Since its premiere in 2011, Black Mirror has quickly become one of the most popular TV shows worldwide and made its way to the top streaming series on Netflix. It is a type of speculative fiction that gives a sneak peek into a near-future dystopia. The show is a commentary on society and the control of technology in the modern world, with each episode showing how a new technology or device manipulates and sways the protagonists.
Social rating systems
Giving online ratings to brands and businesses is a common practice. In fact, ratings play a crucial role in determining whether a potential customer is interested in using the products and services offered by companies. Sometimes, social media users also post comments on the businesses’ pages to talk about their good and bad experiences with customer service or even those who run the business. These comments have a direct effect on the popularity of the brand.
Black Mirror takes this to the next dystopian level in the episode “Nosedive” in season 3. In this episode, people receive direct ratings on a scale from one to five from others based on their in-person and online interactions. This technology works by using mobile devices and eye implants, somewhat similar to a social credit system.
The main protagonist, Lacie, starts with a good enough rating of 4.2 and hopes to get 4.5 to boost her social and economic status and snag a discount on a luxury apartment. She plans to achieve this by attending a fancy wedding where she can interact with her old schoolmates. She also hopes to get high ratings from the guests. However, Lacie encounters a series of unfortunate events that drastically lower her ratings, so much so that her wedding invitation is canceled. Frustrated, Lacie crashes the wedding, bringing her ratings to zero, finding herself in a sticky situation, and living on the wrong side of the law.
Two days before the series’ release on Netflix, Charlton Brooker, the writer, insinuated that the episode was “a pastel, playful satire about modern insecurity.” The episode reportedly made a lot of viewers go on a social media detox, even if it was for a short while.
Drone insects
The final episode of the third season, “Hated in the Nation,” follows two detectives as they get to the bottom of countless deaths of social media users at the hands of autonomous drone insects (ADIs). The main job of these tiny drones is to pollinate flowers; however, they are hacked into, and instead of doing the critical work to sustain the environment, they are made to do nefarious activities. These activities are determined by users of social media who are asked to use hashtags to make ADIs do what they want.
Augmented reality implants
Games based on augmented reality are already popular. Now imagine this. What if these games’ devices, usually external, are implanted into the players? This is what the episode “Playtest” shows in season 3 but with a dark twist typical of the entire series. An augmented reality technology known as “Mushroom” is implanted into the back of a player’s neck and programmed to get inside their brain to figure out their fears. It does this by altering the person’s perception and simulating reality.
Virtual dating simulator
A lot of users vacillate between the pros and cons of signing up on dating apps. A big reason for the uncertainty is that the algorithms running these apps frequently lead to disillusionment. And there are problems like scammers, identity theft, and unrealistic expectations and pressures related to dating. Yet, these apps seem quite tame compared to what Black Mirror depicted in the episode “Hang the DJ” in season 4. The plot revolves around a virtual dating simulator known as the Coach that does what today’s dating apps do: connect compatible partners. But it runs on artificial intelligence and other advanced systems. In the episode, it is developed to determine whether a partner fits the user and how long both should date.
The two protagonists, Amy and Frank, are among several participants in the dating system and are coached to date several people for a predetermined period. Once they match, they realize that their relationship’s expiration period is shorter than expected. As the system continues to match them with other people, both find themselves looking back on their time together. Finally, they decide to fight against the Coach system and run away. The episode perfectly touches upon the many limits of dating apps whilst also encapsulating the desperation of allowing algorithms to find a partner.
Unskippable ads
Having to watch ads is annoying as it is. But there has always been a way out with the “Skip Ad” button that hovers somewhere over the ad. But imagine a scenario where one has to sit through numerous ads that cannot be skipped. This is precisely what the first season’s episode “Fifteen Million Merits” depicts. The episode follows young adults who spend their days on exercise bikes to earn merits, which they can use to dress up their virtual avatars or skip through the constant barrage of commercials. And what else do they get from this? A chance to compete on a reality TV talent show for a better life.
Parental controls
Parental controls are necessary to make sure children’s screen time content is safe enough for them to watch. Directed by Jodie Foster, it shows what happens when a single mother, Marie Sambrell, goes to extreme lengths to keep her kid, Sara, safe and under control using an implanted system called Arkangel. The system makes Marie obsessive to the point where she needs to know what Sara is thinking and doing at all times. The constant supervision causes a rift between them. Aired in season 4, “Arkangel” was one of the show’s most popular episodes.