TV: Black Mirror
22:41
I was never one for watching the TV, but since the TV became accessible through the internet I have developed an unhealthy addiction. I have watched countless programmes, some awful and some brilliant but none have ever stuck with me the way Black Mirror does. It is so hard to attach a genre to it but it does have underlying tones of horror, shocking its audience with its intelligence every single episode.
I began watching it on Channel 4, done through recommendation by my brother as he told me mad plot points that sounded too explicit and simply too mad for television. He was certainly correct and I became hooked from that first satirical, dark and twisted episode- for all those who watched it I'm sure you've never looked at the Prime Minister nor a pig the same. The writers were not shy and went further than anyone ever had to portray interesting messages to the audience.
Do we have any power over our lives? Why do we obey? How will technology effect us?
Since Netflix's takeover, the only change has seen the show become even more high resolution, more Americanised and higher budgeted. It sees a few well known names join the cast as they continue to play out complex and thought provoking episodes. This recent series has received huge media attention for attacking such big problems such as parents policing their children through technology and what happens when technology advances, will it get so far that one coder could be in complete control of lives? It is the topics that makes the show what it is, everyone can relate to a story in one way or another or has questioned a similar topic that the show tackles.
The Guardian's article by Zoe Williams
A particular episode that effected me was series 3, episode 1. It looked at how a persons worth is judged through social media and how we have all been affected by this, even those who attempt to keep themselves distanced from the apps. As someone who uses social media regularly, it made me really have to think about how I let this effect my self worth and how I let it make me doubt who I am. The characters livelihood depended on getting 'likes' by her peers in the same way a teenagers does.
" Not too long ago, technology was saddled with the baggage of utopia: a tool meant to guide us into a new age full of promise. Shows like Star Trek boldly took us to a time when our ills were assuaged by technology, not enabled by it. In that sense, Black Mirror is truly a grim fairy tale for our time, where our sneaking suspicion that machines don't entirely have our back has become real. "-A Vice Article by Rod Bastanmehr
If you have never watched the show I hope this has helped to convince you to try it.
If you have watched it, what do you think?
0 comments
Thank you so much