Section A: Black Mirror, San Junipero - Media Language

define iconography

those particular signs that we associate with particular genres, such as physical attributes, dress of actors and the settings.

What makes this a science-fiction program? Consider...

- the narrative

- themes and ideas

- iconography

- urban landscapes

- different realities

- audio codes of beeping/technological sounds

- time travelling

- corporate buildings

- science world having minimalist colour palette: white, grey, silver (emotionless)

- latest technological inventions

- city lights

- computer servers

- stimulated environment

In what ways could SJ be seen as unconventional of the sci-fi genre?

*unconventional: the product doesn't generally accept the custom or an established rule of the genre

- not conforming to technological expectations

- no one rebelling against technology, but embracing it

- technology seen as a gift

- utopia and happy ending, rather than a dystopian

- technology solves their problems: together forever

- no violence

What other genres does SJ draw on besides science-fiction?

What conventions from those genres does the episode feature?

- drama and romance: problematic relationship, broken love

- familial love

- religious themes and beliefs: Yorkie's parents disapproving of her "passing over" and Richard and his daughter reunited together in another world (heaven?)

- coming of age: falling in true love for the first time, clubbing, quest to Yorkie finding her identity

- teen love

- broken love triangle

Steve NEALE: Theory of Genre

- the idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation and change (Neale refers to genres as ‘instances of repetition and difference’)

- genres change, develop and vary as they borrow from and overlap with one another

- genres exist within specific economic, institutional and industrial contexts

To what extent does SJ support Neale’s claim on genre ?

*change, develop and very, thus borrow and overlap

- conventionally in sci-fi films, technology is rebelled against (usually dominated by repetition, but...), as the characters fight for freedom since they are caged under the control of technology.

- however, unconventionally (changing, developing and varying), Yorkie and Kelly end up embracing the technology, instead of opposing it, as if it was a blessing for them, due to them being able to spend the rest of their loving life together.

- technology aids in bringing them together, instead of dividing society in a tragic dystopian ending; they share utopia together, thanks to technology

define enigma codes

- codes that control the amount of information that is revealed to the audience in order to make them curious

- puzzles or questions that tease the audience and keep them involved

- Withholding the answer to a question or delaying the resolution of a mystery that the narrative sets up encourages the audience to keep on watching

define action codes

- a way of advancing the narrative

- involve certain actions that signal to the audience what is about to take place

- used to set up certain expectations, creating suspense or anticipation.

TODOROV: Theory of Narratology

- all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another

- these two states of equilibrium are separated by a period of imbalance or disequilibrium

- the way in which narratives are resolved can have particular ideological significance

*narratives move from a state of equilibrium/order to disequilibrium/disorder before equilibrium is finally restored or a new form of equilibrium is established.

define ideology

- Todorov

a set of values, attitudes & beliefs/a way of looking at the world

How does the narrative begin?

Is there an initial equilibrium?

If so, what is the nature of that equilibrium?

If not, is there an implied equilibrium before the narrative begins?

- Introduction to San Junipero

- Highlight on Yorkie's introverted character (ingenue)

- Youthful and utopian life

- Technology isn't the main plot line of the narrative

- Yorkie and Kelly old and living in the hospital and care home (real life reality)

How is disequilibrium introduced?

What happens to change/disrupt the initial equilibrium?

Are narrative twists or enigma codes used to prolong the period of disequilibrium and delay the resolution of the narrative?

- Establishing the characters and who they are (Yorkie’s introverted personality juxtaposes Kelly’s extroverted personality that pushes Yorkie to have fun, to the point she’s uncomfortable)

- Kelly influencing Yorkie to be more free and have reckless fun, whilst introducing the LGBTQ+ genre (friends to loves)

- Kelly not wanting to pass over, whilst Yorkie wishes her to and already has

- Distance through decades (Kelly realising she had attachments to Yorkie and Yorkie trying to run after Kelly)

- Yorkie doing the things her parents never let her do

- Yorkie “feeling San Junipero” and feeling free from her parents’ restrictions

How does the narrative end?

Is a new equilibrium established?

Does the resolution of the narrative reinforce any particular values or convey an ideological message?

- Embracing technology and happily in love (fairy tale ending)

- Yorkie leaving her glasses on the beach (can see the beauty of life without a lens of restrictions holding her back)

- Yorkie “feeling San Junipero” and feeling free from her parents’ restrictions

- Happiness gained in a lesbian relationship

Claude LEVI-STRAUSS: Theory of Structuralism

- texts are best understood through an examination of their underlying structure

- meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions

- way in which these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance

How are Tuckers and The Quagmire constructed in binary opposition to one another? What do these two nightclubs represent?

Quagmire

- stuck in boredom

- dystopian / hell

- chaos and insanity

- cramped and crowded

- dark and sinful

Tuckers

- Utopian / heaven

- uplifting 80s vibe with neon florescent lights

- fun and youthful: dancing and arcade games

Other binary oppositions can you identify in the ‘San Junipero’ episode?

- Yorkie vs Kelly (inexperienced/experienced, introverted/extroverted, staying/leaving)

- Greg vs Wes (kind and loving/inconsiderate and lost)

- Yorkie vs parents (constricted/liberation, yes to SJ/noto SJ , - - religious/not religious

- Kelly vs Wes (freedom and no commitment/commitment)

- Kelly vs Greg (for love/out of love)

- Real life vs simulated life

- Science vs religion

- Visitors vs full timers

define intertextuality

way in which texts refer to other media texts that producers assume audiences will recognize

define cultural capital

- a form of cultural knowledge that endows those who possess it with power or social status

- part of the process through which meanings are established

What function do these intertextual references perform?

- The Lost Boys: 1987 supernatural dark comedy horror film

- Max Headroom: fictional AI character portrayed by Matt Frewer 1987-1988

- Scream: 1996 American slasher film (when Yorkie went to the Quagmire)

- ‘Ironic’ by Alanis Morrissette: 1996 song describing peculiar and unfortunate situations (lack of luck, old age and collision of timings)

- The Bourne Identity: 2002 action-thriller based on Ludlum’s 1980s novel

- MTV-style chart music show: pop hits of the time

- They aid in the audience understanding what time period the episode is in, whilst representing the trends during those decades.

- As a result, some audience members may experience a nostalgic rush (memory of the past and audience pleasure), thus hooked on Yorkie’s story line.

- Develops the theme of jumping in time (sci-fi conventions) as the narrative progresses in different decades, in which the “visitors” can travel to, and where Yorkie tries to find Kelly.

What is the narrative significance of the Top Speed racing game that Davis tries to persuade Yorkie to play?

- enigma code that is revealed: foreshadows the car crashes with Yorkie and Kelly

- Yorkie and Kelly's relationship breaking down

- enigma code of Yorkie being paralyzed

- enigma of Yorkie and Kelly's kiss in the car

what is the significance of the song "Fake" by Alexander O'Neal

- first dance in tuckers

- 2008 song

- Kelly losing attachment with Yorkie and Yorkie being upset that she couldn’t reciprocate with truthful luck, but instead, was fake

- Kelly: “Your glasses make you more authentic and everyone else dresses like their from a movie”

- Everything in SJ is fake

what is the significance of the song "Living in a box" by Living in a Box

- Trapped in SJ

- Being in a technological screen

- Yorkie contained in her parents’ restrictions

- Yorkie not being free and experiencing what life has to offer

- As humans we live in our own box that we try to break free from via SJ

what is the significance of the song "Girlfriend in a Coma" by The Smiths

- Yorkie is actually in a coma (enigma code later on revealed)

- Yorkie is sick without Kelly

what is the significance of the song "Heaven is a place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle

- SJ is a simulated and synthetic utopia

- At the end, Yorkie and Kelly have found their heaven in which they enjoy together

Jean Baudrillard: Theory of Post-modern Theory

- in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed or imploded so that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation

- The idea that in a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’

- media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyperreality)

define simulation

A copy or a fake

define simulacrum

- A sign or image that simply represents or stands in for another sign or image rather than referring to anything real.

- a copy of something that is so far removed from the original that it can stand on its own and even replace the original (copy of a copy)

define hyperreality

A condition or situation in which simulations and images assume the status of reality or come to seem more real than reality itself.

define implosion

- The process of collapsing inwards.

- In postmodern culture, it is the boundaries between reality and simulation that are commonly said to have collapsed in on themselves or imploded.

- Can’t tell the difference between them

In what ways does the world of SJ exemplify Baudrillard’s concepts of hyperreality and the simulacrum or Jameson’s notion of postmodern culture as an ‘imaginary museum’? (fake, artificial, real)

*opening 9 minutes of the ‘San Junipero’ episode again (52:30 - 1.01.08 on the DVD)

- Loading of the text and sound effects

- 50s or 60s iconography (Cadillac car)

- Music, dinners and club life

- Max Headroom: Fake person created by AI

- Club decor: neon lights (unnaturalistic lighting - artificial)

- Tucker's logo: California getaway

- Yorkie's glasses: style over substance

- Kelly: "Others dress like how they see in the films" "You're authentically you"

- Arcade Games

- Dancing is fake

- Kelly: "Copy me!" (although she is like a copy of Jannet Jackson)

- References to other tv/films/pop music from the 80s

- Fashion that was trendy during that time

How does the opening sequence explore the relationship between authenticity and simulation? What references to these concepts can you identify in the opening sequence?

*opening 9 minutes of the ‘San Junipero’ episode again (52:30 - 1.01.08 on the DVD)

- Collection of images from other media texts (movie posters, music, fashion, icons from that decade)

- Simulation of the 1980s world, which is constructed through visual and audio codes

- Mise-en-scene: highly stylised with retro signifiers such as the car and diner representing the 50s

- Costumes refer back to 80s fashion and 80s stars e.g. Jannet Jackson

To what extent does this sequence support Baudrillard’s claim that signs and images no longer have meaning in postmodern culture? Is style privileged over substance?

*‘immersive nostalgia therapy’ before hooking up to the system and marrying Yorkie (1.33.32 - 1.43.20 on the DVD or 41.44 - 51.11 on Netflix) and answer the following questions.

- Glasses being a comfort and style

- The reality of who they are in real life: Kelly and Yorkie are both old and frail women in reality, but a fake image of young adults living life freely in SJ

- The setting of the different time decades: they are not actually in that time period, but within an image that aids in believing that they’ve gone back in time, or in time into different decades.

- Kelly getting injured from the car crash after refusing to “pass over”: she just escaped back to reality and wasn’t actually physically hurt from it - it just emphasised her anger and hurt from Yorkie but wasn’t a real image of her getting physically hurt, because she wasn’t, as she wakes up as her true self: an old and frail woman.

SJ is a style and aesthetic rather than a meaningful place

How does this sequence explore the relationship between reality and simulation?

*‘immersive nostalgia therapy’ before hooking up to the system and marrying Yorkie (1.33.32 - 1.43.20 on the DVD or 41.44 - 51.11 on Netflix) and answer the following questions.

- Someone’s simulation (living life in SJ) can become their reality, in which they are trapped forevermore, by choosing willingly

- Simulation can aid in escaping the reality that is holding you back from living

- Simulation can only be based on events in the reality, but can be relived again to remember, enjoy and run away to; it is similar to rewriting a past that either never happened, or did happen, just not the way that person wanted it to be. (Yorkie got to live out her youth and enjoy it with Yorkie, whilst being free of the religious restrictions of her parents, since she was too paralysed to live life in the first place.)

- Simulation can be the cure, or blessing, to the hardships of reality.

- Yorkie and Kelly both choose the simulacrum of SJ - a world of imitation and image as it’s free from the prejudice unlike their own real past