Talinz and the Arts 1: Drama and Music

Whilst a personalised Talinz robot might be the top priority accessory on the arm of most modern celebrities, their impact on human arts has been questionable, minimal and, where applied, controversial. Much of this is due to a singular question, which many have suggested is one of the key defining moments of the age:

Does a Talinz unit have a real personality?

If they do, if they can think and feel just like a human does, then there should be no reason that the art composed, choreographed, created or performed by them should be any lesser than a human work. But a Talinz still has a ‘personality’ that is chosen, constructed by its owner, to be wiped and reconstructed as they see fit. Are their feelings merely emulations, pre-programmed reactions to certain stimuli?

The current popular view is that they are. Many humans turn their nose up at the idea of enjoying a mechanically produced piece. Talinz-created art is a minor, niche market currently – though it is growing in ways that few realise.  

Drama

Talinz actors are almost unheard of. In roles where a unit might be required, they are generally constructed, built for purpose to play the role they are intended for, and then discarded, like sets or props. Some of these units are auctioned off after filming, and enthusiasts have been known to pay grand amounts to possess them. Alternatively, sometimes actors particularly attached to a unit they have acted across from adopt the unit after production is finished, though many become gradually more unnerved by the realisation that the Talinz unit was not acting, and truly is the character they were assigned to play within the performance.

Behind the scenes, Talinz have proved much more useful, however. Lighting, costume and make up managers have been enjoying focusing more on the design and concept of their work, allowing Talinz units to take over much of the actual business of application, doing so in a more rapid, accurate and failsafe fashion than a human might. The shift in the industry is one that many young individuals have been extremely critical of. Without junior positions in make-up, costume, lighting and set design, they claim, these industries will merely grow older and more insular. The counter argument is that, though they are substantially more competitive, many of these make up and lighting managers take on apprentices to remedy this issue.

Music

In music, the impact of Talinz is more varied. Although a majority of the population of humans would refuse, or see little merit, in listening to a Talinz performer, a fair portion of corporate popular music is actually Talinz-written. Musicologists realised early on in Talinz development that computing tracks of popular music en masse for humans to perform was a great way of creating low-effort income for the industry. In addition, with the capability to build audio receptors greater than most human ears, many Talinz units are used to assist in production and sound balancing within the studio to optimise a track to appeal to the largest demographic possible by satisfying particular audio criteria. The reality of this process is kept relatively under wraps. Although most music-lovers are aware of it, the media rarely brings it to the attention of the wider populace. Most who do know just view the industry as utilising new tools and technology, and reject the idea that the music is truly Talinz-created.

However, Talinz performers, whilst certainly a niche interest product, have been packaged, particularly in Japan, where they originated. Many of these use advanced skin polymers and personality covers based on targeting a key demographic, and combine these with existing vocal synthesiser technology to create ‘Robotic Idols’. These units are often sold commercially, where songs can be downloaded on to a unit to perform, or composed by the owner. These composed tracks are then uploaded to the shared database to be downloaded for a nominal charge, of which the original composer obtains a small royalty. This has effectively formed a musical franchise system, in which owners will put on small performances of their unit for an entrance fee, where a portion of the profit from ticket sales is then returned to the company that constructed the Talinz unit.

There are rumours that some liberated Talinz units have an underground music scene, complete with bands composed entirely of Talinz, jokingly dubbed Talinz-punk. This genre, however, is snubbed by the general media, and generally considered the province of off-the-rail youngsters, especially considering the frequent police raids that occur on clubs found to be housing liberated units.