BLACK MIRROR: When the future knocks on our door

Black Mirror is not a typical series. It’s an anthology series, meaning the episodes don’t take place in the same location, track the same characters or follow the same plot. What “sews” everything together is the concept, the way the series explores our fears, desires, hopes and emotions. Most anthology series are terror, science-fiction or thriller related, like iconic The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. The idea is to focus on how we react to different situations, how we think and what is the limit of our humanity. What is real? What is not? How do our minds know that here and now is the only reality to be known and that it is SAFE? The modern anthologies, such as American Horror Story and American Crime Story are different from Black Mirror in that they present independent seasons, not episodes, and they focus on dissecting American society, its decadence, morals and psyche. Black Mirror is a British creation, offering us (middle to high-class, young to middle-aged western media consumers) a completely different, yet familiar and relatable worldview.

The underlying theme of these seemingly dystopian, sci-fi stories is human connection underlying the foundation of an organized, pluralistic, functioning society. This connection might be what ultimately differentiates us from machines. And the question raised with each episode is: are we even still human? Is it what the future holds? Are we still alive?

The series explores how advances in technology (retinal devices recording the entirety of our lives, robot killer-bees which were our only hope of survival, tv shows replacing our justice system, social networks and applications dictating a toxic appearance-based way of life…) surreptitiously modify our social fabric, our ethics, our identities and our perception of reality. It seems to be a science-fiction narrative, anticipating the near-future, however it actually tells us more about our present world, the directions we’re taking, the objectives we’ve set, and the disconnection we’ve felt. It was all the more evident when the feature for season 3 got out, with actor Michael Kelly, from House of Cards: “Welcome to a future where our true reflection is only revealed once the screen goes… dark.”

Our society seems decadent, rotten from power, luxuries, broken from seeking attention, escape and connection. Each episode is carefully constructed to display the comfort, innovation, modernity and apparent evolution that the advances in technology represent for our daily lives and a smoothly running society. Everything looks simple, clear and PERFECT. And possible. Even probable. That’s when something, some kind of almost imperceptible glitch happen, and a slight anxiety seeps into our viewer’s mind. We can barely fathom what the consequences could be, where the story could go, and even though we resist being taken there, we can’t help but being hypnotized by the unraveling of the disastrous aftermaths.

The series is already the subject of multiple academic essays, material of countless ethics, media, arts, and language classes. It encapsulates the whole question of who we are and who we want to be. As long as we spend time reflecting on it, I guess we’ll be fine, the future is ours and it happens now.

Thanks for reading, it’s been a pleasure.

Unknown

“Got our attention, as requested. What do you want to say?”- Judge Hope

Season 1, Episode 2 “Fifteen Million Merits”