2. Black mirror cont. Jan 29/18
L/O:
-review pomo features
-be introduced to exam questions
-continue to analyse and discuss individual episodes as main case
studies
4. Other types of exam questions
• Definition = how are texts postmodern?
• Debate/controversy = Explain why the idea of pomo is controversial.
Or Assess the arguments for and against postmodernism, in relation
to media examples.
• Comparison = How do postmodern texts differ from other media?
• Representation: ‘postmodern media break the rules of
representation’. Discuss
5. Postmodern features
• Hyperreality
• Intertextuality (pastiche, parody, homage……satire)
• Self-reflexivity/self referential-ness
• Dystopianism
• Flattening of effect
• Nostalgia
• Artificialness
• Non-linearity
• High art/low art
• Nothing new/nothing original (recycling of the past)
• Voyeurism (and scopophelia)
• Hybridisation/bricolage
• Juxtaposition
6. White Christmas
Postmodernis
m feature
Evidence Comments?
Hyperreality -the ‘cookie’ -inhumane/unethical
-risky to lose touch with reality (and therefore can lead to flattening
of effect)
Voyeurism -the gaze of the men watching the ‘dates’
-’cookie’ watching the real version
-the police/dark haired guy
-Joe = constantly watches/gazes Beth/old life
-unethical because of lack of consent
-sad/pathetic (not living their lives/seedy/pervy)
-dependency/lack of trust
Intertextuality -the song in karoke
-’egg’ = siri, VR,
-small link to other episode (15 million merits)
-cultural capital and current technology = thought provoking about
‘potential impacts’ of these technologies
Dystopianism -the ‘cookies’ are slaves
-the guys watching the ‘date’
-pessimistic/thought prokovoking view about this type of technology
-technology in the wrong hands = abuse/correct (like a warning)
Flattening of effect Matt – loses sense of ethics/morality (because he hosts an
illegal/voyeuristic ‘channel’ without consent, he conceals a
murder, enslaves ‘cookies’ as he doesn’t see them as ‘human’
Joe – he loses ethics/morality because he is obsessive and will
not let go of trying to get Beth back, he kills granddad/girl
The guys watching joe with the girl – they aren’t bothered it’s
‘illegal’/’immoral’ – seedy/sexually driven (dismissive of
human rights)
The police – use Matt’s technology (when they arrested him
for it) and they’re sadistic for leaving it on for 14 million years!
Beth – easy for her to ‘run away’
Interesting debates about ‘responsibility’…..
(it’s intentionally not black and white and makes you ponder)
What does this say/suggest about remorse? (does technology make it
too easily to just ‘run away’/cruel? (so this is an intertextual
reference to the way we block people now on social media)
Controversy with technology?
7. Dystopianism + Dehumanising technology
"Black Mirror is about the dehumanising direction technology is taking us" (this
is how it's dystopian)
This is linked in with hyperreality, artificalness, voyeurism/panopticanisation,
dystopian narrative.
How is technology in Black Mirror episodes dehumanising? Refer to a range of
episodes in your answer.
Introductory sentence: Black Mirror is a very postmodern text because it has a
range of dystopian outlooks about technology. A range of episodes shows the
‘dehumanising direction technology is taking us in’. For example, …….
9. USS Callister characters
• Daly – CEO
• Nanette – new girl
• Walton – guy with son (Son is Tommy)
• Shania – black girl
• Valdeck – villain with the big gun
• Elena – green girl
• Nate – black guy
• Kabir – apprentice
• Pizza delivery guy
11. USS Callister
Postmodernism
feature
Evidence Comments/analysis?
Hyperreality -the ‘characters’ and Daly in the game are
hyperreal because they are ‘simulations’ of the
real people in the office (the are IDEALISED)
-the ‘simulations’ or ‘cookies’ think they’re real
(but they have more ‘awareness’ about the fact they know they are not real
(therefore pushes the boundaries about hyperreality)
Intertextuality 1. Star trek
2. Infinity is like= VR gaming
3. The pizza app = deliveroo
4. Space fleet (intertextual reference within
the show)
5. The ‘technology’ from San Junipero
1. The mise-en-scene, characters, narrative, camerawork (vintage style)
-Do all these technologies make life ‘too’ easy?
-Do they inevitabley lead to ‘flattening of effect’?
-complex layers of intertextuality (this links with nostalgia/familiarity = cultural
capital for audience
-references within the same show (SJ) (has that
Nostalgia The cult feeling/cult show of space fleet (like
star wars) (and of course the nostalgia of the
iconic show Star Trek)
How = he has loads of memorabilia
Why = escape from reality
Controversy = it shows the dullness about a person’s life
Nothing new/nothing
original
-game itself repeats the ‘narrative structure’
-the intertextual references (
-films/tv shows like ‘minority report’, ‘assassins
creed’ – similar themes?
-character could become ‘obsessive’
-leads to flattening of effect
-positive = familiarity and understand and enjoy genre conventions (people like
certain themes/genre conventions)
Negative = can become predictable/boring/repetitive, loses edge,
Non – linearity No sense of ‘time’ in ‘Infinity’ the game
Dystopianism -technology put in the wrong hands can be very
corrupt and abusive (Daly?)
-he uses it to compensate for his crap life and insecurities – does the technology
make this too easy? (in this day and age = lots of clever people who know who
to create/adapt technology)
Flattening of effect Daly (turning characters into monster ie) -he loses touch with reality, he loses emotions/ethics, = scary/dangerous
USS Callister
13. Nosedive
Postmodernis
m feature
Evidence Comments?
Dystopianism Pessimistic view about how technology is
perpetuating low/high class (stuck in class because
you can’t access)
Also, it makes people change who they are (everyone
is fake out of fear) – Lacie changes herself when she
presents herself to the world – she is sickly/artificial -
-it makes people highly critical
-everyone is so self centered and they’ve lost
tough about what matters and what is real
Artificialness Everyone’s representation of themselves and their
relationships are artificial – the woman in the lift,
nae-nae = her and her fiancé and her friends, saying
picture of coffee/biscuit, the speech/wedding
-everything is done for purpose of ‘likes’, it’s all
about putting on a ‘face’
(the counterargument = is to be more’real’
Flattening of
effect
-makes them judgemental/mean but also quite ‘rude’
and judgemental (ie the black gay guy)
-the ultimate fear in life is not about ‘real’
consequences, it’s focused around ratings
-you lose your consideration and empathy for
others
-dehumanising!!
(the upper class/elite are the all powerful and in
control)
Intertextuality Instagram, social media profiles, uber (ratings),
electric cars (smart phone = chargers/adapters), VR,
swipe feature on iphone
All reflect current technologies of today
14. Nosedive
Postmodernis
m feature
Evidence Comments?
Nostalgia/old
human
relationships
Mr Rags
-the old woman (truck driver)
Counterargument – it’s about the ‘genuine’
approach and the warm fuzzy memory of him
BUT
Actually, she does it for likes (artificial)
Hyperreality -people’s social media profile
-everyone is hyperreal (because they are trying to
portray themselves in such a way that is not real (it’s
an ideal)
Nothing
new/nothing
original
Voyuerism
Counterargu
ments
-brother
-truck driver
