Hello dear readers and co-watchers, I have a brand new show for you to watch this week and seeing as I myself only watched it this break, my enthusiasm is Fresh and New.
The show is called Black Mirror and it is a little bit different than the stuff I normally watch because it’s an anthology show, meaning that the episodes are only connected by a common theme and don’t tell a cohesive story. The name Black Mirror refers to the moment your computer screen shuts down and that slightly creepy feeling you get when suddenly see yourself reflected back to you.
This is consistent with the main theme of the TV show: technology influencing our lives in a creepy way. Every episode presents a different reality, either very near or a little bit further into the future, but they all focus on a very real possible consequence of our technological progress. Because these are so real, some episodes leave you feeling quite scared, anxious or skeptical about all the advances and new technologies presented to us today. For example, there is one episode that shows a possible future where everyone is obsessed with his or her online social image, while another takes virtual reality gaming a bit too far.
All episodes of Black Mirror are a bit dark, but are terribly well directed, with many well-known actors popping up, such as Rory Kinnear, Bryce Dallas Howard, Domhnall Gleeson and Rupert Everett. The show is mostly based in England, as it started as a British show back in 2011, but the third season was recently released as a Netflix original and is a bit more international. You can therefore also watch the entire show on Netflix.
So what’s stopping you?? Let’s get skeptical about our entire modern world!!
Maaike Oosterling, Class of 2016, is a Cognitive Science and Psychology major from Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands.
