I'm Here

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(No Transcript)
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Im Here is a 2010 short film, written and
directed by Spike Jonze. I would argue that the
film belongs to the hybrid genre, sci-fi
romance. Jonze has followed elements of a
typical romantic tragedy with one of the lovers
paying the ultimate sacrifice of death in order
to save the life of his other half. Whilst also
having the surreal qualities of science-fiction
as the romance takes place between two robots in
a modern world, and it is an advanced idea to
have robots able to feel emotion and live amongst
humans.
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Representation

• The film represents a technologically-advanced
  world with a strong social segregation between
  robots and humans. I interpreted that the robots
  were symbolic of the outcasts from society,
  whether it be representative of the LGBT
  community or inferior races, who are repressed
  and indoctrinated with the beliefs that they will
  never possess any of lifes benefits (e.g. love,
  success) because of their place in society. This
  is evident in a range of scenes throughout the
  film.
• For example, there is a scene where a human
  female is shouting at Francesca (the robot
  female) who is driving her car, she is repeatedly
  telling her that she cant do that because she
  is a robot. This is reminiscent of great
  historical issues like racial segregation in
  America when African-American citizens lived
  isolated from privileged Caucasian citizens and
  were averted of basic privileges such as being
  able to drive due to the colour of their skin.

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Is it a happy world?

• The use of mise-en-scene is effective in
  representing social attitudes and creating a
  morbid tone. For example, in the urban scenes
  (like the city and Sheldons apartment) the
  lighting tones are very grey and dull to
  represent a dark society with little character as
  a result of trivial, materialistic concerns and
  segregation of the eccentric kind like the
  robots.
• This contrasts with the forest scenes where the
  lighting is much more bright and natural colours,
  like green, which are closely associated with
  happiness are visible which creates a more
  positive atmosphere for the audience. Sheldon and
  Francesca are able to live much more freely in
  the forest, away from the social restraints for
  their kind in the urbanised world.

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Sheldon

• Sheldon is a typical, honest and hard-working
  citizen. He rides the public bus every morning to
  work at the local library and at the end of the
  day, he returns to his one bedroom apartment to
  recharge himself for another day in this
  monotonous cycle.Sheldon is also very passive
  and tolerant of the social segregation between
  humans and robots. This is evident in the scene
  when a human female is complaining about a robot
  female (Francesca) being able to drive, she
  argues that their kind arent allowed to do
  that! But Sheldon quietly agrees - he accepts
  his lower place in society.

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Francesca

• Francesca is a free-spirited character she
  doesnt conform to societys oppressive ideals
  for robots and leads the life that she wants to
  live. However, she also lives very hedonistically
  and gets herself into dangerous situations
  damaging her mechanical arm at a rock concert
  being only one of these incidents. I would argue
  that she is a self-destructive character and that
  she is unable to consider how her impulsive
  actions could negatively affect herself and those
  who care for her especially Sheldon.

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My Interpretation

• In my opinion, one of the most important themes
  in Im Here is friendship and the idea that
  through others we become ourselves. Before
  meeting Francesca, Sheldon didnt believe in his
  self-worth and confirmed to social ideals,
  stigmatising his kind. During a scene at
  Sheldons apartment, Francesca tells Sheldon
  about her dreams but Sheldon had thought that it
  was impossible for robots to have dreams because
  society had convinced him into believing so.
  This, to me, was reminiscent of Martin Luther
  Kings I Have A Dream speech reminding the
  socially inferior kind that despite their
  position in society that they are still able to
  strive to achieve their aspirations.
• I found that another important theme is love and
  sacrifice - being able to give yourself
  completely to somebody else. This was represented
  visually in the form of Sheldon donating parts of
  his body to Francesca when she found herself in
  distress in order to repair part of her, he
  must sacrifice part of himself. Although being an
  extremely romantic metaphor, I also viewed this
  as a warning to be cautious about just how much
  of yourself that you give to somebody else, and
  the importance of an equal relationship in order
  to prevent losing yourself in the process.

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Short Film Conventions

• I would argue that Im Here follows the
  conventions of a short film. For example
• It has a strong and innovative idea, creating a
  hybrid genre of science fiction and romantic
  drama to tell a love story between two robots in
  a modern world in order to gain the attention of
  the audience.
• It has a strong and clear narrative so that the
  story is easy for the audience to understand yet
  it is still open to interpretation for strong
  social messages.
• However, the film totals to over 31 minutes which
  is rather long for a short film so the narrative
  could have been more concise in order to secure
  the full attention of the audience at all times.
  But others would argue that Im Here needed to
  be rather lengthy in order for the storyline to
  have its intended emotional impact on the
  audience.

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Target Audience

• I would argue that the target audience for Im
  Here are those who are still on a journey of
  self-discovery, most likely teenagers and young
  adults, who identify as social outcasts
  because the affectionate title of the short film
  conveys a positive message that they are not
  alone and creates hope that they are still able
  to find happiness. It may also appeal to the
  niche audience of those who enjoy films belonging
  to the hybrid sci-fi romance genre.
• I think that Im Here is most likely to be
  viewed on video sharing websites, like YouTube,
  because it is a short film with a strong social
  message. This leads me to believe that the
  director (Spike Jonze who has already found
  commercial success in feature films like
  Adaptation and Where The Wild Things Are) was
  more concerned about the short film reaching out
  to more people as opposed to making a profit.
• I think that Absolut Vodka sponsored this short
  film because they both share a mutual target
  audience of (older) teenagers and young adults
  therefore both products would be able to reach
  out to their market and receive a larger revenue.
  The tagline, a love story in an absolut world,
  also presents questions for the target audience
  about the narrative which engages their interest
  in the short film therefore persuading them to go
  and see it.