Why Black Mirror Works & When It Doesn't

foreign [Music] if technology is a drug and it does feel like a drug then what precisely are the side effects this was the original question Charlie Brooker posed when introducing Black Mirror back in 2011 but six seasons later it appears the show's writer is less attached to its original premise stating that there was a slight danger that people were bracketing the series as the tech is bad show and I found that a bit frustrating partly because I always felt like well the show isn't saying Tech is bad the show is saying people are effed up and this change in Attitude definitely reflects in the new season which feels like a creative departure from what it used to be change is always going to divide viewers some people will embrace the New Direction and blossoming possibilities and others will feel cheated as if we're cynically smuggling in a new show under a pre-existing IP to maintain viewership as with any Anthology with no consistent characters or storyline Black Mirror has always been a bit hit and miss but when it hit it felt like the most prescient and Powerful show on television and when it missed it was never bad just not on par with the incredibly high standards some episodes had said but now that the show appears to be a little unsure of its identity perhaps we should take a look at what common characteristics made the strongest episodes so Unforgettable and others merely serviceable and then see where season 6's installations fit in when Black Mirror is at its best it's highlighting how technology enables Humanity's worst instincts that has an evolving species were characterized by our insatiable Lust For more more access more information more pleasure more safety chasing a Perfection greater than ourselves but in a way that sacrifices empathy for convenience and fleeting entertainment and it seems that every time we create a product or a service to solve a problem we inadvertently create many more as by trying to iron out the creases in our species capabilities we merely alter how the horror unfolds rather than solving it entirely the technology may change but we still fall victim to the same pitfalls of self-interest narcissism Envy lust and wrath as we always have the strongest episodes reflect the directions Society is already trending which allows us to recognize our current behaviors further down the line like in succession Roger Jesse Armstrong's episode the entire history of you it depicts a world similar to our own with one key change that everything you see is recorded by a device in your eye and you can replay all those memories anytime you want it's a horrifying concept as if this product was available many would find it hard to resist but access to this level of information would make us even less present and instead lead to an obsession over every microscopic detail of our social interactions as well as allowing us to live in the comforting memories of the past more than we already do season two's be right back handles a similar theme of not letting go but reframes it around our impulse to avoid the pain of loss after her boyfriend Ash dies Martha is so grief-stricken that she chooses to opt out of that Reality by using an app that recreates his personality by combining all of his social media responses phone calls and emails but because we can never have enough this goes from text responses to voice calls to a fully fleshed out robot programmed to behave just like him it's completely understandable why this service would exist and why people would use it as some grieving people currently resort to hiring Charlotte and mediums to speak to their loved ones on paper it's a beautiful idea whether it be a breakup or a death no relationship ever has to end and this is what Black Mirror thrives at capturing how technology atomizes the individual as we become addicted to consuming content and living at our own alternative reality as our intuitive instinct to feel in control and comfortable overrides everything else while these episodes point to how we can be our own worst enemies some of the darker yet still strong episodes demonstrate the unique Horrors that technology has introduced to us for example Shut Up and Dance captures how vulnerable we are to hacking and sex extortion that we can be so possessed by the fear and shame of being exposed for our darkest secrets that we're willing to commit more crimes in an attempt to preserve our reputation in the national anthem we see how the public pressure of social media enables our lust for ritualist accumulation that as long as we're not the victim we embrace the power of the mob and are voyeuristically unable to look away from the human car crash that we're helping to create and Metal Head depicts what feels like a soon-to-be reality where instead of our fellow man we could be policed by soulless robots that will hunt us forever without getting distracted or tired try as we might we're just no match for a robot programmed to defeat us now if all of that sounds horribly Bleak and cynical that's because it is but Black Mirror at its best can also occasionally delve into the more positive possibilities of Technology take San Junipero as an example naturally we all fear getting older and dying but what if we could continue to live forever in a simulation where we're still young and vivacious finally getting to be an old soul in a young body given it's only for the very old and deceased it's handing us an idealistic Lifeline at the point where there's nothing left although this concept may only truly appeal to the non-religious it leaves you with a rush of Hope and enthusiasm which is a scarce commodity in Black Mirror Orion hang the DJ broker turns romantic relationships on their head where instead of the trials and tribulations of dating now there's an app that makes all the decisions for you it sets you up with a partner and even tells you how long you'll end up with that person whether it be hours months or years this provides fun social commentary on our desire to export such important decisions to an app but also speaks to the real-life absurdity of relationships and the philosophy of everything happens for a reason where partners are placed with people they want to see more of for just a few hours or forced to waste a full year with someone there not that into until they choose to take their face into their own hands this episode manages to add insights to The Human Experience and rather than reinforcing that technology is the enemy it instead leaves the impression that it can just be a helping hand along the way all of these episodes tap into our core emotional interests either because we identify with the characters and why they fall into these technological traps or because they help to unlock our deepest seemingly impossible desires or because they trigger our darkest fears and we feel as if we're watching a nightmare unfold this makes a notably cold and Sinister series still feel deeply personal as it causes you to reevaluate your current habits and worry about your future but on top of being conceptually interesting they're also well-structured character studies with twists and turns and creative storytelling enabled by the novel technology [Music] but of course not every episode of Black Mirror can be great let's start with the mediocre due to the Bleak nature of the show a lot of episodes are a watch Once situation but can stick with you for long after even though the episode itself isn't that great for instance horror episodes like metal head and white bear are just characters running away from danger the entire time they're compelling in the way any Horror Story is and do contain flashes of brilliant social commentary along the way but experientially they're somewhat tedious as we're not that invested in the characters nor do we really understand what's going on and once we have that answer yes the imagery sticks with you but there's no major instinct to go back and watch it again having re-examined the series I can understand why Charlie Brooker is struggling to write new episodes centered around Tech as sometimes there are elements of the story that are truly captivating but they're still not quite enough substance to Warrant a full episode but because you don't want to overload the audience with too many ideas or inconsistent themes you need to stretch it out for one anyway this makes the piece quite predictable as once you get the message of the episode quite early on like whoa this Tech is really not good you're now just watching it unfold which can sometimes feel like a public safety announcement I heard that you make these things go away addictive for example Archangel is about helicopter parenting as an overbearing mother uses technology to keep her daughter away from all forms of harm there are interesting Concepts at play here but the episode has peaked within the first 10 minutes and never finds a new twister turn to keep us invested or in madagast fire the Army install an implant that makes the enemy look and sounds like infected monsters so that their soldiers have no problem killing them this is a physical manifestation of the impact training and propaganda have in dehumanizing the enemy so it's a strong concept with a straightforward war is bad message but by the end of the First Act you figured the twist out and you're just waiting for the character to catch up with you it would have been better if the twist had come later after a truly compelling story that challenged you to interrogate your feelings afterwards this way the audience could have mixed feelings about the implant rather than it being so cut and dry bad which makes the episode all One Note but some episodes just fail to pull us in by never giving us anyone to identify with for example in crocodile due to the existence of a recall or device that allows you to view people's memories to solve crimes this now means that if you want to get away with something you need to leave no Witnesses so MIA winds up murdering several people just to get away with one lesser crime from her ex-boyfriend to an investigator to the investigator's husband to the investigators toddler a truly dark and harrowing story but not very insightful enjoyable or relatable or in what I would easily declare the worst episode of Black Mirror ever Rachel Jack and Ashley too instead of witnessing technology exacerbate highly relatable personal situation we're served up a bizarre direct-streaming Disney style episode about a teenage girl trying to fit in in school who then gets a robot doll that simulates her favorite pop star's personality but the pop star is actually being exploited and controlled by her manager to the point she's forced into a coma and they end up rescuing her I honestly don't know who this episode was meant to appeal to but it certainly doesn't fit in with any other Black Mirror episodes in tone or even theme it could have focused on how technology enables bullying in school or the pitfalls of parasocial relationships but instead it was an unrealistic kids comedy episode where the only real Stakes are that we want a pop star to be able to perform her own kind of music and in the end they all become friends how precious not relatable nor does it tap into any of our core emotional interests so now that we understand what key elements bring out the best in Black Mirror and what deficiencies reveal its worst let's investigate season six [Music] unexpectedly out of the five new episodes only two of them include any new technology whatsoever the first episode Jon is awful is in a light comedic style imagining what would happen if you turned on the TV and Netflix had a show portraying your private life to the world I found this idea more intriguing than its execution this was the first time black mirror went meta Netflix making a show about how evil Netflix could be but the explanation of the concept was a little too convoluted the idea that they use your phone to spy on you and then CGI recreates it with a celebrity star in real time aside from the fact no one would watch this show as it's frantically uninteresting the character could just stop bringing her phone with her and the problem would be solved on top of that the whole you agreed to these terms and conditions without reading them plot point was already done by South Park in its human Sentai pad episode when you downloaded the last iTunes update a window on your screen popped up and asked you if you agreed to our terms and conditions you clicked agree it was a pretty shallow exploration of the concept of privacy and used more as an opportunity to throw some celebrity names in for the sake of it than to say anything new or meaningful perhaps it was a bit of fun but it doesn't along with the best the second episode Lark Henry was about two film students embarking to make a true crime documentary that they could later sell to Netflix again meta there is some interesting social commentary on exploiting people's most painful histories for glamorous rewards but for what could have been an intense horror episode it lacked tension and suspense by making disappointing story choices along the way for instance a random head-on car crash that leaves two of the characters completely unharmed and then the most haunting Revelation didn't really hit as hard as it could as instead of maximizing the drama by the girlfriend getting killed by the mother and having the son uncover the truth later in a different way she randomly trips over in a river and dies by hitting her head and the mum thinking she's about to be exposed kills herself and leaves the tapes behind an interesting premise but no new technology or real emotional appeal or insight into our current world beyond that it's weird these true crime documentaries end up so glamorized the third episode beyond the sea was incredible at a running time of 1 hour and 20 minutes it felt more like Cinema than TV while admittedly the premise of two men in space that use replicas to spend time with their families on Earth was not necessarily relatable it tapped into Key Human interests to keep us fully engaged for instance aside from the Natural Instincts to protect your family the covet experience where some countries were still open While others were closed made David's grief and isolation feel more identifiable setting the story in 1969 was another fresh Creative Flair opening up new possibilities for the series as broker has now proved it doesn't just have to be set in the harrowing future it can delve into the past and introduce one key piece of technology to change everything while the story appeared to be heading in a predictable direction that with only one replica left David would kill cliff and leave us him on Earth for the rest of his days the episode took a dark vengeful turn instead so for what it lacked in social commentary it truly made up for in cinematic storytelling putting it right up there with some of black mirror's very best foreign the fourth episode Maisie day was a bit of a head scratcher while this appeared to be about the paparazzi's sadistic relationship with celebrity rather than finding an overall point to make or fear to ignite it transformed into a Mindless werewolf horror flick for the final few minutes if one were to say Black Mirror jumped the shark this would be exhibit a this decision summarizes what made season 6 so unusual there was no consistent theme or tone the episodes felt very singular and in some cases incomplete as if we were taste testing different options of what the show could potentially become the fifth episode demon 79 was classified as a red mirror episode as it openly had nothing to do with technology or media while it is very well directed as a classic British black comedy it left behind an intense feeling of confusion what was the point of this episode does it need a point by entertainment standards it technically doesn't but by placing it among the other Black Mirror episodes rather than starting a whole new series that this style fits into it slightly boggles the Mind between werewolves and demons it appears the series is taking on a supernatural component that doesn't quite gel with its original mission statement a normal episode of Black Mirror would often leave me feeling hopeless and empty but with a renewed understanding of human nature and the unsettling risks of Technology but instead I'm watching Earth get obliterated by nuclear weapons in 1979 because a woman couldn't kill three innocent people in three days and just thinking okay then despite its hit and miss nature Black Mirror remains must watch TV for its creative storytelling choices and unique social commentary as almost every episode over the past 12 years except this one has something in there to appreciate however I do personally wish it would choose quality over quantity as there are times that episodes feel somewhat undercooked unnecessary and out of place when put on the same shelf as its most impressive pieces so that's enough for me what did you think of black mirror's latest season is it better than ever in deep decline refreshingly different or more of the same let me know in the comment section [Music] well if you've made it this far firstly thank you for watching but if you could now give the video a like possibly even leave a comment and click on that subscribe button it will encourage that mysterious algorithm to do its thing and if you want to support the channel personally you can check out my patreon

Channel: Just an Observation

Views: 334,386

Keywords: black mirror works, black mirror fail, black mirror decline, what happened to black mirror, black mirror season 6 review, black mirror season 6, charlie brooker, charlie brooker black mirror, black mirror video essay, black mirror analysis, highs lows black mirror, black mirror best, black mirror worst, just an observation, black mirror season 6 bad, aaron paul, black mirror technology, black mirror meaning, werewolf, demon, black mirror getting worse, Black mirror rise fall

Id: ChwsHt_4HJU

Length: 19min 24sec (1164 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 23 2023