Black Mirror | Eastern NC Now

    
A dark satire of the future

    Black Mirror is a dark speculative fiction satire created by English Broadcaster Charlie Brooker. Each episode takes viewers into bizarre new worlds demonstrating problems that could arise in the future of our society. Though the show's plots are quite extreme, it never fails to provide a surreal, sometimes terrifying, nature that draws you in. The nature of Black Mirror often feels reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, with its method of raising moral questions on various overlooked issues. Though only seven episodes of the dark satire have aired, and twelve more to be released in 2016, Black Mirror is still a show worth watching at least once.

    The main questions Black Mirror raises are "how do we handle technological progress?" and "when do we draw the line?" Brooker creates stories that demonstrate the consequences of various actions, creating a somewhat controversial or outright disturbing image. Each episode takes on a number of problems Brooker has with society, demonstrating why he sees it as a problem.

    The first episode, "The National Anthem," depicts a world where an unidentified terrorist group kidnaps a princess, and makes an absurdly disgusting demand for the Prime Minster of England. This episode was my least favorite of the series, however it is quite funny due to the show unintentionally predicting a scandal involving UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

    The third episode, "The Entire History of You," tells the story of a world where almost everyone has a camera in their eye, recording everything they do. Most people are content with this, providing a greater amount of security; while also promoting people to basically live in the past watching "re-dos" of past events. Just seeing how much the characters obsess over the past and abuse the technology is depressing.

Black Mirror Season 2 Episode 2: White Bear

    Season 2 episode 2, "White Bear," is about a woman who wakes up in an unfamiliar town filled with patrons taking pictures of her while gangs of masked people chase after her. She is working to figure out what is happening, and how she got there. This episode is my second favorite so far due to its eerie atmosphere, and peculiar conclusion.

    Christmas specials are typically garbage episodes for TV Series, Black Mirror was an exception to this general rule. "Black Mirror: White Christmas" takes viewers on multiple unique journeys which explore various social issues surrounding technology. All around a beautiful engaging episode that was absolutely brilliant.

    Black Mirror is an extraordinary display of creativity in the dystopian genre taking the audience on eccentric journeys through strange alternate realities. I highly recommend this series if you enjoyed The Twilight Zone (especially if you liked the 2002 revival) or if you have a general interest in science fiction. All seven episodes are available on Netflix, and the next twelve episodes will release directly to Netflix.

Black Mirror Season 1 Episode 3: The Entire History of Us