How is 'Sense8' postmodern?

'Sense8' is an American science fiction drama, the plot revolves around 8 people from different walks of life who suddenly become mentally and emotionally linked. Sense8 aims to explore topics that are often ignored in other, more conventional sci fi shows such as: identity, sexuality,gender and religion.

One reason why Sense8 is so clearly postmodern is that the programme revolves around the blurring of reality. The characters have momentary experiences of each other’s lives. In the first 10 minutes this becomes apparent, when we see police officer Will gorski wake up from a nightmare and precede to go and complain about the loud music from the neighbouring apartment. He knocks on the door and we can hear the dance music coming from inside. When no one answers the door, Will kicks the door down and the music stops. He finds the apartment empty and there is no trace of anyone. We as the audience know that he is experiencing the sound of the nightclub from character Riley Blue, an Icelandic DJ living in London. This scene is cleverly edited as the music is represented as digetic sound, because it is not revealed that he is experiencing Riley’s hearing until he enters the empty apartment.

Another example of the blurring of fiction and reality is when we are presented with a scene in a church, where a man is approaching the alter wielding a gun. He holds the gun up to the priests head and is about to shoot when the director calls cut. We are then shown that this is just the set of a film and they are all actors. This scene would not have the same effect it does if it revealed this straight away. Instead we are made to feel uneasy with the intense non digetic music and the slow tracking shot of the feet walking along.

In the first episode of Sense8 we are introduced to the main 8 characters within the first 25 minutes. This Constant switching between each character’s experience creates a lack of clear metanarrative which makes us intrigued to discover their link to each other. This is also a feature of post modernism

The transgender character Nomi Marks is not immediately revealed as a trans man and instead is shown with her lesbian lover. This creates the feeling that transgendered people are just like anyone else (which they are). However other shows in the past have either not included trans people or included them as a token character which have no effect on the plot of the piece. This shift in attitudes towards sexuality and gender is an extremely current topic, this emphasised how up to date with modern life Sense8 is and is effective in its approach towards modern issues.