Black Mirror San Junipero Analysis by Thomas Ray (TR2)

2024-12-09 10:39:15 UTC

It was interesting how subtle the music changed by the years every time we went back to the repetitive setting of the club- before we realised visually that the years/ decades changed

2024-12-09 10:39:19 UTC

Purple and blue lighting in the club.

Medium shots

Long shots

2024-12-09 10:39:44 UTC

Colour palate of the locations differs between San Junipero and the real world. San Junipero uses low key lighting to focus on the neon lights of the artificial word, where the real world completely juxtaposes this with high key lighting to bring focus to the natural and "real" light.

2024-12-09 10:39:50 UTC

close up slo mo of kelly dancing when we first meet her

2024-12-09 10:39:52 UTC

80s music, arcade machine noises like pac-man and other older games, within the hospital we hear typical noises from the hospital. music follows the decades, when it warps we hear a noise that shows that distortion

2024-12-09 10:40:03 UTC

closeup of faces when talking — connotes vulnerability in serious conversations

2024-12-09 10:40:11 UTC

Old clothes

Retro sofa

Old coke glass

Hair styles

2024-12-09 10:40:53 UTC

non linear storyline we see fast forwards and we get pushed into the future. NO STRUCTURE!!!! final ending

2024-12-09 10:40:57 UTC

70's or 80's music

Arcade games

2024-12-09 10:41:22 UTC

Coloured lighting in the club reflects the characters moods (blue)

2024-12-09 10:41:33 UTC

Harsh white light after Yorkie's 'earth' being dies, potentially San Juniperio signified as heaven using high key lighting.

2024-12-09 10:42:10 UTC

club, beach house, hospital room!!

2024-12-09 10:42:15 UTC

Costumes reflect the character’s personalities

2024-12-09 10:42:47 UTC

Two lesbians that marry men and keep it a secret they like eachother ?? Idk go back in time

2024-12-09 10:42:48 UTC

Soft, calm and natural sounds for closer and more intimate scenes.

2024-12-09 10:42:48 UTC

motif of water, at the start and throughout san junipero

2024-12-09 10:42:55 UTC

Music which reflects the era every time it changes

2024-12-09 10:43:15 UTC

During the slow motion connection scene between Yorkie and Kelly, the audio really highlights this moment by fading out the diagetic soundtrack to replicate the 'only people in the room' conventions that people stereotypically feel during a "love at first sight" moment

2024-12-09 10:43:53 UTC

Futuristic sci-fi combined with romance

2024-12-09 10:44:01 UTC

Colour plays a huge part in showing the places that both Kelly and Yorkie are in, yorkie stays within the colours of a pale pink and blue while Kelly is Purple this shows how Kelly compared to Yorkie is more integrated into this world while Yorkie still holds onto her past her fear of seeing the cars crash are evidence of this. At the end both wear pink and blue it’s showing a way they can be together after their argument that now they can acknowledge there past and new lives.

2024-12-09 10:44:15 UTC

foreshadowing — yorkie’s car crash foreshadowed in the beginning when she gets scared by arcade game.

2024-12-09 10:44:17 UTC

Science fiction- time travel / future setting

Coming of age- discovering

2024-12-09 10:45:03 UTC

yorkie glasses, they talk about it at the start and then doesn’t wear them at the end

could reflected hiding from her true self

2024-12-09 10:45:06 UTC

vibrant colouring when they first enter the club and meet eachother and then when they're in the hospital room the lighting goes darker and off tone.

2024-12-09 10:46:13 UTC

Time jumos back and forward.

"Heaven" is indicated when we get to the future.

2024-12-09 10:46:17 UTC

character - polar opposites and they have a juxtaposition of their personalities which makes it even more endearing

2024-12-09 10:46:27 UTC

The episode answers the questions of what is consciousness/ existence, it talks about having an identity in life and after life.

2024-12-09 10:46:42 UTC

Clear contrast between modern, bland and technological world and simulated San Juniperio world with lots of life and colour.

2024-12-09 10:46:46 UTC

when yorkie is sat on the building kelly says hope you have your pain level set to 0

reflect that they’re in a game like place

2024-12-09 10:47:17 UTC

The science fiction elements of the "real world" showing the upload system and the idea of uploading your subconscious to the internet combines well with the 'coming of age' themes of the two characters forming a relationship with eachother. These mainly combine in the "real world" when their characters meet for the first time in real life, mixing this usual circumstances of meeting with a connection that they've grown in their teenage mindset online

2024-12-09 10:47:43 UTC

Night club throughout the time periods.

Beach

Futuristic hospital

2024-12-09 10:47:58 UTC

People die and have the choice to live in the fake world or not. the 2 girls live with eachother in simulation

2024-12-09 10:48:00 UTC

The character of Wes shows the people who have to face death alone it’s the downside of a place like this unable to find meaning in death and now feeling desperate and meaningless it’s prolonging a death creating zombie like desperate people, it shows the other side of how this instead of giving people a meaningful death instead doesn’t give peace and just anguish that they truly don’t belong. A world Kelly was living in before Yorkie.

2024-12-09 10:48:19 UTC

There’s a stark contrast between san junipero, and the reality! Even the scene comparing the beach in the real world and in san junipero the san junipero beach looks warm and inviting due to the colors, sounds etc where as the real life seems quite dull and beige lacking real life connection. you see this as well with the setting with the club, it’s got soul to it compared to the cleanliness and lack of life from the hospital.

2024-12-09 10:48:22 UTC

contrast between stark white senior home and san junipero, which is full of colour and life. bringing back to life literally

2024-12-09 10:49:15 UTC

The costuming mirrors how the real word characters wanted to vision themselves in their youth. "I used to wear these when I was in high school" referencing her glasses that yorkie doesn't need in the online world, showing that she finds comfort in the youth she felt she never got to live (going back and reliving it forever)

2024-12-09 10:50:24 UTC

White futuristic looking hospital, goes with the futuristic type of technology

2024-12-09 10:50:44 UTC

start with a lit street (purple blue) and a retro convertible car

80s iconography

2024-12-09 10:51:51 UTC

The arcade iconography relates directly to visual references of 80's youth culture. This is also replicated in 80's presenting series' like stranger things where arcades and the loud neon atmosphere of those references the nostalgia to 80's entertainment.

2024-12-09 10:53:40 UTC

equilibrium — both protagonists existing in san junipero

conflict — yorkie dying and wanting kelly to join her but kelly refusing due to her daughter and husband.

new equilibrium — both end up staying in san junipero

2024-12-09 10:55:46 UTC

The juxtaposition of the quagmire and Tuckers could be seen as the representation of heaven and hell throughout this "afterlife" virtual world

2024-12-09 11:53:49 UTC

foreshadowing again — when yorkie and kelly meet for the first time in the very beginning, kelly says ‘folks are much more accepting’ foreshadowing that they aren’t actually in the 80s.