Creating a City in a Futuristic World
Spike Jonze's Her (2013) portrays a bright and refreshing world with a sense of optimism. Furthermore, it challenges humanity’s relationship and experience with technology by showing its effects on people’s senses and emotions.
In film production, one of the most significant people working on the set is the production designer, the head of various departments (such as art direction, set decoration, and set construction) responsible for defining a film’s uniform visual aesthetic. In Her, the production designer KK Barrett’s conception of the future is exceptional, envisioning a Los Angeles that is "convenient, comfortable, and bespoke.”1
Barrett continues: “We cleaned up the city – we took away things that weren’t of interest – and celebrated buildings and architecture that were of interest to us. In Her, it’s a new city with curvaceous buildings and things that amuse us rather than things that felt brute”2
In Barrett's collaboration with the film director Sofia Coppola in Lost in Translation (2003), there are crucial similarities between Tokyo’s vast technological playground and urban landscapes in Lost in Translation and Los Angeles’ curvaceous buildings, raised walkways, and skyscrapers in Her.
The Introduction of Theodore’s House
In order to understand the setting and décor’s use to situate characters in Her, it is crucial to observe Theodore’s house and examine his personality and social position. From the first scenes until the end, Jonze carefully depicts the universality of Theodore's loneliness with framing and photography.
In the first few minutes, the viewers follow Theodore’s routine in a day. They recognize that Theodore is a love letter writer who goes to his job early in the morning and works till nighttime. Theodore follows the usual route to go to his house by himself and talks to his operating system like other people. Afterward, he comes to his house, and the audience instantly notices that he is a clean and tidy person in his comfort zone, much like in his job. Theodore’s open space apartment in the skyscraper-filled LA, which has big windows, gives the illusion that Theodore is floating, symbolizing the meaninglessness of his life.
The Introduction of Amy’s House
Theodore and Amy live in the same style of apartments. Jonze and Barrett show the viewers that they have fully developed technological homes with strong differences in setting and décor. In one scene, the audience sees Theodore with Amy and her husband in their house. The patterned lightning on the windows and patterned sofa pillows gives her home an optimistic feel.
A Brief Comparison Between Theodore’s House and Amy’s House
Coming back to Theodore’s house, it is easy to recognize that Theodore is a person who is neutral about materials. His home does not contain many different color tones and has more free space than Amy's. This vastness indicates his avoidance of the past. In contrast, Amy’s house shows that she believes in making connections with the past since it makes her feel mentally strong and helps her forget the bad memories in the long term.
The Use of Technological Devices and Colors in the Setting and Décor
Jonze and Barrett create a world where technology’s sophistication is blatant. Yet the use of paper, cloth, wood, glass, pastels, and incandescent bulbs indicates that the manufactured products from the past continue to be significant. Even cell phones—which look like cigarette cases from the 1920s—and computers—made up of wood and canvas with no mouse or keyboard – help the viewers comprehend the value of art and creativity in this futuristic world.
It is also vital to note that the colors used in the setting and décor lend a natural quality to Her. Barrett chooses monochromatic tones favoring a Jamba Juice aesthetic, with blue tones in several scenes. Barrett also uses blood-orange red as a key color motif to underscore Her’s bright future ambiance and yellow to express Theodore’s contradictory feelings while making choices. Barrett and Jonze use their aesthetic decisions to shade the characters’ emotional resonances, particularly Theodore’s temperament and personality. These colors signify that Theodore is passionate, compassionate, and hopeful while also conveying his loneliness and temporary feelings.
Works Cited
Curbed. (2013, December 18). How The Her Filmmakers Created A Utopian Los Angeles Of The Not-Too-Distant Future. Retrieved from Curbed LA: https://la.curbed.com/2013/12/18/10166216/how-the-her-filmmakers-created-a-utopian-los-angeles-of-the