We’ve all been through the frustration of being blocked, so White Christmas really resonates with me. I could definately see a future cultural divide on how [strikethrough]artificial[/strikethrough] replicated intelligences would be treated. The episode itself was brilliant and John Hamm’s ending was ironically brilliant.
We’ve all been through the frustration of being blocked, so White Christmas really resonates with me. I could definately see a future cultural divide on how [strikethrough]artificial[/strikethrough] replicated intelligences would be treated. The episode itself was brilliant and John Hamm’s ending was ironically brilliant.
Or even worse, the girl who called 911 (or british/future equivalent) got hanged up on because she didn’t have it, you could see her getting pissed in the background during the attack on Jonas
BTW about the end of “The Entire History of You”, we are supposed to assume the kid isn’t his right?
Yes, that’s right. Which is why I was expecting that what they should have shown us was upstairs: the lifeless, murdered bodies of his wife and baby. I’m still disappointed that they didn’t include this. But maybe it’s just me. You’ve gotta admit, it would have made a better ending.
National Anthem seemed like it was something better suited for a sketch comedy skit. I know I certainly laughed when the kidnapper’s demand was revealed.
It is available on the Audience Channel (ch. 101) on DirecTV. You can’t get it On Demand, but you can set your DVR to record it.
I’ve only watched that episode so far (last night), and it clearly seemed to be in the spirit of black comedy (I myself would characterize it as black comedy) and absurdism. I happen to love that style of storytelling, so I’ll be interested to see if the rest of the episodes share the same vibe.
I don’t think so. I have now seen all of them and that one seemed very different to me.
I ended up watching through the rest of season one (okay, it was only two more episodes) early this morning. The last one was by far my favorite (“The Entire History of You”), followed by the second, followed by the first. I thought the second did have some of the humor as the first (though generally darker, and more subtle), but the third was just psychologically dark and creepy all the way through. If I rewatch it, I might spot some subtle humor, but, on first account, it wasn’t evident.
I did find some creepy irony, though, in coming across Netflix making “Black Mirror” a five-star recommendation, after having watched episode two (particularly the vending machine scene that has a brief recommendation show up on it.)
On crime and punishment:
The three punished criminals we see (White Bear videographer/accomplice, Jon Hamm, the cuckolded-then-blocked boyfriend… While their crimes should not necessarily be given a pass, the punishments did not fit the crimes, imo.
I’m not for child-killing and what happened to Jemima was awful, but was she an active participant? And accomplice? Perhaps another victim a la Hearst? I know we have the felony murder rule here in the US and I don’t know how it’d done in the UK, much less future dystopian UK, but one could possibly argue she wasn’t part of a felony murder? I’m not saying give her a ticket and probation, but there are degrees of murder that can be charged. And even if she were the mastermind, is it really justice to have her go through that all the time? What’s the point if she can’t remember it? It’s just spectacle.
The guy in the Xmas episode… that could be manslaughter or diminished capacity. He did not go to the house with the intention of murdering anyone and in his shock was clearly out of his mind. Again, not saying he should be let off entirely, but torturing his cookie for a million years of solitude? What happened to the little girl was terrible, but it was a terrible accident caused by his negligence, not close to what happened to Jemima.
As for Jon Hamm, it’s creepy and gross, but again the punishment was so out of line with the crime. How does he eat and live and work? Jail would be better. He didn’t kill either of those people. He was “just” a peeper.
This show just really got under my skin and it’s really making me think, not just about my spoilered stuff. Would my life be better if I had some of that tech? Or is that the fallacy we all think, that something would make our lives better but yet instead would make it far worse?
Here is Charlie Brooker’s Yearly Wipe for 2014.
Pretty good sampling of what Brooker is like if you want to see the guy behind Black Mirror.
Just finished the first season, watching with my teenage son.
Really enjoying it - shades of Twilight Zone, Kafka, Kenzaburo Oe - the sci-fi twists do their job pointing out human frailty. Good show.
Yep, totally Twilight Zone. Having not seen S1 for two years or so it was interesting to review.
E1 looks to be a critique of 24-hour rolling news-entertainment. Does a really good job on whipped up mob hysteria - not so much in the public but more in political bubbles. Also brilliant at depicting how the interconnected media can allow one mentally unstable person to sieze the attention of half the world - for a few hours before it moves on to the next entertainment. The underlying voyeurism at the heart of 24-hour news-entertainment is laid out pretty starkly.
E2 seems to basically be an angry attack on Simon Cowell and the appalling bullshit he peddles. Loved how audiences were depicted.
S3 next …
E2: I would disagree, and will now look around a bit and see. But before looking, I would say E2 is a commentary on Humans - we fit inside a stupid box with stupid rules of our own design, keeping score. And when we Reach for More, when we Try to Break Free, it is to end up in…a somewhat bigger box. The fact that the Game explicitly punctuates this with the vapid comments of a pompous critic and a hoi polloi audience drives the point home.
ETA: …oh, and by the way, it’s all part of a totalitarian dystopia where humans are controlled en masse by this frailty of Staying in our Boxes in order to Power the Machine.
All Kafka and shit. 
Random thought; He looks ridiculously like the American actor Laurence Fishburne.
I’m going to smile a lot more than usual the next time I watch the Matrix.
Not IMO, it isn’t. Brooker isn’t a classic European novelist, he’s a social commentator/satirist - he picks targets and carpet bombs them in 45-60 minutes. He’s more likely to satirise “totalitarian dystopia”.
No point in getting too distracted by the metaphor for the mind-numbing mundanity of life in office cubes - it served a narrative purpose but wasn’t at all the point.
The point was Saturday night tv, Simon Cowell and his appalling culture of Roman thumbs up or down - and all the implicit implications on opportunity, dignity, humiliation, etc
Fascinating. Cool - couldn’t disagree more, but that’s what makes stuff like this interesting.
I will look around and see what has been discussed - not that it ultimately matters at all; we each take away what we will.
Again - fascinating. I have read a few reviews - lots of ways to come at the episode!
One of the more interesting speaks to both of our takes, and adds a spin as well:
(I am assuming this should be in spoilers??)
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/12/12/review-of-black-mirror-–-‘15-million-merits’/
This speaks to both of our takes - it is a scathing critique of Idol-type shows, but also a commentary on the human condition - we want to change the world but sell ourselves out:
Here’s the twist that reinforces your POV:
See, I didn’t read it at all as simply a straight-up send up of Idol-type shows. To me, that was just part of the overall critique of mindless entertainment, consumerism, the advertising industry, computer-based marketing, artistic/personal integrity when confronted with economic and social advancement, etc. For me, I felt like he was spending more time on critiquing consumerism and how the advertising industry just shovels shit at us the whole time. The Simpn Cowell bits weren’t even the most important to me, and when describing the episode quickly to my brother, I didn’t even mention it,
I guess it’s a bit of Rorschach I guess.