No Homo, Bro: An Analysis of Black Mirror's 'Striking Vipers'
- danielmcpeake
- May 20, 2022
- 7 min read
We all know it's not gay if we're both wearing socks. But is it gay if it happens in a video game? In Season 5 episode 1 of Black Mirror, entitled Striking Vipers (Harris, 2019), we follow the story of husband, and father, Danny (Anthony Mackie) having an affair with his best friend Karl (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) through a virtual reality video game. Within the video game, with the same name as the title, Karl has chosen to play as a female character known as ‘Roxette’ (Pom Klementieff), but Danny remains as a male. This prompts questions of gender dysmorphia and sexuality in the representation of men, perhaps exploring the mentality of masculinity, and how men choose to hide a more feminine side to their lifestyle. Additionally, Owen Harris, the director, may have influenced visual composition and performance styles in order to assist with the viewers interpretations of how the characters are feeling, conveying a more concrete level of meanings and representations.
Visually, Striking Vipers contrasts the hue and saturation of the video game terrain, and the ‘real’ world, presenting the ‘real’ world such as Danny's workplace and cityscape with bland and beige colours. Opposingly, the mise-en-scène of video game is continuously vibrant and colourful, with the first level ‘Secret Temple’featuring warm, green trees in the background, pink blossom, and a red pagoda. Additionally, the fight moves acted out by Roxette and Lance (Danny’s chosen avatar) both release bright yellow glows, reminiscent of classic video games. Harris may have chosen these visuals in order to highlight the fact that Danny and Karl are deriving more pleasure and enjoyment from the video game, as opposed to the ‘real’ world, and the use of desaturated colours helps the audience understand how Danny now views the rest of the world when he is not in the video game.
Throughout the episode, it can be argued that Karl’s presence is both surrounded by colour and bringing vibrance to Danny’s environment. For example, when Karl unexpectedly arrives at Danny’s birthday party during the first half of the episode, he is seen wearing a warm burgundy polo shirt, which contrasts against Danny’s house décor and the costumes of the other guests, which are visibly desaturated and beige. Visually, this can signify that Karl is bringing a sense of excitement and vibrance to Danny’s life, through standing out against all other aspects of his life. Moreover, Karl’s deep burgundy polo shirt may also signify his lust, with the colour red having connotations of intense romantic and sexual feelings. Contrasted against the unsaturated green dress worn by Danny’s wife, Theo (Nicole Beharie), it could foreshadow the lust Danny and Karl feel for each other, and the neglect and abandonment that Theo begins to feel as a result.
Furthermore, the contrast of lighting in Karl and Danny’s homes further imply that Karl is living a more vibrant and sexually liberating lifestyle. Karl’s apartment, although almost entirely designed as white and grey, becomes dominated by the light of his pinball machine, another gaming system providing vibrance to their lives. Specifically, the lighting from this radiates a deep blue, purple, and pink hue, which Harris may have chosen to symbolise the bisexual pride flag which features the same colours. The presence of lighting symbolising the bisexual pride flag was also utilised in another Black Mirror episode entitled ‘San Junipero’, which was also directed by Owen Harris. The lighting in a club was predominantly purple, pink, and blue, referencing the accepting attitude of the setting, highlighting how it was welcoming to the episode’s central character, a bisexual woman. Using light as a visual metaphor, as outlined in Cinematography: Theory and Practice (B, Brown. 2011), “can always be a factor in underlying story points”. The implications of sexual fluidity, linking to the inner conflict of Karl’s desire to embody a woman and his lust for Lance, the character Danny chooses to play as, can suggest he is in fact bisexual, but is too trapped within his dominant masculinity to admit it. Another game, his pinball machine, is quite literally dominatingly projecting his sexuality into his apartment, just as Striking Vipers is showing him too.
Karl’s desire to play Striking Vipers as a woman can provoke questions of gender dysmorphia in men. While in the video game together, as Danny strokes his head romantically, Karl explains to him the feeling of embodying a woman; “the tune is basically the same, but the tempo is different”. The analogy, using music as the method of explanation, comes across as underdeveloped, implying that men have difficulty expressing their feelings, especially to other men.
Additionally, this is emphasised through his plea to Danny to return to the game, exclaiming that nobody else can make him feel the same way as Danny does. The struggle Karl is going through where he becomes obsessed with the physical sensations he feels within the game can perhaps contrast the stereotypical representation of men in media. Masculinity and Popular Television (Feasey, R. 2008) concludes that “telefantasy can be seen to explore the possibilities of social change” where men can be given a platform to explore emotions and connectivity. Brooker, through expanding upon the technological capabilities of our own modern world, has created a catalyst within the virtual reality game where two outwardly stereotypical, heterosexual, men are confronted with possibilities of social change through subversions of their gender and sexuality.
The naturalistic performances Mackie and Abdul-Mateen II both present may have been chosen in order to convey a more realistic portrayal of their identities and allow the audience to connect more with their characters. In one of the climactic scenes of the episode, Danny and Karl meet up in person to confront the affair and conclude as to whether there is a romantic connection between the two of them; by kissing. The performance choices of both Mackie and Abdul-Mateen II can imply feelings of attraction to one another. For example, Karl initially seems somewhat stunned after their kiss, with Abdul-Mateen II raising his eyebrows, opening his eyes wider, and his mouth drops open to a small degree. This may be suggesting that Karl has realised there is a connection between them and is surprised by this revelation. Moments later, however, Abdul-Mateen II returns to a neutral expression by lowering his eyebrows and transitioning to a closed mouth and a straight face, to abruptly declare“Nope, not a damn thing” in reference to feeling a connection from the kiss. Through this, Abdul-Mateen II’s performance can imply that Karl did in fact feel a romantic connection towards Danny, however, was not confident enough to tell the truth about his feelings.
Similarly, after Karl and Danny kiss, Mackie’s body language becomes uneasy, as he leans back in awe, and awkwardly shifts his eyes about avoiding eye contact with Karl for several seconds. That being said, once Karl states he did not feel a connection, Mackie then almost instantly makes eye contact with Abdul-Mateen II and exclaims “Nah, me neither.” Stereotypical representations of men, as outlined in Cultivating Conceptions of Masculinity vol.21 (Scharrer, E. Blackburn, G. 2018), have an “avoidance of femininity, dominance, importance of sex” and “restrictive emotionality”. The avoidance of appearing as feminine, such as Karl embodying himself as a female character and both of them concealing a subtle homosexual attraction for each other, conforms to the notion of a stereotypical representation of masculinity. Plus, the idea of restrictive emotionality also relates to the fact that both Danny and Karl denied having any sense of attraction for each other in real life, rather than understanding that there is a connection, whether it be physically, romantically, or just between their personalities.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Brooker states “there’s a problem with communication, there’s some sort of block” (Troy-Pryde, J. 2019) regarding the relationship between Danny and Karl. Therefore, with the implications of their unease and surprise in Mackie and Abdul-Mateen II’s naturalistic performances, and Brooker’s beliefs regarding the feelings of the characters, it can be said that their body language can reflect a lack of communication, and confidence in telling the truth, between Danny and Karl.
In conclusion, the themes of sexuality and masculinity within Striking Vipers are woven through the use of visual composition and performance, in order to represent a more subverted vision of modern men. Through the director Owen Harris using the hue and saturation of settings, as well as the costume choices of characters, to convey a sense of pleasure and liberation in the contrasting environments of the ‘real’ world and the video game. Plus, the possible symbolism of the bisexual pride flag through the light emitted from Karl’s pinball machine further highlights the sexual ambiguity of the lead characters. The stereotypical representations of men, as mentioned in Cultivating Conceptions of Masculinity vol.21 (Scharrer, E. Blackburn, G. 2018), initially imply to Danny and Karl but became subverted through their choices to initiate a relationship within the video game, and to embody a female character. Overall, the representations of sexual fluidity in men, and their reluctance to confront and express their true feelings, are made vividly apparent throughout a range of aspects in the production of Striking Vipers.
Bibliography:
Brown, B. (2011). Visual Storytelling. In B. Brown (Author), Cinematography: Theory and Practice – Imagemaking for Cinematographers and Directors. (pp. 67-76). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.salford.idm.oclc.org/lib/salford/reader.action?docID=720723
Feasey, R. (2008). Science Fiction and Dominant Gender Fantasy Television: Challenging Roles. In R. Feasey (Author), Masculinity and Popular Television. (pp. 56-67). Retrieved from
Harris, O. (Director). (2011-). San Junipero [Television series episode]. In C. Brooker (Series Creator & Writer), Black Mirror. California: Netflix.
Harris, O. (Director). (2011-). Striking Vipers [Television series episode]. In C. Brooker (Series Creator & Writer), Black Mirror. São Paulo: Netflix.
Scharrer, E. & Blackburn, G. (2017). Cultivating Conceptions of Masculinity: Television and Perceptions of Masculine Gender Role Norms. Mass Communications and Society, 21(2), 150-158.
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