**SPOILERS AHEAD**
"Black Mirror" is one of my favorite shows. Each episode is like its own little movie with a unique plot of futuristic possibilities. However, happy endings are essentially non-existent in this show. Most of the protagonists are these technological geniuses that create inventions involving stuff like virtual reality, social media, torture, video games; the list goes on and on. I think it's about time we start regulating technology before it gets completely out of control. All it takes is one super-genius and they could essentially control the world or kill everyone in it.
The first episode I want to mention is titled "Hated in the Nation." The episode starts by following the murder of a journalist who scorns a disabled person's recent self-immolation. Prior to her death, we see all the threats she receives from the public, whether it's online or just people slandering her in the streets. One important detail is while she's scrolling through social media, the most trending hashtag is "#DeathtoJoPowers" (the journalist's name). Throughout the rest of the episode, we see every famous celebrity who is scolded on social media, specifically with that hashtag next to their name, inevitably die. The detectives find out that every person who's the top trend with that hashtag dies. How does this connect to technology? Well, in this futuristic society, they have mechanical bees that are owned by the government that can pollinate plants and what not and is safe for the environment. However, some hacker was able to program these bees to attack certain faces and kill them. If anything like this ever happened in our world, we'd be completely screwed. We really need to watch out for this kind of stuff.
Another episode I want to touch on is called "USS Callister." The protagonist is this kind of dorky guy, who isn't really respected by anyone. So, in this time period, people can essentially live different lives in virtual reality and this protagonist can bring the consciousness of anyone into his virtual reality just by getting any sample of their DNA. He essentially goes on to trap all of his co-workers (who belittle him) into this spaceship virtual reality where escape is impossible. The consciousness of his co-workers is imprisoned in this virtual reality while their bodies are acting as normal in actual reality. This concept also terrifies me because it draws the question of whether life as we know it is actually life. What if everything is being controlled by someone just outside of your realm? It's a crazy concept to ponder on.
"Black Mirror" is a very eye-opening show. Every episode has its own messed up society that is corrupted by technology, and honestly, I'd recommend this show to everyone. If you watch it at night, you'll be laying in bed questioning life for the rest of the night. However, many of the scenarios this show displays seem very realistic and it really does foreshadow what kind of crooked world we could live in in the future.
