Welcome to Culture Crash, where we examine American culture – what’s new and old in entertainment…
It’s no secret that technology consumes our lives. we sit on computers at work, we use our phones and social media feeds to fill time on our commutes, and we are constantly finding new apps to solve problems.
At times, it’s all great and super convenient…but there is a down side. Maybe we spend less time with our families having face-to-face conversations, and maybe it can get a whole lot worse from there.
That’s a simplified version of what the show Black Mirror is all about-so yeah, it’s pretty heavy. Black Mirror is an anthology show, every episode tells a unique story with a different cast, about the future of technology.
In one episode, people have DVR-like devices in their brains allowing them to re-live events from their own past. In another, an augmented reality video game can adapt to put characters in a horror situation that exactly replicates their worst fears.
It’s sort of like the Twilight Zone for the digital age. What would happen if user scores that are impacted by others perception of us develop some kind of caste system? Or what if you could block people, like you can on twitter, in real life?
The show began in Britain, where it aired its first two seasons and a Christmas special on Channel 4. In 2016, the show was continued on Netflix, which distributed 6 new episodes. Now, the show returns with six more installments of all that can go wrong with the devices we put in our pockets and on our walls-the televisions, phone screens, and other black mirrors we can’t stop looking at.
Black Mirror is a fascinating look at technology that may very well exist someday and a wonderful reminder that sometimes, less is more when it comes to the advancing technology of the times.
The first 13 installments of Black Mirror are now streaming on Netflix. Season four debuts with six new episodes on Friday.
I’m Evan Rook.
Leave a Reply