Black Mirror: dystopia or premonition?
December 29th was an important date for all “seriephiles” and futurism lovers: Netflix released the 6 episodes of Black Mirror fourth season. For those who don’t know this amazing series, each episode shows a near future in which technology has led us to a dystopia. Although that is the common topic, the episodes are independent from each other but you can find some signs that they occur in the same universe.
Its creator, Charlie Brooker, a British journalist, writer and screenwriter, is known for his acid humor and his critical vision of everything that surrounds us. Many may think that in this series he expresses his most pessimistic vision about technology but he explains:
“In the 18th century, a revolution in thought, known as the Enlightenment, dragged us away from the superstition and brutality of the Middle Ages toward a modern age of science, reason and democracy. It changed everything. If it wasn’t for the Enlightenment, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. You’d be standing in a smock throwing turnips at a witch. Yes, the Enlightenment was one of the most significant developments since the wheel. Which is why we’re trying to bollocks it all up.”
This quote explains his vision and although it may not seem so, in Black Mirror technology is not the villain, is what humans do with it. Technology is only the McGuffin to show the human darkness that emanates from certain situations.
If we list all of the episodes from better to worst according to IMDB ranking, you can see a clear pattern: the most technological episodes have less impact than the ones about human stories and feelings, whether they’re related to love, hate or death.
- White Christmas (s02e04) · 9.2 / 10
- Hang the DJ (s04e04) · 9.1 /10
- Black Museum (s04e06) · 9.0 / 10
- San Junipero (s03e04) · 8.8 / 10
- The Entire History of You (s01e03) · 8.7 / 10
- Hated in the Nation (s03e06) · 8.7 / 10
- Shut up and Dance (s03e03) · 8.5 / 10
- USS Callister (s04e01) · 8.5 / 10
- Fifteen Million Merits (s01e02) · 8.3 / 10
- Nosedive (s03e01) · 8.3 / 10
- Playtest (s03e02) · 8.2 / 10
- Be Right Back (s02e01) · 8.2 / 10
- White Bear (s02e02) · 8.2 / 10
- The National Athem (s01e01) · 8.0 / 10
- Men against fire (s03e05) · 7.8 / 10
- Arkangel (s04e02) · 7.6 / 10
- Crocodile (s04e03) · 7.5 / 10
- The Waldo Moment (s02e03) · 7.0 / 10
- Metalhead (s04e05) · 7.0 / 10
In the list you can see a transition from episodes where the center is human stories and miseries; to episodes where the “machines” stand out: human monitoring tablets, a system that visualize memories, a virtual puppet system or a murderous robotic dog.
This not only confirms the essence of the series but the interest in all of us. It isn’t in the future gadgets but how humanity evolves with the new technologies. Is in the stories around them.
Another key of the Black Mirror success is the familiarity of the stories and technological evolutions. They don’t seem distant in the future. They are very subtle disruptions that unleash human stories and deep reflections, possible destinations like those that Yuval Noah Harari draws in Homo Deus.
Do you share these thoughts? What do you think about Black Mirror? Do you think that we will reach some of these possible futures?
Article in spanish: Black Mirror: ¿distopía o premonición?
#365daysof #futurism #innovation #blackmirror #day4
