Black Mirror: San Junipero

• Digital technology has changed TV as it is now a global rather than a national industry. Also, the portability has increased so audiences can now consume TV in different ways e.g. binge watching or catch up. Social media has increased promotion and become a crucial part of marketing for TV.
• Kelly's character is inspired by Janet Jackson's 'Control' era
• Yorkie's costume resembles the costumes from the female character in John Hughes movies such as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink - echoing the fashion of the era.
• The makeover scene is an iconic scene from 80s films. Brooker has obviouslt tried to replicate it to get the 80s atmosphere of the episode. However, it has been contrasted as usually the girls look and act completely different afterwards, but Yorkie ends up looking like her old self - shows that Black Mirror is not part of 'typically hollywood'.
• The happy ending of the episode is completely different to all other Black Mirror episodes and it highlights the happiness that queer people get from finding their escape. It also contrasts most queer films where typically it ends in tragedy e.g. one of them dies.
• Both Kelly and Yorkie's character seem to fall under the streotypical queer labels of "butch" and "femme".

  However, there has been several attempts to lessen these stereotypes e.g. Kelly doesn't have any masculine mannerisms and Yorkie's clothing is not feminine.
• Both characters are shown as victims as Kelly and Yorkie are elders who are technically dying, Kelly has had a tough life after her husband's death and Yorkie has been hurt by her family's rejection. This conforms to the stereotypical idea of LGBTQ+ individuals as being victims.
• Kelly's motive to passing over into San Junipero is unclear - does she really want to be with Yorkie or does she just not want to be alone?

  Also, Kelly marries Yorkie but only to allow her to pass over - it doesn't mention anything about her being in love with Yorkie.
• Hyper-reality contains images/simulations that create a distorted version of reality which may be accepted as real by the audience e.g. social media.
• Baudriallard's post-modernism theory is the idea that boundaries between the 'real' world and the world of media have collapsed. It is no longer possible to distinguish between real and simulation (hyperreality).

  
  

  This is shown within the episode as audiences are unable to distinguish the real world from San Junipero - even the characters are unable to.
• This episode challenges the idea that although technology is supposed to bring us together and make it easier to communicate, all it does it pull people further apart.

  Unlike all of the other Black Mirror episodes, this one shows the positive side of technology and the good that it can do for the world (Kelly and Yorkie are able to be with each other in the end.

  However, you could argue that it pulls the characters further apart as they end up arguing as to whether or not Kelly passes over which creates a divide between them.
• In the real world, there is a huge expansion of technology right now (e.g. AI) and this episode shows the exaggeration of technology and how far it can really go if we push it far enough (Postmodernism).
• The wide shot of Yorkie walking into the bar where she is in the center (physically isolated from her surroundings by the camera angle) showing her alone while everyone else is talking and dancing - she looks out of place. There is also a brighter light placed on her in this scene to further emphasise her role as the outsider.
• The final scene is one of the only scenes in San Junipero that is in the day time which represents their emotions and how happy they are with each other - if the scene wasn't set up like this, it would have a completely different meaning.
• The lyric "Am I living in a box" and the title of the song relate to Yorkie's isolation from the rest of the world and the fact that she has never changed from who she is (which could be due to her coma) The music is upbeat but the lyrics are solemn.
• HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH (1987)

  San Junipero is technically Heaven but it also is very similar to Earth (links to postmodernism)

  "They say in Heaven, love comes first." - San Junipero is the place where Yorkie and Kelly can finally be together

  "When the night falls down, I wait for you and you come around." - nighttime is the time where Kelly visits Yorkie in San Junipero and it is the time where most of the scenes in San Junipero are set.
• MAX HEADROOM:

  He was the "world's first computer generated TV presenter" and he was on the TV in the shop in the very first scene in the episode. His first appearance was in 1985 and he interviewed celebrities and commented on music videos.

  This 'character' draws the line between reality and fiction because the celebrities being interviewed act as though he is real.

  It foreshadows the fact that San Junipero is not real and that it is computer generated.
• COLOUR:

  SJ - warm toned (pink and purple) which connotes happiness

  Real world - cool toned (blue, grey and white) which connotes sadness and dystopia
• The episode begins in 1987 when gay relationships were frowned upon which shows how Brooker wanted to show how LGBTQ relationships should have always been accepted. This is emphasised by the fact that both characters remain together in the end (even though they technically die).
• Brooker has used binary opposition to show that straight men are not always the hero (which is a common stereotype) which makes Kelly and Yorkie's relationship seem like the norm.
• TARGET AUDIENCE:

  LGBTQ audiences

  Charlie Brooker/Black Mirror fans

  Netflix mainstream audience

  Sci-fi fans

  Fans of speculative fiction
• HALL'S RECEPTION THEORY - BLACK MIRROR:

  Preferred reading - LGBTQ audience would appreciate the heart-warming 'against the odds' romance

  Negotiated reading - they understand the romance and the idea behind SJ but also question it e.g. what if the servers are turned off?

  Oppositional reading - The first 2 seasons were a lot darker and now that it has been taken over by Netflix, the episodes have been sanitized and 'Americanized'. They may also question if this is promoting euthanasia.
• There are typically closeups when showing Yorkie and Kelly close together which signifies their growing connection and feelings of intimacy.
• The images of the ocean and the pink and purple colour palette makes it seem very americanised - very escapist.
• The 'Lost Boys' film poster and the arcade games immediately tells the audience that it is going to be set in the 1980s. In later scenes the film poster is Scream and then The Bourne Identity, which reflects the transition to the 90s and then to the 2000s.
• During the makeover scene, the song Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer is playing and the outfit she is trying on is like the female 'backup dancers' in the music video. this was created in 1985 so audiences would recongise the time period.
• High-key lighting and wide angles of the white spaces (in the hospital) adds to the futuristic setting and may reflect a heavenly feel.