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Disclaimer: I approach this essay as someone who has not read the books and who has only watched the Hunger Games Part 1.

‘Her’ presents us with a near-future world in which the way we interact with computers has moved on. In this world, we are beyond the era of the mouse and keyboard. Instead, the voice is the primary controller of technology, mid-air gestures are the norm for controlling games and touch is almost an afterthought, used only on occasion. This presents a more natural world than the one we currently inhabit. Many of us spend our days hunched over a keyboard, and our evenings fondling a tablet, which does not seem to be a natural environment for us.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games.

The use of music in films is the secret weapon that producers use to manipulate our emotions and shape our responses to the story. The same footage may appear romantic, sad or even sinister through the choice of music and within these broad confines, more subtle gradations of emotion can also be engendered. A little personal reflection will confirm that a piece of music can change how we feel within seconds which is quite remarkable for a stimulus which is not found in the natural world.