Two weeks ago, it was the last day of school (and for me, the last day ever… thank God) and I was sitting in class bored out of my ever-loving mind. To pass the time and not listen to whatever engineering bullshit was being spewed my way, I logged onto Twitter for some mindless scrolling. And boy did my feed DELIVER. Besides the occasional meme popping up on my timeline, I had people from every corner of the internet weighing in on the Aaron Rodgers trade, I had media outlets heralding The National's new album First Two Pages of Frankenstein as some of their best work to date, and I had Netflix announcing the 6th season of one of my favorite shows: Black Mirror.
If my productivity allowed it, I'd probably write an article about all three of those events (maybe I'll still try?), but for now, I'm setttling for a deep dive into Black Mirror. Season 6 arrives on Netflix this June promising, “stories still Black Mirror through-and-through — but with some crazy swings and more variety than ever before,” according to creator, writer, and executive producer Charlie Brooker. After reading the article containing the previous quote and moving past my initial excitement, I realized Brooker never actually addresses what it means to be “Black Mirror through-and-through”. Odd, because whatever it does mean is exactly why I'm a fan. So, here's my attempt at pinpointing what makes Black Mirror so fun to watch.
Black Mirror is property of Netflix. Check out the Black Mirror Season 6 trailer here.
Reason #1: Black Mirror Is Unsettling
Black Mirror is what I would consider a near-future dystopian series that takes the world we live in, extrapolates it, and runs with that extrapolation to prophesize what society will look like 10/20/50 years from now. The most realized example of this concept is S3E1, “Nosedive”. This episode, released in 2016, examines the idea of social status in a society driven by social media. Without giving away any spoilers, the takeaway from the episode is this: social media is a zero sum game, either you sacrifice your authenticity for status, or stay true to yourself at the cost of being exiled from society. And though it hasn't quite gone to this extreme in 2023, the episode proves more relevant now than ever before with the rise of social media and influencer culture post-pandemic. Businesses and people alike value followers over the person that has those followers. I've heard accounts of smaller influencers going to “exclusive” parties only to be told they don't have enough followers to talk to the hotshots in the room. I've been called “a potential serial killer” because I don't post on my Instagram and I've felt disconnected from the world at large for not having much of an online presence. The plotline of “Nosedive” is coming to fruition right before our eyes, and we have no other option but to watch it play out in real time. That's what makes Black Mirror so eerie, it's in the realm of possibility, and sometimes that possibility is already set in motion to become reality.
Reason #2: Black Mirror Is Multi-dimensional
As an anthology series, the show is able to delve into a variety of of-the-moment topics without being bound to an overarching story or a set number of predefined characters. For example, there's an episode called “White Bear” that explores cancel culture as a justice system and another episode called “Metal Head,” set in a different time, with different characters, that depicts a world where robo-dogs turn on the human race (don't google Boston Dynamics). Though super different content-wise, both episodes are similar in the vein of being relevant to the kinds of conversations we're having over family dinner. If it's a hot-button topic (like cancel culture or robotics), it's likely an idea being flushed out in the Black Mirror writers' room. Nothing is off limits, and, apparently even more so this upcoming season.
Reason #3: Black Mirror Is Bold
Black Mirror is superbly creative. There's an episode that imagines dating apps having the functionality to determine a compatibility score for a couple based on how each person's avatar interacts with the other in the metaverse (see "Hang The DJ"). And beyond its originality, the show is also truly innovative. The franchise developed a spin-off film called Black Mirror: Bandersnatch that puts the audience in the driver's seat, allowing viewers to make decisions for characters and ultimately experience the story they want to watch. This kind of choose-your-own-adventure content paved the way for further outside-of-the-box thinking in the realm of television, most recently evidenced by the series Kaleidoscope, which allows viewers to watch the show in different episode arrangements.
Black Mirror's ability to reflect the current-state of society, keep an audience on its toes with fresh ideas, and present those ideas in an authentically unique way has me stoked for Season 6 and scared for what it might speak into existence.
Refusing to look at my reflection in a phone screen,
The Monochrome Man