Semester Exam - Film Opening Analysis of Black Mirror (season3, episode 4, San Junipero)

 As I watched the first 5 minutes of Black Mirror season 3 episode 4 I began to notice things that gave a better idea of the characters. The first scene opens with a night scene of the ocean splashing against the shore with a city behind it. this particular scene gives a calm and serene feeling but the fact that it was nighttime it gave me a feeling of foreshadowing that’s something bad was going to happen. After this opening scene it shows a busy loud street full of people having fun, this gives a mood of happiness, and laid back. This is also the scene where Yorkie is first seen and introduced. The first things I noticed about Yorkie was her outfit, her outfit was light in colors and consisted of a striped shirt that appeared to pastel green as well as khaki shorts. It also shows her face which gives off facial expressions that give the viewers the idea that she is quiet, reserved, and shy. The camera seems to be following along with her from the side, showing the side of her body as she walks. Right after this scene Kelly is introduced along with Wesley. In this scene Wesley seems to be pestering her about limited time, this made me think that he was waiting for something to happen. Kelly throughout the five minutes that I watched seems to start getting annoyed by him and his pestering, she ignores him and enters the club called tucker. As I saw Kelly enter tucker I knew it was most likely a club from the neon lights sign. The scene then goes back to Yorkie outside the club. She then decides to enter the club. During this time the setting shifts from the busy street to the club As she enters the club I once again get reminded of her outfit, her outfit seems to be a contrast to the people in the club. This is when her outfit gives me the feeling that she’s innocent and has never been in a club as well as her facial expressions which shows that she is kind of confused and new to being in a club, it also gives off the idea that she is a good person that stays on track and doesn’t go to clubs. The camera then once again follows her from the side as she is walking into the club. The scene after this shows an arcade in the club and Yorkie going in it. she picks a game to play and gets a coin from her pocket, as she puts the coin in the camera shows her smiling giving off the idea that she enjoys playing the game. As Yorkie is playing the game the camera shows a guy with glasses and a drink in his hand coming up to her, he compliment her that she’s good at the game, to prove this point the camera shows the screen of the game to show her killing off the bad characters from the game. He then distracts her by starting to talk about the different endings of the game and makes her lose the game. He offers her to play a game called top speed. The camera introduces the game by showing it. it shows a speeding car and it soon starts flipping as Yorkie sees this she immediately declines, this made me think that she didn’t like games like that but her facial expression was disturbed also giving the idea that maybe something happened in her past that contained a car she looked like she was remembering something. The scene after this shows her drinking a coke and looking around the club in wonder again giving off the idea that being in a club is new to her. The scene once again introduces Kelly as she looks at Wesley rolling her eyes and sits next to Yorkie. They then pretend that Yorkie only has 5-6 months to live and that Kelly needs to spend time with her. As Kelly says that she has 6 months to live she leans into the camera giving off the vibe that she was telling a secret at this time we are seeing Wesley’s point of view through the camera. During this scene Kelly is sitting next to Yorkie making me notice how their outfits seem to contrast as Yorkie looks like a reserved person Kelly looks outgoing and like a confident party girl from her purple beaded jacket. I believe the camera showed them sitting next to each other in order to show the clear contrast in their outfits and personalities. After Wesley leaves they introduce each other and Kelly starts to explain how she met Wesley at a quagmire, Yorkie doesn’t seem to know what that is again giving the idea that she is new to everything like the quagmire and club giving off the idea that she doesn’t go to places like that. Kelly then offers to buy another soda for Yorkie, the scene ends with Kelly pulling her away from the table.