The Illusion of Choice in Bandersnatch
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch focuses on the 1984 video game industry and Stefan Butler, who is trying to be published by his favorite game studio. He has adapted the work of Jerome F. Davies’ Bandersnatch, he has developed a demo as a choose your own adventure game. Much like the medium of the Netflix video we are watching, it’s a choose your own experience on it’s own. The viewer has ten seconds to choose between two choices and they can be as small as what cereal to eat or as large as how to dispose of a body.
BTW
*Spoilers Ahead*
With the multiple paths it’s difficult to accurately summarize the experience. After offered a deal with the company to produce his game, Stefan decides to produce the game without support from a team and on his own schedule. After months of working on it, Stefan falls into a mental block, he is stuck and angry, possibly violent. Stefan needs guidance, and the audience can choose between seeking therapy or the developer genius, Colin Ritman. If therapy is chosen, then the path goes to medication. Stefan also starts to notice he is not in control of his actions.
This is the beginning of one of the crucial points in Bandersnatch. Stefan becomes aware of us pulling the strings. As you reach fail states throughout the game you have the option to go back and try it differently. Stefan recognizes that he’s done this before and so does Colin. Colin is an alternate playable character, who has also become aware of his own existence in this video game. Perhaps he is in his own game where someone else entirely is pulling his strings, maybe it’s a statement for online multiplayer.
If the player decides to follow Colin instead of going to therapy with Dr. Haynes, Colin will try and fix him out of the slump he’s in with mind altering drugs and conspiracy theories.
Colin believes that the government, introducing subplots to the player of government conspiracy, time travel, and the idea that this is all a video game. Colin then explains that death doesn’t matter and lets you choose between killing him or killing yourself. And it doesn’t matter. We are back to the main story loop.
Stefan has been noticing the influence of the player and starts fighting the instructions sent to him. Even though he becomes aware of the audience’s influence he is still powerless to it. In one ending of Bandersnatch, Stefan kills his father and cuts him up, falling into madness. He creates a masterclass version of the game which critically and commercially a hit. Gaining a perfect score. Stefan later reveals to Dr. Haynes that he solved the complexity of the multiple paths by making them all fall back to where he wants them. The player makes choices, but Stefan writes the ending. This is identical to the situation the player is put in. You can branch out into any direction you want, but ultimately you will be drawn back onto the path the writers want you on.
Choose your own adventure games have a tendency to do steer the player/reader. Bandersnatch is no different. Naturally we become attached to Stefan as we make decisions for him. We think of him as an extension of ourselves. While talking to friends about the paths I went down I referred to myself as Stefan. When Stefan recognizes me as a seperates body than him, I find this shocking. How am I to react to fictional body appearing to be fighting, and communicating with me. Forcing Stefan to do horrible things like cut up his dead father and smear the walls with his blood are not where I would naturally choose to go, but is where I ended up. Because although Stefan is fighting against me on my choices, I, myself only have two choices in front of me at any given time.
A extensive flowchart of all paths of Bandersnatch was posted on reddit by user EngineeringMySadness, detailing all available paths. https://www.reddit.com/r/blackmirror/comments/aajk5r/full_bandersnatch_flowchart_all_branches_story/
Looking closely at the flowchart you can see that the fail states will ultimately send the player back to the path. The creators always steering us back so we can get to the handful of endings they want us to see.
Speaking frankly, if the events of Bandersnatch were a true choose your own adventure experience where free will was implemented, there would be infinite decisions. I wouldn’t have to choose between which way to destroy my computer and instead I could choose just to walk away. But with just two choices you are brought down constructed pathways. Ultimately the idea of choice is crushed by the mechanic of going back and changing choices. Just like in a choose your own adventure book, you can go back to crucial moments and make corrections to change your course. This changes the intention of the game from doing what’s best for Stefan to trying to see all the endings their are in store. My initial goal was to get the best rating possible on the game review, which is possible, but only by decapitating Stefan’s father and painting the house with his blood.
Life is very much like Bandersnatch, we have the illusion of choice but the biggest difference is that there is not a higher power pulling the strings. I highly recommend this Netflix original to those interested in having their relaties questioned and an all around entertaining experience.
