Love as a Risk-Averse Event; the Sanitization, Dichotomization, and Liberation of Romance in “Hang the DJ”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28914/Atlantis-2025-47.1.9Keywords:
risk-averse culture, health obsession, love as event, risk-averse romance, neoliberal conditioning, science fiction (SF)Abstract
“Hang the DJ” is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the science fiction series Black Mirror wherein the dating world is subjected to the signature thought-provoking lens for which the anthology is famed. In the episode couples are mechanically paired and unpaired by an authoritarian high-tech agency named The System which is ultimately revealed to be a highly advanced matchmaking app. It is my contention that the episode concomitantly reflects, reproduces, and destabilizes the dichotomization of love as either a disruptive “event” or a risk-averse form of intimacy.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Abdolali Yazdizadeh
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