San Junipero: analysis, genre, intertextual relay and allegory

San Junipero: Initial discussion

• Genre, narrative, aesthetic, soundtrack, themes, sociocultural context, sociohistorical context, personal response…
• Distributed and broadcast on Netflix, an online video streaming platform that operates on a subscription model. Models such as Netflix have shaped the way that we consume television. In fact Netflix is not even televisual technology, but uses this terminology to construct a nostalgic mode of address. Netflix provides the audience to schedule their own programming, including watching something from halfway through. 
• The episode is fixated on the idea of death, and the function of death as a concept to give life as meaning. In one startling scene, Kelly gets into a car crash on purpose,, yet there is no shocking gore, only her undamaged body, lying on the floor in the rain. This apparent suicide here has no repercussions, and resembles an action film or even a videogames. Before this, Kelly muses on the fact her husband and daughter died without the opportunity to live forever ion the virtual world, suggesting in this future, there is an inequality.
• A complex representation of queer identity. Both the main characters are completely different. Yorkie is a lesbian, yet her parents never accept this, which leads to her suicide attempt and her being comatosed for her entire life. Kelly is bisexual, (“men, women, what’s the difference?”), a non traditional and even subversive representation of sexuality. Yorkie on the other experiences intense shame, and is monogamous in her relationship. 
• Kelly and Yorkie’s relationship is toxic, with Yorkie in particular being manipulative. She blatantly encourages Kelly to kill; herself in order to spend eternity with her. Kelly often seems unsure about this, initially ghosting Yorkie and after she gets too intense, and clearly stating that she does not wish to ‘pass over’, where digitised consciousness are uploaded to a server farm somewhere in Texas. 
• Negotiated readings: Kelly very strongly and forcefully does not wish to pass over. Yet minutes in the narrative, she decides to do so,. This aspect provokes a number of negotiated readings. It can be read as bad and inadequate writing, where the character development is insufficient to justify this. However, this can also be read as Kelly’s sudden and overwhelming fear of death. It also reinforces the ideology that the only way to be happy is to ‘settle down’ and to engage in a hegemonic and even heteronormative ‘married’ situation. Yet Kelly completely contradicts this, by giving a monologue on her own family situation, the strength of her marriage, and how she sees this as being superior. Other audiences may consider that Kelly simply gives in to the manipulation because Yorkie has manipulated her to such an extent. 
• Copy anxiety, simulation anxiety, teleportation anxiety. Simulation - a hypothetic perfect recreation of another world. The simulation hypothesis. It cannot proved that we do not live in a simulation.
• Five minutes in to the future 
• Genre, narrative, aesthetic, soundtrack, themes, sociocultural context, sociohistorical context, personal response…
• The episode uses science fiction conventions to explore the representation of queer people in the 1980s. The episode is not set in the 1980s, yet it constructs a representation of the 1980s, and uses this this to explore themes of homophobia and queer acceptance. 
• The episode is initially highly ambiguous, and constructs a compelling and highly recognisable representation of the 1980s. Cutting between the characters as older and younger versions of themselves seems to suggest a time travel narrative . Instead, the episode takes the form of a ‘science half-fiction’. Set ‘five minutes in to the future’, it depicts a world completely like our own yet with a few fundamental changes. In this world, a virtual reality simulation has been achieved that is indistinguishable from our own world. 
• Examples of simulation narratives within the science fiction genre include Tron, Inception, Ready Player One, Assassin’s Creed, Free Guy, The Truman Show, Jumanji, The Matrix, The Ninth Floor, Pixels…
• One big theme of this episode is aging, life and death. Death in particular is a point of fascination for humanity. Not only do we disagree on what happens ‘after’. It is also a universal truth, which is why so many sci fi narratives explore the concept of the afterlife
• The show constructs a depressing and stereotypically tragic representation of queer love, that does not do enough to distance itself from previous negative portrayals. It reinforces the ideological perspective that to be gay is to be a victim and to live a tragic life
• Many audiences consider this episode to be the most positive out of every episode of Black Mirror. It has a ‘happy ending’. And ends with a vision of eternal bliss. However, Kelly has completely reneged on her previous feelings for her dead husband and daughter. The couple have a toxic relationship which is based on disagreement and a completely different perception of the world. Yorkie is exceptional naïve, and this is due to the alarming reason that she has been in a medically induced coma for around 60 years.
• The aesthetic of the episode is highly nostalgic, and uses a range of media language to construct a nostalgic aesthetic. The 80s is constructed in a relentlessly positive light, with 80s fashion, music, and atmosphere all being fetishised. However, this completely ignores issues such as the miners strike, political tensions, a financial collapse in the UK.
• A nostalgic atmosphere here highlights a problem with nostalgia. Constantly looking back rather than forward can be politically disastrous, and ensures that society never progresses. 
• The soundtrack is completely composed of 80s songs which have been officially licensed. This adds great expenditure to the production, yet also provides the audience with a range of well known songs that sets the scene for the audience regardless of how old they are. However, most of the songs included explore the themes of the episode (eg Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlile introduces the theme of death, the afterlife and simulation.
• There is also a heavy emphasis on videogames throughout the episode. Yorkie Plays a game called Bubble Bobble, reflecting the nature of the simulated world that they are in. Videogames function as a metanarrative, and allow us to understand what is happening in this episode. 
• The ending of the episode positions the target audiences in a range of negotiated positions. 

Intertextual relay and the dress-up montage

• The use of intertextuality, so typical of the sort of 80s dramas that this episode pastiches utilises intertextual relay in a sophisticated and complex manner to help the audience to understand not only the supposed setting of the episode, but also the deeper motivations and personalities of the protagonists. 
• The montage uses the iconography of the mid-1980s to construct a nostalgic mode of address. This sense of anomia is highly involving and yet also highly controversial.
• By identifying with Ally Sheedy’s recluse, a complex construction of identity is formed. Our intertextual relay allows us to understand how chaotic and confused Yorkie’s life, and functions as a proairetic code, suggesting Kelly will ‘save’ Yorkie’ 
• The use of the Smiths song ‘Girlfriend in a Coma is highly polysemic, functioning not only as a reference to Yorkie’s depressed introversion, but also explicitly referencing the fact she is in a coma

San Juipero and the utilisation of generic paradigmatic features: in what ways is this episode conventional and unconventional of the science fiction genre?

Conventional 

• Progressive, complex representation of queer identity
• Forces us to confront modern issues in a futuristic setting
• Themes of VR and simulation
• Happy ending??????!!!!?????
• Layer of depth and complexity open to interpretation. Challenging to audiences!
• Sci-fi jargon
• Glittering LEDs, robotic arms, glitchy noises 

Unconventional 

• Lacks any reference to aliens, robots, spaceships and the archetypal conventions of the sci-fi genr
• The queer relationship is atypical of media in general
• 80’s setting. Arcade games, music, costume, club…
• No clear monster or antagonist…?
• Bleak, miserable, open ended ending

The rooftop scene: how does this sequence utilise generic paradigms of the science fiction genre to engage audiences with intertextual relay?

• In the bathroom, Kelly punches the mirror, which is fixed within the same shot. Although a clear reference to the fact the episode is set in a simulation. The pan back up to the intact mirror functions as both an hermeneutic code and a proairetic code. It is confusing and mysterious, constructing enigmas, yet it also suggests to the observant viewer that this is a simulation. 
• On the rooftop, the women discuss a confusing array of topics, referring to the inhabitants as dead, and terms such as ‘full timers’ 
• “I hope your pain slider is set to zero” - a clear science fiction convention
• The soundtrack uses bleak, drawn out synthesisers. This cold, dead music production technique is typical of the sci fi genre, referencing everything from Ghost in The Shell , to vintage sci-fi films like the star trek series. 
• The performance is serious, with the characters discussing the nature of humanity itself.

How does San Junipero use science fiction elements to construct a dense and complex allegory for the target audience?

• Virtual reality, videogames and social media networks. These can be extremely distracting, and arguably can remove our ability to think for ourselves. It is mentioned that if living people use SJ for more than an hour a day, they lose touch with reality
• A fear of the future and what it will bring. Specifically, a fear of the intrusiveness of AI. It could take our jobs, it has a huge environmental impact, and it encourages dependence and we may be controlled by it. The bots, generated environments, weather systems etc in San Junipero all require AI.
• Death, and what happens after we die. We have no control over death. It is a complete mystery. Judeo-Christian ideology suggests there are a number of afterlives that can be accessed from living a good life. There are several references to religion: Heaven Is A Place On Earth, the MES of a priest, and Kelly discussing her family’s beliefs. In this episode, heaven is made explicit. 
• Assisted dying and euthanasia. Euthanasia is an extremely controversial idea. Some people may seek assisted suicide if their living conditions make it painful to continue living. By discussing this in a sci-fi setting, this controversial idea can be explored in depth. 
• Serious illnesses, mortality, aging, the inevitability of death… Our values when we are young are radically different!
• Sexuality and homophobia - Yorkie grows up in a conservative and homophobic household. Kelley is literally from another time. Kelly is bisexual, yorkie is a lesbian, Kelly is poly, Yorkie is monogamous… sexuality is very complicated!
• How technology revaluates the meaning of our lives. The current debates around AI have us talking about how our day to day existence has changed. By automating our lives, we potentially stop learning and having experiences. In SJ, every day is automated, by a series of algorithms and programming that ensures that things run smoothly. Nothing changes…
• What comes after death? Christian ideology suggests there is an afterlife, which is accessed through obeying the 10 commandments. However, in SJ, this has been circumvented. Perhaps explores the fear of death, and our relationship with Christianity… Do we even need an afterlife? Who is it for?
• Sexuality and sexual identity. Yorkie is gay, and desires a monogamous, conservative relationship. However Kelly is bisexual, seeking a noncommittal, polygamous adventurous lifestyle. 
• Issues of persecution. Yorkie is persecuted by her family for her sexuality. This manifests in her coma, and also in her anxiety attacks. 
• Euthanasia and assisted suicide. This can be criticised, as some believe that no one can consent to dying, yet advocates claim that some people simply are too miserable to live. This episode uses the conventions of sci-fi to deal with a particularly difficult issue
• Nostalgia, and believing the past was better. Escapism. This episode uses sci-fi conventions to explore the idea of the issues with our own lives, and to challenge the audience to explore their own preconceptions 

Explore how a combination of media language is used to create meaning in both the Black Mirror episode San Junipero and The Returned [30]

• How does the opening sequence of San Junipero use semiotics, structuralism and bricolage to construct complex meanings?
• The gesture code of the dancing clubbers constructs a nostalgic mode of address. Alongside a world where most people are in a simulation. This is highly conventional of mainstream television, and the presence of hegemonically attractive people constructs a reality where looks are the most valuable aspect of a functioning society. 
• The title card, with the broken screen functions as a symbolic code,as well as a proairetic code, informing the audience that nothing is what it seems. 
• 80’s MES, bright lights, cultural references, and several references to the precise year construct a representation which is hyperreal, which is too perfect. This reinforces the ideological perspective that perfection is unattainable and can only be achieved through simulation
• We are initially positioned with Yorkie with an over the shoulder (O/S) shot, which blends into a tracking shot, following yorkie round the club. This allows the audience to identify the protagonist of the episode, and positions the audience with the values of Yorkie. This is highly conventional of mainstream television products. 
• The costumes are stereotypically 80’s. Eg Kelly’s costume strongly resembles something worn by the musician Prince. This act of intertextual relay helps communicate to the audience Kelly’s party girl persona. 
• Binary opposition between K&Y functions as a proairetic code. The differences in their performance of sexuality, their opinions, their personalities all create conflict, essential to a successful narrative. 
• Binary opposition is constructed between the use of the diegetic soundtrack and the non-diegetic soundtrack. In the establishing montage, a car blares out the 80s pop song ‘Heaven is a place on earth’, which functions as a proairetic code, suggesting to the audience the complex themes of this episode. However, this is overlapped with the dark, bleak non0-diegetic soundtrack constructing a binary opposition, creating a sense of unease. This is anchored through the use of low key lighting, in combination with Yorkie’s confused and depressed performance. Finally, the audience’s knowledge of Black Mirror functions as an intertextual relay. Fans of the show will understand that this show is dark and depressing, dealing with times of rogue technology. 
• The dialogue is mysterious and confusing, highly conventional of the science fiction genre. Wes announces “we’ve only got til midnight’, which functions as a hermeneutic code for the audience. Additional hermeneutic codes are constructed through the club Tuckers. A binary opposition of the later Quagmire, the setting is period appropriate. However, it is clean, with music being played at a reasonable volume. Additionally, nobody is taking drugs, or is particularly drunk or under the influence. In fact, tuckers is hyperreal: a representation which is better than reality.