Black Mirror Predicts Our Futures

Black Mirror, a Netflix original series, is today’s modern Twilight Zone. Black Mirror is a show that examines modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies. The show is known for its dark and mysterious plot lines that typically include a technology that corrupts the human nature.  Black Mirror is very twisted but it shows what our society could go to if we continue to advance and depend on our technology. Mason Aviana, a senior, stated, “Every episode I’ve watched left me feeling emotionally empty. It’s not that the ending is disappointing, it’s just such a shock.”

Black Mirror episode, Nosedive, illustrates how much our society depends on social media to improve our socio-economic standing. In this episode, we see how people are able to “rate” their experiences with another on a scale of one to five stars, which affects one’s overall score. If their score drops below a certain number, it can restrain what the person is able to do. Everyone in this fictional society is obsessed with their ratings, but this episode focuses in on one person, Lacie. Lacie wants to get her score up for she can live in a luxury apartment that only accepts offers from a high score person. Lacie is a fairly popular person with a high rating from her friends and work. However, as the title states, she takes a Nosedive. I won’t give any spoilers but this episode clearly mirrors how our society is easily influenced by social media. There are many social media influencers who do things just for their social standing.

Black Mirror also covers a topic that not many people seem to think about, hacking. Shut Up and Dance, is an episode about a boy who gets hacked by an anonymous group. The receive information about him that could ruin his life. The anonymous group then threatens to release the information if he does not do as told. He is expected to perform a multitude of tasks and goes to dark extents in order to keep his secret. Throughout these tasks, he mets others who are also being threatened. The episode doesn’t tell you exactly why he is willing to go to such drastic measures to protect his secret until the very end. Shut Up and Dance hit some viewers too close to home simply because it could happen in our current world. Hacking is very prominent now, there is identity thief, transaction fraud, and many other forms of hacking. Black Mirror takes it a step further, the hackers now are forcing you to complete tasks in order to keep your secret. We already see people trying to protect their secrets from coming out today, like our politicians, celebrities, and even people we know at school.

This TV show is known for the prominent use of advanced technology in the different plot lines. Yet in, The Waldo Moment, there isn’t that much technology involved. This episode is about a cartoon blue bear who becomes a candidate in local election. Jamie, the bear’s voice, is a failed comedian. He now works for a late-night TV show as Waldo, the blue bear. Waldo looks like a kid friendly cartoon, but they interview power figures in a very vulgar and insulting manner. The TV show’s producer decides to enter Waldo in to the Member of Parliament election to promote the show. Things quickly spiral out of control for the all candidates in the election. This episode reflects on our society more than most realize. Name recognition is a very powerful part in any election, it doesn’t matter if you have the skills needed or not. The people in our society like to have someone who we know in power.

In short, watching Black Mirror is a transformative experience. The events in the show may seem unrealistic, but it foreshadows a future that we may only get closer towards with the further advancement of technology.