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Black Mirror Media Language - Coggle Diagram
Black Mirror Media Language
The use of Americanised coastal iconography e.g. ocean, convertible car, sunsets help to signify the USA location which feels escapist
The 1980s diegetic club music including Heaven Is a Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle as well as the costumes, hair, makeup, vehicles and film posters, all act as signposts for the viewer that this is set in the late 1980s
Other time period appropriate intertextual references include the arcade games which also suggest particular decades
The colourful outfits bold jewellery and make up help us to easily identify Kelly as the 'popular girl' archetype. The plainer outfit and glasses clearly identify Yorkie as the archetypical geek
Particular music tracks are chosen to foreshadow elements of the narrative acting as clues for the audience about what's really going on. Examples of this include 'Can't Get You Out of My Head', 'Girlfriend in a Coma', 'Living in a Box' and 'Fake'.
The use of mise en scene is clearly there to sign post what year/era the scene is taking place in through film posters and music especially
The use of tightly framed close up shots signifies their growing connection and feelings of intimacy
The higher key lighting and wide angles of white spaces adds to the futuristic hospital setting it could also connote 'heaven' and life after death
The multiple identical lights and the track out to a wide angle emphasises the sheer number of people who have uploaded their consciousness into this virtual world - makes it feel more impactful
Shot reverse shot editing is used to emphasise the differences between the two binary opposite characters, adding conflict and drama
The sudden cut from the women kissing in bed to the waves crashing on the beach, acts as a symbolic image for sexual gratification without having to show what's actually happening
Fast paced editing during the scenes in the Quagmire club helps to signify it as being thrilling, dark and a chaotic place
The disappearance of much of the diegetic sound at times suggests that Yorkie is focussed entirely on Kelly and zoning out
Features a lot of romantic drama genre signifiers such as kissing, long emotional conversations, arguments etc
Also features of sci-fi genre signifiers such as advanced technology, white blue and silver colours, machines
The show is a hybrid of different genres - sci-fi and romance
One key theme of the episode is love/ sexuality and attitudes towards that as well as self acceptance of our own identities
Another key theme is about age and health, and the issues we face as we get older and how tech might help with this
The episode is filled with enigma codes to keep the audience engaged - why is Yorkie so out of place? Why do the characters and camera keep focusing on their time/ midnight
The sudden time jumps are not explained initially which adds further enigma as the characters haven't ages despite decades seeming to pass. When Yorkie and Kelly are talking about 'if they really met' which adds a sense of mystery as we have no idea that they haven't actually met
Black mirror as a series is known for being postmodern. Postmodern products often focus on themes of 'what if' relating to possible future technologies
The intertextual references to films, music, games and fashions are also a convention of postmodernism
Hybrid genres is also a postmodern feature
The whole episode deals with postmodern themes of reality and simulacra with characters spending time in a simulacrum of the past and it becoming hard for us as the audience to distinguish reality from simulacra - Baudrillard