black mirror
who directed it
charlie brooker
what do we know about their audience?
they liked it due to the featuring of different sexualities and lgbtq rights
it is different from other episodes as it is not dark but more pleasant and has a happy ending which we don't typically see in other black mirror episodes
It appeals to a younger audience due to having a more liberal showcase
what songs are used in the episode
heaven is a place on earth
girlfriend in a coma
fake by alexander o'neal
living in a box by living in a box
how was it advertised?
trailers
Netflix advertising it on upcoming shows
they paid a group to remake segments of the episodes and also funded and some argued it was better than the actual thing which created publicity for it
who owned it ?
it was owned by channel 4 and then in 2015 ( season 3 onwards) Netflix were in partnership with channel 4 to make the episodes.
what genres are shown in the episode
Sci-fi - futuristic devices / chip, futuristic cars , virtual world , tablet , location slightly more modern
Drama - crying , portraying emotions dramatically , arguments , display of range of emotions (happiness , sadness ,anger , excitement ) , outfits are dramatic
Romance - holding hands , kissing , love making , lgbt , relationships, romantic locations ( club , beach house ) , outfits
intertextuality
Costume represent the time periods and then matches famous attires
Arcade games (top speed , pac-man)
The different movies that are playing at the San Junipero cinema are also period-specific but also link to the themes of the narrative, e.g. The Lost Boys whose tagline is ‘Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow up. Never grow old’!
It references strong female pop stars like Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Notably, Yorkie’s costume does not change throughout the narrative to reflect on this you may want to consider the ‘nerd makeover’ trope often seen in teen movies like The Breakfast Club.
The cars change through the different decades
Soundtracks are from the 80s which the audience will be able to know
Yorkie is in the bed all the time whose in a coma (sleeping) reference to Lost boys which th slogan is “sleep all day . party all night .never die . is fun to be a vampire” the parting showcases kelly's character . the never dead bit is offered san junipero as the place . vampire is showcased by the living dead (operate nocturnally)
Makeover trope (breakfast club) a classic trope in the 80s was the makeover where a character would change consumer and their makeup and become a different person similar to breakfast club .
Yorkie did the makeover where she did a look from the breakfast club , then looked like kelly and then a person from the robert palmer music video of Addicted to love .
Hyperreality - when the lines between reality and media become blurred and associate them with reali world expectation .
Nomophobia - people are afraid of losing contact from their phone
theory
Extrovert vs introvert (levi strauss)
Goes against todorov theory as it is not 15 mins but 20 minutes segments
Confidence Vs Awkwardness ( Structuralism )
Kelly is more outgoing and confident and is able to make the first move to talk and interact with someone and whereas yorkie is more shy and keeps to herself and doesn't really make the first move to talk to someone
Even through their costumes we see kelly's outfits are more extravagant (vibrant ,jewellery and makeup) and extreme whereas yorkie seems to have costumes that are more basic and not extravagant to the point that kellys are this is further showcased it she scene where she was trying on multiple more “extra” outfits and we can see that they don't really suit her especially for the location and time period
We can see through the lighting as well as the lighting we see that Kelly is more prone to having high key lighting on her unlike yorkie sometimes tends to have more dull low key lighting on her showing kelly as more bolder and more used to being in the spotlight
We see on the dancefloor that yorkie is awkwardly dancing and is scared of what other people are thing about her and what she is portraying herself as to them and isn't used to this sort of thing whereas kelly was more carefree and didn't care about the people looking at her or what they thought of her .
Yorkie is also more timid and shy about her sexualty of being a lesbian and keeps it hidden unlike kelly who is more open about her secuality and being a bisexual and isn't afraid to admit or tell people about it .
Kelly's body is also much more open and confident and straightforward such as when in the scene after the dance where she proposed the idea of going back to hers to yorkie whereas yorkie was stuttering and much more shy about it and spoke in a lower softer voice
Man VS nature / past VS present / Reality vs Simulated ai
Passing away naturally or visiting san junipero
They can visit a virtual reality
They can go into the afterlife after they pass away or stay in san junipero
Kelly's family members passed away and went into the afterlife
Science vs Religion
It challenges the reality of science and what religion thinks . religion thinks there is an afterlife and science thinks there is nothing after you pass away therefore made san junipero
LGBTQ vs society/oppression
We see yorkies parents aren't accepting of the lesibian sexuality and of the euthanization and then we see due to this she drives off and ends up paralysed and then her parent don't let her pass over therefore she chooses to marry greg who can then help her pass over but then ends up marrying kelly who then passes over with her
music
Heaven is a place on earth by belinda carlisle
San Junipero is a simulated and synthetic utopia
In the end, yorkie and Kelly have found their heaven which they enjoy together
Girlfriend in a coma by The smiths
Yorkie is in a coma
Fake by Alexander O'Neal
Kelly “Your glasses make you look more authentic and everyone else dresses like they from the movie”
Everything in San Junipero is fake
Living in a box by living in a box
Trapped in San Junipero ( being in a technological world)
Yorkie contained in her parent's restrictions
Yorkie not being free and experiencing what life has to offer ( Yorkie living within the confines of her person )
As humans, we live in our box that we try to break free from via San Junipero
Advertising
Trailer
“6 new stories, 6 new realities” - season 3 trailer.
Shows a glimpse of every single episode in the trailer.
The dialogue is very heavy for the audience and intriguing.
The trailer shows that it is a Netflix-produced show show asing that viewers can trust it and have more hope for it as Netflix has credibility.
Season 2 is a lot more different and very weird in the sense barely any of the episodes are shown meaning the audience gets confused but the narration towards the end shows we see that it is related to the black mirror.
Season 1 trailer mainly focuses on one episode and looks a lot cheaply made and a lot shorter compared to the season 3 trailer which Netflix joined.
Simulacra Vs simulation
Simulacra - “an image without the substance or qualities of the original”
They have this “virtual character” but can have the ability to feel emotions and memories and their personalities etc.
Simulation - When everything loses its substance and is solely based on simulacra (reproductions)
Society may have people who are just trying to fit in and are pretending to be different people to fit certain things.