“You are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!” Except it’s not The Twilight Zone, it’s Black Mirror and it’s taking over.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard someone mention the hottest new show to binge-watch on Netflix. That’s right, Black Mirror. The show depicts an alternate world where society has advanced years beyond where we are right now. Between the technological and the societal development, the series offers us a glimpse into what may be our own world someday.
It is often compared to the aged television series, The Twilight Zone. First aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone created an alternate dimension where anything was possible. Looking back on that show now, the effects are outdated and the content seems somewhat rational, but back in the day this show featured cutting edge ideas and technology. Each episode was based off a different concept, and it was way ahead of its time. The show always had some sort of societal message, as if to warn us of what would become our own society.
Similarly, Black Mirror shows how our own advances in technology affect the way we go about our daily lives. It shows us a world we thought we wanted. It takes our current society and advances it years and years to a place we didn’t think it could go. Except instead of creating an alternate universe, as in The Twilight Zone, it is based on real places. It honestly serves as a lesson to all of us, on how technological advances affect society, and then in turn affect the technology again. The series shows personal stories, affected by technology in a way we would have never imagine on our own.
Each episode has an unique concept, similar to The Twilight Zone, but it also has a main character whose background is crucial to the plot. Although there may be ancillary characters who are also going through the same thing, you follow the main character through their struggle and either triumph or defeat. The series shows how individuals handle immense stress with the help of, or because of technology. It takes virtual reality, social media, robots, and blackmail to a whole other level that we haven’t seen in film yet.
It's consistently impressive, the way the stories are carried out. Each episode has a plot twist I would not have expected. I am always in suspense, waiting to see what happens next to the character I have come to either love, respect, pity, or hate.
This show forces us to think about how our lives could be if we let the little things we take for granted get out of hand. It makes us ask questions about our own lives and problems. Do we actually like social media because we can share our lives with so many people, or are we looking for approval and confirmation? How does being attached to a screen all day affect our social skills beyond the screen itself? These questions are hard to answer, but that’s kind of the point. The show is trying to tell us something if we just think about it long enough. Everyone should watch this thrilling show because it creates real conversations with others about what our world could potentially become. It scares us from the comfort of our own homes.
