A lot of people say, if you only watch one British television series, then it must be "Black Mirror," to this, I can’t agree more.
The concept of the future world + black technology is the tone of the Black Mirror.
Producer Charlie Brooker said: "Every episode of the Black Mirror is a separate story, with different actors, different story backgrounds, and even different real societies, but all around our lives today--if we're stupid, that's our future."
Is "Black Mirror" really our future?
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The vast majority of people “addicted” to Black Mirror I believe is begin from the first episode of the first season, "The National Anthem." The beloved princess was kidnapped, the kidnapper uploads a video asking the prime minister to have sex with a pig, and live stream on tv otherwise will kill the princess.
After a few minutes the kidnapping video released, it becomes most searched on social networks, and the public's attitude to the occasional vicious event is almost fanatical.
This excessive attention to the entire event on the Internet tends to transparent, any keyboard warrior with a tweet can cause deterioration.
The Prime minister tried to use an actor to complete the kidnapper's request but got discovered by the kidnapper thanks to netizen. The kidnapper then sends a severed finger, ostensibly the princess, to a UK news station as a response.
After the finger appeared, the public said the prime minister should put the princess's personal safety in first place.
The comments from the public on the Internet become stress; online polls show 86% of public think that the Prime Minister should meet the demands of the kidnapper. The kidnapper's perverted request became the Prime Minister's inevitable choice.
In the end, the Prime Minister had to make love to the pig and live stream to the world. But before the sex act began, the princess had been released.
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Cyber-violence has become deadly and powerful violence. With the development of science and technology, the internet has been an indispensable presence, the keyboard warrior hiding behind the screen can control others "life and death."
As a science fiction series, Black Mirror's focus is not the on our future but focus on human beings in the present and problems that may appear in the near future.
But still the same question: Is "Black Mirror" really will be our future?
At the beginning of the third season, the writer turned his sights to social networks again.
This time he will demonize “like/upvote ” to the audience.
I believe everyone is familiar with such a scene, where we only look at our mobile phone.
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In the future society, identity is no longer dependent on money and rights but based on how human rate each other through phone.
One star to five-star, such a scoring system to control everyone life, you will get good rating because of your elegant words, good-looking photo, and also because of casual dirty words, you will get a low rating by the people around.
The rating determines the status and treatment of the individual.
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For example, if you are buying a house, you need to get 4.5 and above to enjoy 20% discounts.
When you are catching a plane, without 4.2 and above, you do not have the qualifications to buy the ticket on the spot.
Rating is everything, in order to survive, in order to have a better quality life, everyone is trying hard to rate.
Even if the food is terrible, you also need to act like it’s tasty and share it online, let everyone see petty bourgeoisie emotional side.
Everyone's good rating immediately make her happy, thinking: "Damn, this is not a bad afternoon tea! I will come here often in the future."
And when meet strangers in the elevator, not only need to face them with a smile but also need to flatter each other, worry about saying the wrong word, others will give a bad rating.
You're always rating people around you, and you're always going to be rated. When you accidentally bump into a distinguished passer-by, it’s useless to say sorry.
When your rating falls from 4.2 to 2.6, you are not who you were yesterday.
Things of a kind come together. You, a 2.6 rating can’t make friends with a 4.8 rating.
How far is our real world from the Black Mirror?
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Now we are passionate about social networking, sharing photos to social networks, passion for like, and enjoy being liked.
The rating also surrounds the daily necessities of life. We thought that we have control of the tools in our hands, but are we not influence by the tool?
The producer of the Black Mirror may have said it, we are stupid.
When we connect to the WiFi but no internet connection, the fear and anxiety that comes from not having internet, we feel abandoned by the world.
"Black Mirror" is never an introspection series, but it looks through the evil of human nature.
Why does it call the Black Mirror? What is a black mirror?
When the phone, TV, computer screen is black, what you see is --- Our own reflection!
I already gave a simple introduction to the two episodes, no more spoilers. If you like this type of show, be sure to check out Black Mirror.