生死搏擊

《生死搏擊》（Striking Vipers）是英國獨立單元劇《黑鏡》第5季第1集，由查理·布魯克編劇，歐文·哈里斯執導。影片隨第5季其他兩集於2019年6月5日上線Netflix。

該集講述好朋友丹尼·帕克（安東尼·麥凱 飾）和卡爾·霍頓在在虛擬實境格鬥遊戲中相迎，在線上發生性關係，影響丹尼在現實生活中與妻子泰奧（妮可·貝哈里 飾）的婚姻關係。本集角色均由黑人演員扮演，在巴西取景。劇情原型是兩位不知道彼此身份的同事在虛擬實境艷遇。

劇評人認為該集的主題是性與性別的流動性、婚外情、愛情與友情，部分人懷疑丹尼和卡爾是不是同性戀，他們的關係算不算艷遇。至於影片是否利用有趣的手法探討這些主題，劇評人的看法不一，部分人認為該集類似於第3季的《聖朱尼佩洛》，那一集也講一對酷兒在虛擬世界的戀愛。演員及導演大體上受到稱讚，但部分影評人認為影片缺乏角色塑造。

## 劇情

27歲的丹尼·帕克（安東尼·麥凱 飾）與女友泰奧（妮可·貝哈里 飾）一起去酒吧，但形同陌路人。回家做完愛，丹尼玩起格鬥遊戲《進擊的毒蛇》（Striking Vipers），開得很大聲。線上的好友卡爾·霍頓（葉海亞·阿巴杜-馬汀二世 飾）和他分別選了各自喜好的角色蘭斯（Lance）和羅克賽特（Roxette）。泰奧此時被吵醒。

11年後，丹尼和泰奧在家裡舉行燒烤派對，此時丹尼已經結婚，還有一個5歲的孩子。另一邊廂，卡爾也正在和年輕女子瑪麗拉（Mariella）戀愛，沒在和丹尼聯絡。派對上，卡爾送給丹尼一份生日禮物，是《進擊的毒蛇》系列最新作《進擊的毒蛇10》（Striking Vipers X），以及用來玩這款遊戲的虛擬實境設備。那天晚上，兩人回到各自的家來玩這款遊戲。戴上虛擬實境設備的兩人在現實中一動不動，完全沉浸在蘭斯和羅克賽特的全部感受中。經歷一個回合的格鬥，兩人體會到貨真價實的痛苦，累得靠著彼此癱倒在地。突然，卡爾親了丹尼一口，丹尼怔住幾秒，將對方推開，隨後離開了遊戲。

接下來幾個禮拜，丹尼和卡爾利用角色的身體，在遊戲中做愛。泰奧發現丹尼正變得沉悶，不想和她做愛，雖然兩個人很想要孩子。結婚周年紀念日當天，泰奧質問丹尼是否出軌，丹尼說自己沒有，另一邊跟卡爾說不能繼續玩這個遊戲了。

丹尼來年生日突然邀請卡爾一起吃晚飯。卡爾對丹尼說，他跟電腦控制的角色或其他玩家體會不到先前的那種感受。晚上，兩個人又進入遊戲，轟轟烈烈地做愛。事後，卡爾說了句「我愛你」，丹尼找他在現實生活中見面，兩人抱著彼此的肉體熱吻，但卻體會不到任何感覺。卡爾說應該繼續在遊戲中見面，但丹尼不同意，結果兩人打了起來，被路過的警車看見。泰奧從警察局接走丹尼，丹尼想到打架的原因，生氣悶氣。

7月14日那天，在達成協議的情況下，丹尼約卡爾一起玩《進擊的毒蛇10》，泰奧則摘掉了婚戒，去酒吧和陌生人約會。

## 製作

《黑鏡》第四季上線三個月，2018年3月，Netflix續訂第五季。原本納入第五季的互動劇集《黑鏡：潘達斯奈基》後來擴大成為獨立電影，從第五季分離出來，2018年12月28日首播。有別於包含六集的第三季，本集只有三集，創劇人查理·布魯克認為只出三集可以在下一季播出前吊足觀眾的胃口。這三集分別叫《生死搏擊》、《碎片》、《瑞秋、潔柯和小艾希莉》，於2019年6月5日在Netflix同步上線。由於《黑鏡》採用獨立單元劇體裁，各劇集之間沒有聯繫，觀眾可以亂序觀看每一集。《生死搏擊》在《潘達斯奈基》之前拍攝。

### 構思與編劇

本集由布魯克與執行製片人安娜貝爾·瓊斯聯袂編劇。最初設想是一位辦公室合伙人在虛擬實境模擬遊戲中進行團建，為表演音樂劇《油脂》做準備。活動中，每位員工的身份都不向外界透露。這個想法是為兩名員工在模擬遊戲中外遇而構思的。劇情隨時間推移不斷變更，另一個靈感來源隨之出現：布魯克回想起1990年代與室友一起玩格鬥遊戲《鐵拳》的經歷，好像有「同性性慾」之類的有趣事情在萌發，「十分狂野」。許多格鬥遊戲在《生死搏擊》編劇階段被用做參考，其中一款便是《生死格鬥》系列，這款作品將遊戲角色設計得挑起玩家性慾。

色情作品是編劇討論的一大主題。瓊斯表示這一集探討「色情作品什麼時候不再是有益的干擾，而成了實打實的外遇體驗」這個問題。劇名「生死搏擊」由布魯克選定，暗指蛇和性意象，聽起來有點像遊戲作品的名稱。布魯克在編劇階段給本集取了「曼朱尼佩羅」這個綽號，與第三季的《聖朱尼皮羅》相呼應。布魯克對是否將丹尼和卡爾的關係確切描繪成同性戀感到矛盾，表示故事也提到了男人的友誼及男人之間溝通的障礙。瓊斯指出，丹尼的角色在遊戲中會獲得年輕的體格，體現更為廣泛的衰老主題，「在陪你長大的主要事物不在身邊的情況下，找尋自己的身份」。

至於丹尼和卡爾在現實生活中親吻，布魯克認為兩個角色的這個吻訴說缺乏興奮感的真相，與在虛擬實境遊戲中的吻不一樣。瓊斯說這個吻讓丹尼釋懷，證明他或許可以維持婚姻穩定，但卡爾擔心這個吻影響到他們在虛擬世界中的關係。編劇最後安排泰奧、丹尼和卡爾一年見一次面。布魯克和瓊斯認為結局現實性和浪漫兼具。瓊斯認為泰奧需要「感受到興奮和被愛」，丹尼需要「逃避現實、實現願望」，卡爾「非常孤獨」，但這樣安排「足以維持他的生活」。布魯克的看法類似，認為卡爾的狀況「最為淒涼」，丹尼和泰奧的婚姻關係在這種安排下「得到實際的加強」，尤其是兩人開始從所未有地談論「他們的幻想和需求」。他認為結局模稜兩可，而非毫無保留的快樂。

### 選角與拍攝

安東尼·麥凱（左）飾演丹尼；葉海亞·阿巴杜-馬汀二世（中間）飾演卡爾；妮可·貝哈里（右）飾演緹歐《生死搏擊》是歐文·哈里斯第三次執導《黑鏡》劇集，前兩次是第二季的《馬上回來》和第三季的《聖朱尼皮羅》。本集的三位主角都是黑人，其中安東尼·麥凱扮演丹尼，葉海亞·阿巴杜-馬汀二世扮演卡爾，妮可·貝哈里扮演泰奧。貝哈里參演前就是本劇的頭號粉絲。在《進擊的毒蛇X》中，丹尼選用的蘭斯由林路迪扮演，卡爾選用的羅克賽特由龐·克萊門捷夫（Pom Klementieff）扮演。巧合的是，這四位演員都曾在漫改電影中擔綱主角，麥凱扮演山姆·威爾遜 (漫威電影宇宙)，克萊門捷夫扮演螳螂女，阿巴杜-馬汀扮演黑蝠鱝，林路迪在《金剛戰士》中扮演扎克·泰勒。劇本原本按要求設置在英格蘭郊區，後改為美國。劇集於2018年3月18日至4月18日在巴西聖保羅拍攝。製作公司選取19處取景地，動用150名工作人員。末尾《進擊的毒蛇X》摩天大樓樓頂場景在科潘大廈附近取景，用電腦成像包裝成廢棄的希爾頓酒店。

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Harris found it interesting that the bromance had not been subverted often in fiction, and enjoyed the question of whether society's views on monogamy and marriage might change, like how attitudes to dating changed with the prevalence of s. Harris said that the episode had a dark humour, and one of the lines which helped him understand it was Karl's "I fucked a polar bear and I still couldn't get you out of my mind", which became oft-repeated by fans. Mackie said that the filming of the scene with that line "took probably an hour longer than it was supposed to" because of how amusing the actors found it. When asked about fans, Mackie said that those who approached him would either be interested in a long conversation about the themes of the episode, or make homophobic and uninformed comments about it.

Mackie said that love was the important idea in the episode, and that the crew spoke about "what it means for people to truly care about each other". The script was written without the race of the male characters in mind. Commenting that masculinity in the black community was a contemporary discussion point, Mackie recalled that Harris talked with him very early on about the relevance of race to the characters. In response to whether Karl was gay, Harris said that sexuality is a spectrum "far broader and more complex" than "black and white". Abdul-Mateen thought that Karl felt "understood and ... seen by Danny" and that it was this that he found attractive in the relationship. He said that Karl feels loneliness underneath his external personality. Abdul-Mateen made it ambiguous whether Karl was suppressing his sexuality or was simply finding himself in a new situation, and said that they "didn't want to define exactly" what underpinned Danny and Karl's relationship.

Jones said of Danny and Karl's real-life kiss that both actors aimed to be clear that the excitement from Striking Vipers X was "not being echoed in the real world", and that the characters were relieved by this. Abdul-Mateen thought the scene was important in its depiction of two black men with "a vessel to explore their sexuality and to understand who they are". Describing the filming, he said that "shooting in the rain is never easy" and estimated it took three to four hours. Harris saw the ending as "pragmatic": they considered showing more details about whether the arrangement was succeeding in practice, but chose to leave the ambiguity. Abdul-Mateen noted that Karl has a cat at the end of the episode, which means "he has something to take care of". He thought it could imply that Karl has matured, but is still lonesome.

## 分析

The episode is a romance, where Danny, Karl and Theo are in a love triangle. Dan Stubbs of NME and Jim Vorel of characterised it as a "spiritual sequel" to "San Junipero". Stubbs saw that as in "San Junipero", the episode "finds the beauty and ugliness in a new form of romance". Writing for , Alex Abad-Santos compared that in "San Junipero", Kelly and Yorkie "play semi-artificial, digital-only versions of themselves", like Danny and Karl. Stubbs and Wireds Matt Reynolds found that in "Striking Vipers", the technology is not the focus of the episode—instead its implications and the human stories are. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club analysed that the episode has humour but it is "never designed to undercut the emotional development of the characters". Sexual and gender fluidity, infidelity and love and friendship are major themes, with The Guardians Lucy Mangan writing that "every boundary is porous". Critics identified a large number of questions posed by the episode. Louisa Mellor wrote in that the episode initially asks about Danny and Karl's sexual activity: "Is it cheating? Porn? Love?" It also asks if they are gay or bisexual. Commenting in Wired, Victoria Turk viewed the episode as making a case that engaging in virtual reality porn is infidelity. Tasha Robinson, a reviewer for The Verge, said that Karl's attempts to persuade Danny to keep the relationship going is "needy and manipulative" and characteristic of an "imbalanced relationship", with Karl going back and forth between "defending their virtual trysts as meaningless fun" and "claiming they mean everything and are worth any risk".

Critics explored the implications of Danny and Karl's relationship. Vorel wondered whether it was a romantic or physical connection, how Karl's choice to play a woman related to his masculinity, and whether there would still be attraction if Danny and Karl swapped characters. He called the pair "two alpha males" who feel "shock and embarrassment" when made to confront their sexualities. Michael Ahr of Den of Geek suggested that the pair could be suppressing their homosexuality or "indulging in the objectification of their avatars' hyper-sexualized appearances". Den of Geeks Alec Bojalad gave a partial answer that "there is at least some homosexual energy" but "Roxette and Lance's bodies are an essential part of the equation". Bojalad found that despite uncertainty over their sexuality, Danny and Karl "needed each other in ways they didn't fully understand because they didn't have the language for it". Abad-Santos suggested that Karl enjoys "letting Danny take control sexually". He also recalled playing Li in Street Fighter II, the only female character, as did lots of gay children because it gave them "the freedom to be someone ... who they could never be". Handlen said that Karl could be interpreted as a "potentially closeted trans woman ... but the text stops short of suggesting he's going to make any steps towards transitioning or understanding himself better". Vorel reviewed that the episode "chooses not to judge its characters", while The Atlantics David Sims said it "withholds answers for most of the questions".

Some reviewers drew meaning from the technological aspect of Danny and Karl's relationship. Sims analysed that the episode raises questions about "how sexuality on the internet is continuing to evolve". Stubbs queried whether the "meat person or the avatar" is the real version of us, when "we spend our leisure time in a virtual world and our real lives wearing our work masks". He also suggested that a "virtual/real life balance" could be as fundamental as a work–life balance. Hugh Montgomery, writing for the BBC, found a "pornographic quality of computer game violence" and Abad-Santos saw "Striking Vipers" as serving to connect "video game addiction and porn addiction" as well as "violence and men's sexuality". Another perspective came from Bojalad, who wrote that the episode sees video games as "a safe, consequence-free simulation space for little boys and eventually little men to work though the complex feelings they've so often ignored". Ahr similarly described that Striking Vipers X lets the characters "shed their culturally ingrained male inhibitions and admit their devotion to each other in a way that society discourages in real life".

Critics found that Danny and Karl's sexual activity gave them what they were lacking in their real lives. According to Bojalad, Danny and Karl's younger selves have a "classic and recognizable college student dynamic". Ahr wrote that the "sudden" time skip creates an "atmosphere of disillusionment", with a "contrast between the party atmosphere of the intro and the mundane backyard barbecue". While Danny lives an "idyllic suburban life", as Stubbs put it, Vorel and Vultures Charles Bramesco said he has a mid-life ennui. His sex with Theo is for conception, not enjoyment. In contrast, Stubbs called Karl a "rich executive living the bachelor dream"; he fits the trope of a "ladies' man" and dates younger women. Bojalad believed that Danny and Karl each wanted what the other person had: Karl's freedom or Danny's security. Mellor wrote that Danny gets "energy, abs, joint mobility" and "virility" when playing Lance, which he has been deprived of through ageing and parenthood. Additionally, she wrote that Theo has a "need for excitement in the desert of adult responsibility".

Some critics noted foreshadowing in the initial scenes, eleven years before the main story. Bojalad and Ahr both commented that Theo is aroused by Danny treating her like a stranger, a sign of her later desires to meet strangers at a bar. Reynolds interpreted that the roleplay "sets up this idea that the desire to be someone a little different is a completely human thing". Additionally, Karl's mock-humping of Danny while playing Striking Vipers was seen by Bramesco to indicate homoerotic tension. Ahr stated that early on, Theo tells Danny he should talk "more openly and frequently" to Karl, and communication between them is a central tension in the episode. The episode also makes reference to other Black Mirror instalments: it shows products made by SaitoGemu, of "", and TCKR, of "San Junipero"; and Karl's pinball machine has different gameplay modes that can be seen to reference locations from past episodes.

## 評價

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds an approval rating of 73% based on 37 reviews. The website summarises that critics found it "well-produced and thought-provoking", but that "holding back its emotional punch" makes it less powerful than similar episodes. Out of five stars, the episode received ratings of five stars from the BBC, four stars in The Independent, two stars in The Telegraph and one star in Vulture. It also attained a graded rating of an A in The A.V. Club. In positive criticism, Stubbs said it was "one of the most sensitive, emotionally affecting" instalments, with Mangan concurring that it was "one of the most tender", and Vorel opined it to be "among the series' most pitch-perfect achievements". Ahr wrote that it had a great "level of literary merit, allowing for all sorts of analysis for those willing to plumb its depths". However, in The Telegraph, Ed Power panned the script as "listless".

Critics identified various parts of the plot to be weak. Power criticised the occurrence of virtual reality "as a plot device" as overused in Black Mirror. While Vorel saw Danny and Karl's reactions to be "profoundly well-earned", and Bojalad saw their sex scenes as "surprisingly raw and powerful", Bramesco did not see a "foundation of desire" leading to the first kiss. Vorel and Robsinson wanted further information about how or why people are using Striking Vipers X as a sex simulator, or why it was designed to have this functionality. Contrastingly, Stubbs opined that the initial in-game scenes were "incredibly funny" and the rest were "brilliant". Turk criticised Roxette's description of sex as "the full orchestra" for women to be "awful" and "corny", and Bramesco and the Digital Spy critics Ali Griffiths and Morgan Jeffery disliked Lance's "don't feel like a gay thing" line. Sims said that the ending was "odd" and "slightly melancholy". Turk thought Danny, Karl and Theo's once-a-year arrangement is a dated solution because it maintains Danny and Theo's "traditional hetero monogamous marriage with two kids and an annual family barbecue", rather than meaningfully integrating any change into it. Similarly, Bramesco thought that the supposedly happy ending works by "gracefully eliding" every day of the year but one.

Comparisons to "San Junipero" based on quality were largely unfavourable, such as that of The Guardians Guy Lodge, who saw "Striking Vipers" as "hollow by comparison". Reynolds thought that the episode's themes were "explored in a more gripping way" in "San Junipero". Similarly, Bramesco reviewed the episode as a "dunderheaded thought experiment" which was like "San Junipero" but where "everything that could have gone wrong ... does so". Sims found it "nervier" and "less swooning" than the other romance episodes, lacking the "rebellious fun" of "San Junipero" but also the "tragic tinge" of "Be Right Back" and "". Similarly, Power critiqued that "San Junipero" and "Hang the DJ" had "something genuinely profound" to say about love, but "Striking Vipers" does not. As such, only the former two episodes "earned" their happy ending. Griffiths and Jeffery criticised that "queerness is always neatly hidden away in virtual worlds" in Black Mirror, both in "San Junipero" and "Striking Vipers". They stated that "Striking Vipers" did not address its themes deeply enough, such as by not showing on-screen the conversation Danny has where he confesses the situation to Theo. However, Montgomery dissented, writing that "Striking Vipers" was similar to "Be Right Back" and "San Junipero" as three of "the finest and most soulful" episodes.

Critics were divided on whether the episode addressed the questions it raises to a sufficient degree. Griffiths and Jeffery said that it "never really gets to the crux of what it means for Danny to be attracted to Karl" as Roxette, and does not show enough of Karl's perspective. Lodge argued that there is a "frustratingly regressive tone" as the episode is "embarrassed and coy about its subject matter". However, Turk said that "enough was shown ... to raise the most interesting theme": that Danny and Karl are attracted to each other only when Karl is a woman. Vorel, Mellor and Robinson commented that the episode was surprisingly mature, with Bojalad summarising that it "presents a stunning example of reckoning with technology and one's own wants and desires in a mature, adult fashion". Montgomery thought it was a good premise for the show as it is "both technologically plausible and richly philosophical". Jon Paul of Syfy Wire found the topic of how black men "struggle with the energy that comes with exploring intimacy" and "suppress themselves" interesting, along with how men behave "relatively distant and neutral". He linked this to toxic masculinity. Lodge criticised that "queer desire is treated ... as a disorienting byproduct of alien technology rather than a matter of the heart" and that the implications of Karl enjoying sexual experiences in a woman's body are "glibly grazed over".

Some reviewers found the characterisation to be lacking. Reynolds wanted to "understand the characters a little more" and Handlen said the episode "never quite gets under the surface" of them. Abad-Santos went further, saying that Danny and Karl seem to "exist just to raise points and get us to the end of a thought-provoking argument, rather than as people in a meaningful story". Bramesco and Power said that, respectively, the pair had "zero demonstrated chemistry", and are not convincing with their "supposed transcendent charge". In contrast, Fiona Sturges of The Independent praised the "nuanced depiction of marriage, parenthood" and their consequent "erosion of spontaneity", and Handlen saw Danny, Karl and Theo as being given "a measure of dignity and compassion they might not have found on other shows".

Critical comments about the acting and directing were positive. Stubbs reviewed the all-black cast as further establishing Black Mirror as "a bastion of diversity ... not as a box-ticking exercise". Handlen and Mellor found the performances "solid" and "strong", respectively, with Mellor praising Danny and Roxie in particular. Handlen wrote that Abdul-Mateen "is terrific as Karl, selling the character's charm and enthusiasm and just absolutely landing the heartbreak". Ahr said that Beharie's acting was "as expressive as they come". Vorel also praised Mackie, Abdul-Mateen and Beharie. Handlen praised Harris's direction, analysing that the shots often position Danny and Karl in "traditional fighting game poses". Mellor and Sims praised the filming style and scenery of the in-game scenes, with the former commenting that Harris "successfully created two totally different textures for each world".

### 劇集排名

"Striking Vipers" ranked as follows on critics' lists of the 23 instalments of Black Mirror, from best to worst:

- 4th – Tim Molloy, TheWrap
- 13th – Aubrey Page, Collider
- 14th – Travis Clark, Business Insider
- 15th – , Entertainment Weekly
- 16th – Morgan Jeffery and Rosie Fletcher, Digital Spy
- 17th – Matt Miller, Esquire
- 21st – Ed Power, The Telegraph
- 23rd – Charles Bramesco, Vulture

IndieWire authors ranked the 22 Black Mirror instalments excluding Bandersnatch by quality, giving "Striking Vipers" a position of 14th. Instead of by quality, Proma Khosla of Mashable ranked the episodes by tone, concluding that "Striking Vipers" was the third-least pessimistic episode of the show.

### 獎項

"Striking Vipers" was nominated for three awards: an , a and a .

Year｜Award｜Category｜Recipients｜Result｜Ref.

2019｜Anne Beauchamp｜提名

2020｜Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing — Episodic Long Form – Effects/Foley｜Steve Browell, Mathias Schuster, Barnaby Smyth｜提名

Annabel Jones, Charlie Brooker and Kate Glover｜提名

## 基本資料

- 系列：黑鏡
- 劇集編號：5
- 劇集編號：1
- 導演：歐文·哈里斯
- 編劇：查理·布魯克
- 首：2019年6月5日
- 長度：61分鐘
- 來賓：安東尼·麥凱 飾 丹尼·帕克（Danny Parker）、葉海亞·阿巴杜-馬汀二世 飾 卡爾·霍頓（Karl Houghton）、妮可·貝哈里 飾 泰奧·帕克（Theo Parker）、龐·克萊門捷夫 飾 羅克賽特（Roxette）、林路迪 飾 蘭斯（Lance）、奧古斯特·穆舍特（August Muschett）飾 泰勒（Tyler）、弗拉·埃文斯-阿金博拉 飾 瑪麗拉（Mariella）
- rprev：《黑鏡：潘達斯奈基》（電影特別篇）、《暗黑博物館》
- 後續條約：《碎片》
- 話數列表：黑鏡集數列表