitive ideas and thoughts about the world, with the "real world" attempting to contact him through various ways like the TV.
The shows plays with multiple enigma codes: the main one played with is proairetic code, otherwise known as the action code. The main one that comes to mind is the revelation that the protagonist wakes up in 1973 with no recollection of how this could have happened, claiming to own a jeep, a "military vehicle" in the 1970's. This plays into the heremunic code, a question that is posed that is used to keep the audience hooked and keeps them watching. There are many questions to answer here: How did he end up in 1973? Is there any way for him to connect back to the real world? Will his actions in this alternate timeline effect the world of his current timeline?
The representation of race in this show is intriguing. There is a lack of representation of other races in 1973, with white males and females taking up a majority of the screen time and the area. The few characters who do represent race lay on the idea heavily. For example, the bartender from Jamaica is very heavy with his accent when talking to customers. However, when the protagonist approaches the bartender, he drops the accent to show that he's to exact same as everyone else but plays the accent up as an act to attempt to fit in with the worlds perception of him a this time. This can be linked to Enoch Powell's speech on "rivers of blood": Mass immigration to the UK and how it be very negative and a bad move.
The them of an audience surrogate is played with a lot. The police are meant to represent our confusion and shock as the protagonist storms into the office claiming it belongs to him and that the desk he sat at in 2006 is no longer present. The idea that this alternate world is so different yet similar in terms of roles played is intriguing. He joined this alternate timeline still a detective, just of a lower rank, this implies he could be apart of a dreamworld but then is shown to have cognitive ideas and thoughts about the world, with the "real world" attempting to contact him through various ways like the TV.
