San Junipero Flashcards
(32 cards)
How is the audience made aware that SJ is set in the 80s?
• Nerd stereotypes is a stock character of 80s movies - wire glasses, collared shirt
• Intertextual references - The lost boys movie poster, arcade games, Janet Jackson style costume on Kelly, ‘Heaven is a place on earth’
• Neon lights
• Similar cinematography
How can Steve Neales genre theory be applied to san junipero?
Music and costume provides a sense of generic verisimilitude
How does San Junipero represent Neale’s theory that genres can change over time?
Happy ending for an LGBT couple, not conventional
How is binary opposition shown between Yorkie and Kelly?
• Yorkie
-wide shots often used to isolate her (rarely seen talking to anyone)
-drinks cola rather than alcohol
-‘nerd’ costume
•Kelly
-group shots: popular
-‘Janet Jackson’ inspired costume
How is binary oppositions shown between the sci-fi genre segment of the episode and the 80s segment?
• Older characters stereotypically in quite in a depressing atmosphere - frail, beige colour palette
Sci fi genre - white colours, clean, minimalistic, technology
•Young characters are more lively, dancing
Bring neon colours typical of the 80s
How is the colour palette relevant to bisexuality?
Pink blue and purple colour palette in lighting and clothing
How is postmodernism shown in SJ?
Achievement of immortality and eternal youth has always been a point of human fascination
- Fountains of youth etc, normally a goal for a villain in a Disney film
-Idea of immortality has shifted due to the advancement of technology (typical convention of BM)
-The people who strive for immortality are now the hero’s of the story (genre changed over time)
How does the mis-en-scene create a zeitgeist of the 1990s/time jump?
• Scream poster
• Alanis morisette audio code
• Yorkies hair is longer
How does the mis-en-scene create a zeitgeist of the 2000s?
• Bourne Identity movie poster
• Kylie Minogue audio code
• Kelly’s white denim jacket
When did Netflix buy Black Mirror and how much did it cost?
2016, after the first two seasons
$40 million
Who created Black Mirror? What else did he create?
Charlie Brooker
- Dead set
- Newswipe
What is speculative fiction?
Contemporary world distorted in a near future setting
Why is there a sense of irony around the fact that SJ is set in the 1980s?
AIDs epidemic, a lot of hate towards gay people at the time
- Yet Yorkie and Kelly face no discrimination, shows how the world they’re in isn’t real (differs from shows like ‘It’s a sin also shown on channel 4)
What genres are is SJ?
• Romance
• Science fiction
• Dystopian
• Speculative fiction
• LGBT coming of age
- genre hybridity appeals to a larger audience and minimises risk
Why does BM follow a format of a new narrative per episode?
Similar to the twilight zone, vintage format
How has black mirror been “Americanised”?
• Less dark humour used and “British” irony/political commentary
• American actors (Miley Cyrus)
How are men represented in SJ?
• Represented as less important than the main female characters
• Seen as more needy, Wes doesn’t take no for an answer off Kelly
How are women represented in SJ?
Complex
- emotional, caring, romantic, nurturing, life focuses around finding love
- angry, independent, Kelly claims she doesn’t “do feelings”
How can Butlers theory be applied to SJ?
• Despite being homosexual, both women perform feminine rituals (both wear a wedding dress), don’t conform heteronormativity as many gay characters are made to perform rituals of the opposite gender in a parodic way to reinforce stereotypes
How is Yorkie and Kelly’s relationship progressive?
• Two elderly women in a couple - most LGBT couples end tragically, rarely grow old together
• Both feminine women, doesn’t conform to heteronormativity
How many subscribers does Netflix have?
301 million
