Every Netflix fan can relate to the tedious feeling of trudging through perpetual television shows, searching tirelessly for the next source of their weekend binges. Occasionally, these explorations bring us to categories we never imagined ourselves considering, which is where I first encountered Black Mirror, a British television series.
A peculiar show with a total of two series and six episodes, Black Mirror works in a similar manner to The Twilight Zone, featuring one unique story per segment. What makes this show incredibly unique, however, is not its divided stories, but rather their universal theme of technology gone awry.
Black Mirror poetically investigates the dark side of man, creating fictional dystopias in which loved ones are reincarnated as droids, lives are recorded in memory implants, and CGI figures spark the rise of dictatorships.
Each episode, though occasionally drudging mid-story, does not cease to captivate the minds of its viewers, creating an uncomfortable, yet undeniable allurement. The chilling plots satirically mock the overwhelming powers of technology, drawing a parallel to the placement of such gadgets in modern society, and giving the series a disturbing connection to the real world.
Beneath the more obvious theme of the ramifications of technology, Black Mirror portrays the abundant power that technology holds over man, and its capability to carry humanity’s emotions through a maze of ignorant highs, pitiful lows, and shameful dead-ends.
Although the backdrop of the series is set on the other side of the globe, the power of each story is not diluted for its viewers in the United States, or rather those of any country encompassed by the capabilities of technology.
For those currently enduring the struggle of finding a worthy television show, search no further. Black Mirror provides substantial stories containing immensely powerful messages, perfectly suited for those who find themselves drifting out of the stable present, and gradually into a treacherous, high-tech future.
