Why Black Mirror Had to Change

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Black Mirror returned this year for a 6th season, and it's hard to overstate how different the show feels. It's more focused on the past than the future, and has stripped out most of it's most dystopian technology. But, while this feels like a radical departure, it isn't. Black Mirror has never been just about technology or the future, but instead about media.
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Thanks to ‪@JessieGender1‬ for her amazing insights on Star Trek and Black Mirror!
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[@davidgardner6677]

😊😊

[@davidgardner6677]

😊😊

[@2nd3rd1st]

How ironic that after all this talk about dystopian society and habits, this video's sponsor is a lifestyle drug. Instead of promoting healthy living like Black Mirror ultimately does, you promote more unhealthy indulgence...

[@fortgrove3166]

And also, it’s weird that the term colored people was frowned upon and then stopped with negro but yet; people of color is now acceptable lol. Remember white is a color lol. Black is absence of color.

[@sideshowkazstuff3867]

@@2nd3rd1sthe has to rely on us to give him Monet for the content he creates. That also means he needs sponsors. It’s more black mirror than black mirror in a way.

[@e.izaguirre2143]

Black mirror has always been Twilight Zone focused on tech. Without the tech, it’s just the Twilight Zone. This season was the most Twilight Zone season ever.

[@roostre5254]

So what tech was the first episode about? The one where the prime minister fucks a pig.

[@thereverend6114]

I like the Twighlight Zone

[@dr.limeade3035]

This statement is a insult to the Twilight Zone.

[@JNR22B]

Amen to that

[@rafaella9700]

If you watch the fiesta season again... It was not about tech

[@makemorearrows]

Also notice in the Loch Henry episode, that the sadist mother wore a mask when commiting her crimes parallels the "mask" award given at the film award ceremony implying that both the mother and the film industry get pleasure in watching peoples pain.

[@Rejii16]

Or to hide her face/be creepy?

[@nataliecameron]

​@@Rejii16 do not explain subtext to this man

[@allansko2668]

That's a TOP catch, that is. Great use of parallel symbolism, and well spotted! :D

[@lucymay446]

A thing most people miss about the older episodes is there disturbing and ungratifying twist endings to reflect our unhappy dystopian reality and future. Now they all have some what resolute happy or easy endings.

[@fahmitaufik1254]

I won't spoiler anything but have you watched the latest season? apart from maybe joan is awful the ending is grim to me. And the ending haven't always been the norm in the series. Nosedive, San Junipero, and Hang The DJ to name a few have quite resolute and relatively happy ending.

[@ellerose8807]

i disagree so heavily! this was one of the most dystopian depressing seasons?? which happy easy ending are u referring to? (besides masey daze that one was terrible)

[@fatoumatacisse3796]

have you see beyond the sea and loch henry. How is that a happy ending??

[@brycemcmillian1519]

i dont think having your family get killed and then being stuck in an enclosed space with the person (who you cant kill or else you'll die too) who killed your whole family is a happy ending

[@lucymay446]

@@brycemcmillian1519 I think what I meant to add is that non of these endings really left me with that "oh damn" with a twist of an ending that really stays with you like some of the early episodes. The new ones don't have that affect

[@marce.t8732]

I feel like "Demon 79" was the only episode in Season 6 that went off their usual tech theme. The other episodes seemed to at least have a throughline about spectacle. "Beyond the Sea" was probably the most congruent with episodes of past seasons.

[@TheJadedJames]

The paparazzi episode ended with a werewolf attack. And in that episode they didn't prep you for it with the whole "Red Mirror" grindhouse tag clearly announcing that THIS episode is going to be different

[@godbodyrock]

when her eyes turned foggy gray as she was being forced to see into a person's past or apocalypse..that technology was used in past episodes...also that metal dog that was seen during the apocalypse was an entire episode in a prior season...

[@BigPurp9]

I heard about how “bad” the new season was and cleared my schedule to see what all the fuss was about and honestly I loved it bar Mazey Day. It was much better than season 5 and bandersnatch at least

[@Kroban_d4c]

Yea I swear people dont seem to get the "tech/society critique" unless its a fucking futuristic device thrown at their face with some character saying something bad about it every 5 seconds... All episodes criticize something about our society in some way. Even Loch Henry which is treated as "the one with the less tech" still criticizes society by showing how people care more about "how good is the documentary" rather than what happened to the person itself

[@godbodyrock]

@@Kroban_d4c spot on...when a person loses themselves in the end result of fame...recall they were warned numerous times to disengage right!? but because the source looked unstable they continued only to have fate take out his lady...for him the bottom was knocked out of his soul...all for notoriety...but note he initially did not want to pursue 👀...

[@TheSparrowLooksUp]

"What if your mum ran on batteries?" is the guiding principle of every creative endeavor I pursue.

[@ringofbrass]

I quite liked the demon episode, it felt very black mirror in mood. I could very easily buy it being tech related vs supernatural as well, being part of some quantum computer multiverse not unlike the Joan episode. then you can think of that the 'endless void' they were meant to go to could theoretically have a backdoor that they could have a callister style ending. but the werewolf, I just feel like there needed to be a during credit montage expanding on the cover up/science/supernatural something and possibly some sort of hook or seed for werewolves (be they science based or supernatural) earlier in the episode. the episode felt very incomplete somehow.

[@ringofbrass]

I just liked the idea of if they are going to introduce 'supernatural' stuff... seeding a little bit of magic is just technology and science we don't understand yet kind of thing. I think there is some very interesting ground there. I think since they so often reference other episodes as being future/past or more importantly fiction/pop culture I universe in episodes, having full on multiversal episodes or episodes that directly call into view or competition different paths tech could go. one of the things I like about the show is different concepts of how we could reflect ourselves into technology and how that effects how it develops... so seeing that put into view would be interesting.

[@JimJamTheAdmin]

that tunnel scene just showed their hand, it was either a zombie, vampire, or werewolf and knowing its some sort of supernatural monster and it not being revealed which specific one isn't a twist or clever when she could be in the light and wasn't shambling.

[@fyreborneblu6706]

The astronauts in beyond the sea are there for a psychological study of Human Behavior in prolonged space travel while the Werewolf episode is about the media's toxicity towards it's celebrities' personal lives

[@josephmatthews7698]

Werewolf was a pretty weak episode trying to say something about addiction and celebrity but failing miserably to connect the dots. The astronaut episode was by far the weakest though. First of all some random cult that's never mentioned again but likened to good ol Charlie that leads to nothing. Then a miraculous technology somehow available in the sixties yet the only thing they can think to do with it is use it for astronauts? Why didn't you send the robots into space? Makes zero sense. Plus you're willing to kill a woman, child and end your life because you lost your wife and children but are unwilling to just kill the other guy and yourself? The whole thing just made zero sense, didn't bother trying to say anything and was WAYYYYYY too long. It would have been far better if it was only 20 minutes long because the plot was so basic it wouldn't have given you the time to linger and think about the nonsensical bits.

[@PorterNetwork]

The werewolf was definitely disappointing, especially given the LONG history of werewolves being used as metaphors for things in stories. But that just felt very undeveloped and not very well thought out.

[@jamisonwoodson8548]

My issue is the commentary about Humanity was THROUGH technology. I think we all knew the show as about us… the black mirrors of our screen show us that but, this new season’s ditching of the technological implications feels like it’s just cheapening the show’s intent.

[@jamisonwoodson8548]

It feels more like Netflix wanting their own twilight zone rather than propelling the showdown unique aspect of anthology

[@t4ngy]

I agree, I think they established a theme for 10 years and now they changed it for no reason. It's not about being a good or bad season, but about them suddenly changing their whole theme. Like if American Horror Story made a season about Barbies.

[@AlexisQuan29]

THIS

[@netteloveszebras]

It has always been a commentary on human nature at the heart of it. Whether it’s with media or with technology, none of these episodes mean anything without the human element and our darkest desires. This season still plays on that.

[@Feinei]

I think black mirror isn't so much about media as it is about the dark side of human nature. Media just happens to be a great catalyst to enhance it. At least that's the way I felt with earlier seasons, with the episode "White Christmas" being my absolute favorite of the series. From the latest season, I feel like only the third and second episode manage to properly do this, and even then it was to limited effect compared to previous seasons. It's not so much that the over-arching themes feel off, it's something about the execution that feels like it's lacking, and I can't exactly put my finger onto what exactly that thing is.

[@kthanna08]

I thought this season was more about obsession. Like, usually black mirror is about our obsession with technology, with the focus being technology, but I thought this was more about obsession. Joan was obsessed with having the perfect life. Loch Henry was about their obsession with getting the story. In Beyond the sea, the cult became obsessed with the replica and then Josh hartnett became obsessed with Aaron Paul’s wife, while Aaron Paul always wanted to be in control. The paparazzi were obsessed with getting the money shot. And in demon 79 she was obsessed with making her third victim the evil politician and the demon with completing the 3 kills. Joan eventually learned to let go of her obsession and got a happy ending. In demon 79, once the mission is over and they both move on, they get a happy ending. Meanwhile, Pia’s obsession cost her her life and the guy got his perfect story, but at what cost? And of course the astronauts are both miserable with no way to end it. So, just like most episodes are like a warning about what our obsession with technology could lead to, this was a warning about what happens if we let our obsession consume us.

[@chadsix4838]

A perfectly sound argument.

[@brownsugar7922]

Nice. Very well said. I wanna fistbump your brain but like in a bro way.

[@medievalfoxx]

10/10 summary

[@smartwater598]

Weak basic take

[@medievalfoxx]

@@smartwater598 i mean yeah it’s basic but it still summarizes the important parts

[@joselocalau123]

people shit on The National Anthem all the time but it's honestly my favorite episode. It feels so absurd yet so real at the same time, and it's so disgusting it's chilling

[@Torthrodhel]

I shit on it because it makes no goddamn sense, and its entire point is to point at you and say "Look, see all that sense we're not making? That's you, that is!" Bit of a hard sell, that mood.

[@DanteMustLearn]

And allegedly happened with ex PM Cameron

[@Digger-Nick]

People shit on it cause it's a terrible episode that barely leans into technology. If you liked it that's great

[@InaEsin]

Black Mirror seems to me to be warnings against technology, full stop. National Anthem was (at the time) something that could and likely WOULD happen. Everyone's faces are buried into their phones, nobody would notice something happening right in the street...the disgruntled artist knew it would go down like that. If King Chuckles had to do the same, I'm sure bookies would tell you how that would likely turn out: The same.

[@onipot9639]

While Demon 79 is mostly about political media ( the rhetoric used by politicians/speeches/pamphlets etc.) It is also about media more broadly. She is always watching TV alone in her apartment, she has no friends and no life outside of this. Even when she is meant to get murdering she insists on watching TV instead, getting angry when the Demon tries to remove her from the TV ("I was watching that") - even though she needs to prevent the apocalypse. We also see her actively turn off the news which she finds hard to listen to as it depicts the awful things of the world. Despite having NF stuff graffitied on her door she would rather ignore it ( "I was going to paint over it") and hide from the (very real) issues that she is facing. She accepts the cruelty of her co-workers and allows herself to be pacified by the nicer things on the tv. The demon even appears to her as "The man from boney m" because that is what in her conscious mind she finds the most appealing and comforting. It is only once a demon literally shows her the horrid images of the world in her head that she faces the truth and stop allowing herself to be nullified and instead decides to take things into her own hands - addressing the racism and oppression head on. (Which includes new stories about politicians, nuclear war and even the guy who murdered his wife.) It also hits different when you realise the personal connection, Brooker's wife Konnie Huq is an Asian woman and her parents likely came over in the era this episode is set in, her sister is also a Labour Party MP. So then you kind of begin to see this episode of also giving women of colour a space in supernatural story telling whilst also reflecting on the issues faced by people of this era in a new perspective ( The real demon was the Tory politician, and the actual demon from the nether realm was an alright guy) .

[@Spades20XX]

That was one helluva analysis

[@onipot9639]

Thank you I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@InaEsin]

It was literally a movie that was released in the Black Mirror World, but instead it's a Red Mirror (as in blood-seen in Beyond the Sea) production. I found it clever.

[@alexanderfedderly]

I didn't mind the serial killer documentary episode, which had a more subtle touch in regard to technology, the media, etc. The astronaut episode was also pretty good, though it would have made more sense to set it in the future rather than an alternative past. (Also, if I could nit-pick, wouldn't it be smarter/safer to send the artificial copies into space so the real people could stay on Earth?). The Streamberry episode was the best, and the most in line with the show's typical themes. But the final two episodes, the werewolf ep and the demon ep, made no sense to me in regard to the show's premise. Black Mirror has always been about the real world and the ways in which technology impacts our lives, but the show really jumped the shark here, going full-on supernatural in a way that just doesn't fit within the context of the show. They weren't terrible episodes of TV per se, but they just weren't Black Mirror.

[@icantnotthink3282]

Im guessing the in-series universe reason for sending copies into space and not people was because an issue with one of the copies completely removes someone from the crew, making it much more difficult to man the ship.

[@teslashark]

It's no longer about media, it's no longer about tech either! It's lost the schematics.

[@donharris8846]

Your idea about sending the replicas to space instead, is far more rational

[@TheRodentMastermind]

It's possible that the copies need support to keep them running they couldn't get in space.

[@simonorourke4465]

They literally state in the episode that the whole point of the mission is to test the long term effects of living and travelling in space on the human body with a view towards eventual future traveling space and visiting other planets. The whole mission wouldn't work or have any point at all if we just sent the duplicates, after all eventually we want actual humams to settle other planets and set up potential colonies not just a bunch of robotic replicas while us regular humans are stuck forever on earth.

[@danhill3302]

I mean, the vast majority of the episodes as you stated did revolve around tech as establishing hook, so yeah while it also deals with media too, one of the fundamental elements has been stripped, I don't think it needed to change, seems like he just ran out of ideas.

[@BleachBath-fr8ps]

Yeah, that's what happens when you repeat the same thing, ad nauseum.

[@blackdragon6]

@@BleachBath-fr8ps exactly!

[@andybrice2711]

I have a plausible conspiracy theory: Netflix were stuck in negotiations with Banijay for years, and they didn't know how long it would take, or whether they'd be able to secure the rights to Black Mirror. So they commissioned Brooker to write some non-sci-fi horror stories instead.

[@humphreyspellingbee1732]

I’ve watched “Joan is Awful” and “Loch Henry,” and tbh, both of these episodes feel like they were *about to* be reflective on Netflix’s role in the media landscape, but then turned away at the last minute. “Joan is Awful” seemed like it was going to be a story about how tech companies like Netflix convince us to sign away our rights through legalese and apathy. I thought we were going to learn at least a little bit about how this came about and why there aren’t organizations like EFF and whatnot fighting it tooth and nail… but then, this storyline is dropped and it becomes a story about the dangers of AI. Which we somehow get told without ever hearing about the writers, makeup artists, etc. laid off… only to then get a bizarre, unnecessary twist about how this is all taking place in a simulation. (Which itself feels odd, since the show clearly sets up that the software used is basically an advanced version of ChatGPT and therefore wouldn’t be creating an alternate reality any more than ChatGPT does when it writes a story, but I digress.) “Loch Henry” is more explicit on this front. Netflix has played a *massive* role in the development of the true crime genre, and this episode at first seemed like it was going to be a nuanced look at how a small community devastated by a horrific crime gets impacted by a blockbuster documentary and ensuing laser-focused attention from the true crime community (not unlike how the families of Dahmer’s victims had to get retraumatized from Netflix’s show, or how the residents of Moscow, ID are still struggling with the influx of true crime fans that came to gawk after the UIdaho stabbing). But we don’t see any of that. Sure, we see Pia’s death turned into #content, but we never see how this impacts her family or the residents of Loch Henry who didn’t consent to their small town’s slew of murders being the subject of a BAFTA-winning picture. Overall, this season of the show so far just seems like a neutered version of its previous self. Netflix funding a show that launches superficial criticisms at its business model without ever actually engaging with any of them just feels kind of slimy to me. But you’ve convinced me to keep watching; maybe the next four episodes will change my view.

[@PorterNetwork]

💯💯💯

[@diquandaniel7953]

I'm surprised so many ppl seemed to not like the season. I enjoyed it.

[@worrywirt]

I agree it was much better than the previous season

[@rthraitor]

I enjoyed it but it just doesn't get me like the older episodes did. It hasn't been at top form for ages but I will agree this season was much better than 4.

[@BigPurp9]

Definitely better than season 5 and Loch Ness and Beyond the Sea definitely left me with that icky, empty feeling that the best Black Mirror episodes do

[@chelseangungu1231]

I think people just have a hard time accepting when an artist decides to experiment, but it'll grow on them, I'm sure.

[@TheMemoryPolice]

I loved it. Beyond the Sea is definately my Top 5 of all Balck Mirror episodes

[@trinaq]

I liked that Netflix weren't afraid to poke fun of themselves, acknowledging the flaws in their system.

[@sumanoskae]

Why would they be afraid? You watched it, didn't you?

[@Frizzleman]

Meta narratives sell and people want to feel like their in on the joke even multinational corporations.

[@117mel]

i hated that. they just want to act as if they're so self-aware but actually showcase that they know but don't give a shit about changing their ways or else why would the things they're satirizing still exist?

[@HovercraftEDM]

yeahh i appreciate Charlie Brooker writing these critiques of Netflix, but i despise the fact that Netflix gets to essentially play both sides and come out on top. like the other commenters said, they get to make 100 Dahmers and serial killer/true crime glorifying garbage and then turn around and go wow we're so woke and self aware. it's the exact same as them hosting all these queer/women-led shows and comics while also pumping hundreds of millions dollars into chappelle and gervais specials. no values, just numbers.

[@nickv1212]

​@HovercraftEDM This is late stage capitalism at its finest. It's exactly like the episode where the person speaking out about the system is given a show where he can do that all day and drive ratings. They're literally telling us that it doesn't matter what they do, we can do nothing in response and anything we attempt will just be stripped of any meaning, repackaged and sold back to us as trendy fashion statements to "say" something without anything ever getting done. Nothing to do but scream into the void until our lungs give out.

[@carlkligerman1981]

Brooker is a genius IMO. He is the Phillip K Dick of television. Black Mirror may be a metaphor for our obsession with screens, but is also just that, a bleak reflection on the cultural and technological preoccupations of our time. And that’s what makes great SF in any form, it’s the best genre for examining society via plausible extrapolation of current events, social trends and technological developments. Charlie is a master of this, and does it in short form screen writing, and that has to be one of the more difficult formats to pull off well. This season was different in ‘tone’ and setting, but certainly up to snuff in terms of its thematics and quality.

[@karlklein2263]

Nosedive absolutely talks about people losing their jobs due to social media performance. Midway through the episode one guy is fired because he broke up with his girlfriend at work and the office sided with her. His social score plummeted and he wasn't allowed back into the building. Hell the MC cant even get an apartment she wants because she isnt doing well enough.

[@neverland436]

Black mirror was never about evil tech. It was about how we use and exploit it to hurt ourselves and others. The bad isnt tech. Its us. Its exploitation and harm.

[@GABEJUM]

I have always grouped Black Mirror with Inside Number 9 (another British anthology show) and the new season felt more like inside number 9 than it did black mirror but I loved it. This season also felt a lot more like season 1/2 to me in its tone, a lot more grounded in a way I think started to dwindle in the seasons following. Overall this season really did bring the show I love back to life in the way I hoped it would!

[@LarnieRadek]

Definitely felt the parallel with Inside n°9 too!

[@Lihiro]

Watching "How TV ruined your life" was extremely influential to me on release. It is genuinely worth a watch and captures Brooker at his peak.

[@squilliamwfancyson]

Why is nobody talking about how Demon 79 IS ABOUT MEDIA. She listened to a demon because he assumed the form of an Idol she saw and liked on TV. And notice the scene that caught my eye the most that I had to replay, where Gaap comes toward Nida who's sitting near the TV, and on the TV we can see Gaap moving towards Nida - the TV show with Boney M goes away and we can see that her mind is now playing on the TV during her encounter with the lead singer's form deceiving Nida and disarming her a million times more than it's first visual form. The demon using the visual of the famous TV star to slither into her mind to seduce and successfully corrupt her soul with all lies is a fascinating message because many people think Nida imagined it all and is crazy or that this episode has nothing to do with technology. It takes place in 1979 and could be commenting on how it got us to create parasocial relationships way back then and how we're still victim to this very arguably strategic game. I say arguably strategic game because let's not forget Anton LaVey wrote this in his book and established his opinion about television very well as a Satanist. "The Devil's Notebook" in 1992: "There are television sets in every home, every restaurant, every hotel room, and every shopping mall- now they're even small enough to carry in your pocket like electronic rosaries. It is an unquestioned part of everyday life. Kneeling before the cathode-ray god, with our TV Guide concordance in hand... "

[@BryonyClaire]

It's so weird that you came out with this when I'm in the process of editing a video about futuristic movies/tv being dystopian and the need for hope, I'll be sure to refer people back to this!

[@Drekromancer]

Fascinating. Good luck on the video, and please drop the link when you're ready!

[@georgiaithaca5388]

Fringe kind of predicted the loss of hope, individualism etc with the taking over of the Observers

[@MrBazBake]

Is the Striking Vipers ending really ominous? They're now a pansexual polycule that otherwise maintains within it a stable monogamous relationship structure. It's unusual, but I think the episode is conclusive that this is the best result and the people are happier just embracing their needs.

[@BobDole1216]

Yeah, I felt caught off-guard by that take; maybe it's my lens as a poly person but it felt really obvious that he and his wife came clean and officially opened up their marriage with more specific parameters and boundaries and that it was positive for everyone.

[@rev4449]

​@BobDole1216 Those ideas being normalised is terrifying for monogamous people. I think men on average would be much more open to being poly if that was accepted as normal in society. While most women would not be happy about that. I said most, not all.

[@n.a.199]

@@rev4449You can’t just say “men would love to be poly” and “most women would hate to be poly” without an explanation or you sound like you’re pushing nonsense gender stereotypes

[@rev4449]

@@n.a.199 I said I think. I'm not saying that's how it really is, it's just my own experience. But regardless of gender, unless it's only a portion of the population and it's a clear cut thing people are or aren't and they communicate that clearly from the beginning then it has the potential to move society at large away from the idea of monogamy which I think has a lot of positives to it. But it's a conscious decision to maintain it.

[@rev4449]

​@@n.a.199and i certainly don't think most men right now like the idea of polyamory. just that women, from what i've seen, are more likely too feel pressure towards it even if thats not what they really like. and as people age, men are more likely to want younger women than the other way around. look around.

[@Heatherlasweet]

This is such a brilliant take. I especially love that you’ve took the time to research Charlie Brooker as an earlier creator which a lot of people who make Black Mirror video essays, don’t care to do!

[@Lauraraksin77]

I enjoyed this entire season in the light of psychology. Human behavior, psyche, reaction--the entire psychology of the mind just interests me. This season seemed to touch up a lot on this more the the typical technology cliche. I don't even think Mazey Day was remotely bad because there *are* people that *do* some form of that. Loch Henry was also an interesting one when it comes to individuals. Pia's death was a REALISTIC situation because of how under developed people can be. Sure she probably could played it smarter but let's say she's a freshman in college-- do you think someone could process all that information and emotions when it's THE FIRST experience she'd ever had in that type of situation? My niece is 17 years old and I can't imagine her doing anything smart. Sorry niece but I'm just being truthful. Each episode gave me a perspective to see which is why I can't really put a list. I think it was all well-done. I did stop looking for entertainment or messages in Black Mirror season after awhile since it became a bit repetitive (not in a bad way) so season 6 did more of the human psyche which was refreshingly new.

[@stevenclubb7718]

As much as I love Black Mirror (to the point I don't think there's a bad season), Brooker really only has two ideas for future tech and there both very basic sci-fi ideas. The first is to turn a person into a camera/monitor so they can interact with technology at will. The second is making a copy of consciousness. Sprinkle in AI and VR as needed and it can produce Be Right Back or Joan Is Awful or Ashley Too. Entire History Of You or White Christmas or Archangel. So I've never been that upset when technology isn't a huge part of the show because from the first episode it's been about people being put into an unusual scenario with often only modern day technology making it possible. It's about people and the new season scored on those fronts IMO. Now, if we can only get the Cunk On Black Mirror episode to make the Brookerverse a reality.

[@kimiko2547]

Don't forget Barry Shizpeas too!

[@missnoneofyourbusiness]

YES. Cunk on Black Mirror please.

[@mollusckscramp4124]

Tell me you watched an entire critically accalimed series while scrolling your phone without telling me

[@stevenclubb7718]

@@mollusckscramp4124 Ah, the people who make up a fantasy about how you watched something wrong because you got something different out of it.

[@music_YT2023]

You actually just sold me on the new episodes of Black Mirror. The depressing prescience of the earlier seasons had me steering clear of it this year. Love your interviews this month (FD and Jessie)!

[@babagalacticus]

waaaalll...still a shit-ton of "depressing prescience" on tap in S6. bon apetit!!

[@juzkful]

U do not like depressing shit ? Do not watch episode 3 then 🤣

[@music_YT2023]

@@juzkful 😢

[@Nikanike0905]

I think what makes me feel 'meh' about the new season is the fact that by stepping into the more general social critique (involving media) the show is just less unique. Inside no 9 has several incredible 'human nature' observations and some of the new BM episodes feel more like average Inside no 9 stories. Plus, I think that Charlie Brooker might becoming less relevant in his critique as he just might not be grasping how younger generations interact with the media/social media/technology in the context of its use in society/human nature - we will probably soon have a new 'Black Mirror' show made by someone in their 20s. This is not to say that Brooker is becoming worse, he is just a voice more relatable for millennial+ generations.

[@Shirumoon]

"This is not to say that Brooker is becoming worse, he is just a voice more relatable for millennial+ generations." Such an interesting take! I can really see how earlier BM seasons spoke to me in very particular ways as a millennial. After having revisited them in my thoughts recently, they feel a lot closer to reality than to a dystopia though. The internet and (social) media are constantly one upping themselves and the writers of Black Mirror may just have be too slow to capture this change, hence not having the confidence to create a new futuristic vision for the season which actually works.

[@i_cedi9861]

I will not take this Aaron Paul slander

[@cachacinha1378]

Every piece of sci fi tells more about the time ti was written than about the future. I remember when Black Mirror exploded that many people around me started saying that "it's not sci fi because it's less about technology and more about society" and there was I responding "this is the sum of science fiction in general, Black Mirror is not an outlier". And at the same time, in general discussion people tend to have a very narrow idea of what is technology and forget that written language is a technology, books are technology, farming tools are technology. Technology is any tool that shapes how we arrange as a society and how we deal with the world. I like your analysis because it recalls to that (even though I still feel like you're describing it as a sole characteristic of Black Mirror, rather than being the characteristics that aligns this to a broader genre) and specially more because you go back to The National Anthem, because to me that episode is still the best episode they ever made. I saw a lot of people disliking it (the same people that thought "black mirror isn't sci fi, it's something better and more intelligent") stating that it's vulgar and cheap, when it's pretty much the opposite. It's very strong, yes, but it's still very clever and amazingly put with the images and different types of cameras in which they make you feel like the population in that story seeing the news. This last season felt a little tired to me. Not tiring to watch or old in format, but like there's a clash between the company and the writers of the show, and the creator and writers found that the critics became dull and just a format of entertaining without pivoting a change (or fueling any sort of movement in the general public). I honestly think that they wanted to create a show that brings up conversations and goes beyond that and they realized that it wasn't strong enough, at least not by itself. And honestly, this is enough reason for the pessimistic tone (and yes, I think it's generally still pessimistic). Being closer to ubiquitous tech was pretty much an obligation because many people lost the message (even when it was very blatantly in their face).

[@starrychan33]

There is such a preoccupation with cuckoldry in Black Mirror especially in the first two seasons. Every episode of the first series and like half of the ones in the second series have some form of cuckoldry and obviously the sex in the metaverse episode also follows that theme. I don't even know what to do with that information. It's just a pattern I noticed

[@LordOfTheFatties]

It's just like when you notice how much invest is in all seth McFarland cartoons, its hard to unsee lol

[@cadenlorenzo3345]

This video gave me many new perspectives on Black Mirror before, especially the media criticism theme and how many episodes come from a point of societal privilege. Thoughtful analysis as always!

[@MR.FREEDMAN]

I completely disagree with the assessment of Aaron Paul's performance in Beyond The Sea. I was actually surprised how much I did not think about Jessie in this episode.

[@kerryntaylor4942]

A world without coffee(well, limited amount of coffee) is shown in the sci-fi show Fringe. lol

[@Radjhitoocool]

I thought striking vipers had a happy ending they stayed married and he stopped cheating by having an open marriage

[@filippo8189]

Oh my god…the transition to the ad was brutal 😂. He himself can’t break free from the system.

[@arshsingh1984]

San Junipero will always be my favorite bittersweet episode

[@Roadiedave]

Season 6 should be called Black Window, because we look, but we do not reflect.

[@Agora13]

It didn't. Incredible that in the dawn of the age of AI, Charlie Booker ran out of ideas and had to do 3 bad quality horror episodes. Cancellation very soon. Couldn't agree more on Aaron Paul tho. He did the same act on Westworld: depressed Jesse Pinkman.

[@carriefingsolomon]

😂 so true

[@I.____.....__...__]

8:03 Actually, there are already _multiple_ patents to pause ads if you look away and resume when you look back. 😒

[@sergeyiu2301]

The problem is in Netflix. They changed the BM formula to just sell the show for wider audience. The easier product to swallow - the bigger the audience. That's why we had the werewolfs and inner demons. The good question is why there were no episode about AI network and stuff? That's quite an obvious route but it would be awesome to have some BM grotesque episode on this theme.

[@churblefurbles]

No, to go further with its critique would be to implicate their own ideology, they must close their eyes.

[@carmattvidz4426]

They are right about TV teaching us to be scared of something. I work graveyard shifts in my city CBD. I spend hours on dark and empty city streets. I even walk through empty car parks after midnight. In most parts the street are safe. Nothing bad usually happens but some people still find it scary. I enjoy it and find it peaceful.

[@EPMTUNES]

Awesome video! I love your analysis of shows. I appreciate when a show can manage to change something major like this for a whole season, especially if each episode is its own isolated story.

[@HierophanticRose]

Some of Black Mirror's most cyberpunk episodes are the episodes with least "cyberpunk" elements in them.

[@simonakatsman974]

I would disagree that Beyond the Sea isn't about technology and its horrible effects. The whole plot revolves around the idea that the people on Earth are really just machine bodies who beam themselves down occasionally to keep themselves sane. Which makes it scary for people like the ones who murdered the family. They did it because of technology and its advances scared the shit out of them. I think this episode works on a lot of different levels- even if you ignore that. You can easily analyze that episode in the context of: 1. The dependence these men feel on this technology to keep themselves sane 2. The fact that the technology for some reason can't be replicated and what starts his downward spiral 3. The need to show off such technology to get people hyped about science 4. This technology enabling an already toxic celebrity culture And that's just the technology part. The burden of fame is an interesting theme that is explored here. The burden of being experimented on and not knowing what to expect. The need for family. I could go on. But my point is that you're really doing this episode a disservice. Your opinion is valid. I just think you missed the point.

[@Tuaron]

I'll admit that I'd been feeling a bit down on this latest season of Black Mirror (and recent seasons, really), but this video helps bring a new perspective. I'm not sure I like the new episodes any more than I did, but I can...appreciate them more, if you understand the difference. Demon '79 was my favourite of the new ones because of tone but also...it was speaking to an era that seems to be heavily echoed nowadays, so using the classic past-as-allegory-for-today. Also, was nice to see Jessie Gender in here - definitely a great guest to include to discuss those points.

[@reesesapphire267]

i loved Beyond The Sea, probably my fav episode out of the season.

[@donharris8846]

I disagree. Black Mirror has 100% been about high technology and horror, hence, as you stated it’s namesake - “Black Mirror”, the screen that all of us are looking at right now.

[@0x0michael]

Yep, ironically it brings you back to your black mirror every season

[@severdislike4222]

It's fascinating to note how close people will get to, while also going well out of their way to avoid deal with, the underlying weights that create the systems he's criticizing. That being capital in general.

[@mrshadow2514]

I don`t care if BlackMirror episodes have any technological distophian future elements. Black Mirror was about mind blowing ideas and concepts. When Brits did it, I was hooked at every single episode. Every espidoe was making you think HUH!!! at the end....since netflix took it over, nothing is blowing my mind....it is soo mediocre...

[@ethanhawkins3391]

Enjoyed the video, but definitely feel like your take on ‘Beyond the Sea’ was criminal. Easily the standout episode in the season and one of the series best offerings

[@kevinschili3728]

As just some chili laying on the floor, I felt this season was a poor attempt at horror. It is missing the element of tech gone too far that captivated audiences.

[@JC_Cali]

This is a great encapsulation of my mixed, confused but impressed feelings about this season. Really helped me understand some of the motivations and impressions we can get from the show. Bloody top notch analysis, if I do say so myself!

[@foofu4946]

13:25 WDYM Aaron Paul was amazing in this episode like WTF

[@danielhance1467]

USS callister was the best episode on the series

[@aldunlop4622]

I actually the Miley Cyrus episode. I’m not a fan of hers and I was pleasantly surprised.

[@heartsalive3157]

“Aaron Paul a Space Odyssey” really let me down. Though it would be more 60s sci-fi inspired, like 2001 or space:1999 not just Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: bad ending

[@InaEsin]

Beyond the Sea had a hidden message, one that is lost on most people. The ending was about life being "fair" and "equal." That means EVERYONE is miserable, EVERYONE loses. But that is was over most peoples' heads.

[@JJ-es9np]

Liked this series, haven’t finished it completely but the one episode that I had real problems with was Beyond the Sea, All Black Mirror stories have a logical base to them ( the ones I remember) but this one had a Major flaw, they would have sent the machine versions of the astronauts into space and the astronauts would have stayed on earth. The story could have still worked, if one of them was killed on earth along with his family while their consciousness was in its machine body. It annoyed me as BM doesn’t really have big plot holes in the writing, still a good series nice to have a change in direction.

[@arthurdurham]

I think you can make the argument about what the show intended to be but it's popularity and common themes at least felt like horror or dark stories about the dangers of technology. So veering off that will still feel like a huge tonal shift or change in expectations. Sometimes your art can interpreted much differently than you expect. But rewatching the older seasons I kind of have a hard time believing it wasn't meant to be cautionary tales about technology. It's basically most of the episodes. Black Mirror feels more like a brand name now than a series with a consistent voice that lost a lot of its original edge. They can do whatever they want with it but you can't really blame people for being dissapointed when what they were lead to expect changes.

[@Loki_K]

I absolutely LOVED this season. And Netflix thinking "Streamberry" was a good PR idea (by putting REAL people's pictures on billboards) is just 10/10.

[@draunt7]

U ever wonder y u get the short skippable ads while actively watching a vid vs. When you get the long ads while you fall asleep or otherwise not in front of your device? YT already utilizes your phone's camera to eye track.

[@shpoton]

Man, I'm so glad I've found your channel. At first, I had been looking for some content on The Wire and I found your copaganda series, and it's really cool, then I found your essays on Better Call Saul and you got me. The comprehensive analysis and amount of research you're putting into your videos are amazing. Keep it up, man, it's just a comment to promote your content

[@RaziTJones]

I didn’t really care for the last season but this latest one seems really good

[@RukaDesu]

the ad at the end, especially with how it has an "algorithm that knows what kind of coffee you will like more than you" is the real black mirror of it all EHUHEUHEUHE

[@wingflanagan]

Well, I, for one, thought _Beyond the Sea_ was the best of the bunch. It traumatized me like nothing since Brad Pitt asked the eternal question: "What's in the box?!" . I think performances were spot-on. It was very _Black Mirror._ There are so many layers that it could be used to teach screen writing. Seriously. Consider how delicately it had to be written, in order to keep the audience's loyalties shifting and suspicions at peak. It had to be a period piece or it would not have worked. Had it been set in any other era, the main characters would not have been the least sympathetic (the harrowing experiences they undergo notwithstanding). They had to be a product of their time, as they struck the fine balance between earnest love for their families and their disturbing tendency to treat them as possession instead of people. They are both endearing and yet somehow monstrous, as beneath the all-American "Right Stuff" veneer is a pit of what we now call "toxic masculinity" waiting to be exposed. It managed to foreshadow everything without tipping its hand until the last few minutes - just enough to make you sweat and squirm until the final reveal. I thought it was brilliant.

[@remnants9974]

it was rather predictable though, so the suspense mainly come from this sense of "oh no, I see where this is going" but continue watching to see if it will do something unexpected after all.

[@maykechi7752]

I think Black Mirror might be one of the first examples of a work aging *too* well.

[@amaljosephmathew2949]

I know no ones probably going to see this, but if you do, hear me out, towards the end the protagonist of the video asks what happened to hopeful sci-fi like star trek and the jetsons? A very good theoretical understanding of this shift in phenomena can actually be traced in George Simmel's Metropolis and Mental Strife when read in Tandem with Nitin Govil's: Metropolis and Mental Strife: The City in Science Fiction Cinema, the latter situates the shifts in what is called Dystopian SF and Utopian SF claiming how our very own ideas of SF relates to the West and the U.S. mostly, he traces the geneology of how the very depiction of architecture in Utopian SF went from Hopeful Futuristic Sleek Shadowless Designs (such as Star Trek and so on) and the shady, dark, futuristic city of rationality and logic (as shown in Blade Runner or Independence Day), in addition to architecture great emphasis is laid on formal anlysis such as the way camera prods and jobs smoothly in a futuristic hopeful momentia as Star Trek but prods and fits randomly as if to fit the pieces of a broken past in Dystopian SF (as in Black Mirror), although the arguments in the latter may not be as materially invested as Simmel--I think it is a great read to actually situate the influence of the 9/11 and technological amnesia that the West has commenced through it's investment in the very negative hopeless connotations of technology through shows like Black Mirror and so on (phew hope that made sense); Have A Good Day if you read this

[@phatle2089]

15 million merits is about capitalism, change my mind

[@dawkinsforpope]

I mean, duh. It’s also about Brooker’s career: he started as a rebel ranting against the system and ended up part of it.

[@lukelee8981]

Best paid advertisement ever on KZbin.

[@kdandsheela]

God, how do you manage to make all these videos slap so hard? I thoroughly enjoyed this

[@FluxChanneler]

Yet another video that hits it out of the park. Skip Intro upload day is always a good day :)

[@cipherbloom]

Beautifully communicated.✨It's been about five years since we've watched Black Mirror- time to revisit old eps and finish the rest of the series.

[@themondoshow]

they didn't have to change. they SOLD OUT

[@tacarachi]

Because it’s getting so close to actually happening (tech wise) they gotta let reality catch up so they experiment more in the future.

[@kinolibby6580]

I think Brooker's first T.V show Nathan Barley might be relevant to this discussion. At the time it just seemed like a show dunking on hipsters ruining east London but looking at it through the lens of this video I would say it's really about how legacy media was under threat from the internet. Brother and sister Dan (a journalist) and Claire (a documentary filmmaker) have their lives ruined by Nathan who owns a humour website which seems to represents all the worst aspects of the internet as it was in the early noughties.

[@netteloveszebras]

I don’t get all the people who didn’t like this season. I liked every episode and the commentary within each storyline.

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

The episode with the journalists reminds me a lot of Nightcrawler, which in itself could be interpreted as an episode of Black Mirror in some ways, except with a much larger budget.

[@rylans.5365]

I really don’t know how people are so confused or saying that the show “changed”. The show went back in the past many times. Also, people are missing the point that we are basically living in the society that black mirror depicted years ago, so it makes sense that people aren’t finding it sci-fi nor dystopian, when in reality the show still follows that same premise when exploring parallels and different quantums

[@callumager537]

I wonder if they’ll tackle the odd rise of moustachioed, glasses wearing men who like to wear tropical shirts in their video essays in a future episode.

[@Ramiel1point0]

Could not possibly disagree more re: Aaron Paul. Dude's subtle acting cues were incredible.

[@kennydolby1379]

They are just getting creatively bankrupt, running out of ideas... Even the the first episode couldn't fully tackle the horrors of technology, but felt like a silly comedy instead.

[@viewagetreatmentplant]

babe, there's nothing i like to see more than jessie being recognized for her star trek fanaticism

[@JerekBilbar]

Yo. This season was ass. They didn’t even have the same writing team.

[@mattmolloy636]

It didn’t have to change, nor were they really trying to change. They simply made content that people didn’t like, which was clearly apparent when they thought adding an entire episode around Miley Cyrus.

[@FayeFaye-]

Just noticed he's holding that microphone the same way that guy was holding that knife - or glass shard

[@Littlestraincloud]

Dude, did you seriously say "Lizard people"? Aren't you educated enough to know that's antisemetic

[@vespertiny]

yeah i was shocked it feels like he should know better than that??

[@bilge-rat]

Lizard people

[@devries6786]

why are yall so scared of the word lesbian omfg. god if i have to hear the word "queer" or "queer folx" one more time i will actually go insane

[@vitoria.no.c]

I was only able to watch some of the episodes after I starter Prozac. It is a lot.

[@carriefingsolomon]

Totally…I’ve noticed that as I made huge strides in my mental/emotional health, I don’t like super dark stuff. It makes me feel gross. That said, I love mind-bending stories…and this season offered none; just a bunch of dark, violent crap.😒 Plus Joan is Awful, which was just silly.

[@allansko2668]

Great vid, Mr Intro, but I lovingly disagree with the takes on 'Nosedive' and 'Striking Vipers'. 'Nosedive' is ALL ABOUT the stresses of the ratings gig economy, extrapolating it to all of society to demonstrate just how stressful it can be. And I found 'Striking Vipers' to be one of the cheeriest episodes of the whole series; a liberation of sexuality and communication within the "traditional" relationship that led to a once-a-year ENM scenario in which everyone wins. Anyway... Keep up the good work! :D

[@psecdocumentary]

One of the commonalities which all dystopian societies share, is that most of the people within them, do not recognize it as a dystopian society, because its all they have ever known and therefore have no other frame of reference. So for them, its the only real reality and the only way things could be, and the only way they have ever been. They don't know any better, and therefore literally can't view reality outside of that tunnel. Every one of those types of societies always implodes. All empires fall, and this is how they fall. We're in the middle of the fall of Rome, but with wifi. And thats not being pessimistic, thats just a hard truth. Human society has done this many times before, and is doing it now. Because we always seem to fail to learn from history. Again, this is not negative, its simply just true.

[@luq7]

thank you, this gave much needed insight and perspective on this season, which honestly puzzled me. Now I have a better view :)

[@Itsgay2read]

I notice that the Black Mirror creator is a bit out of touch because he blames "the inherent evil of humanity" (a very doomerist take) instead of realizing the capitalism that drives these fucked up technologies in his own stories.

[@badconnection4383]

Who do you think built capitalism? We did. So you can't blame the system and look the other way in terms of its creator.

[@FieldMarshalFry]

Charlie Brooker is, like any self respecting and self hating Briton, a miserable git who basically gets through the day on a combination of snark and pints or beer

[@DanyelAzamor-lh7yg]

​​​@@badconnection4383 idk you but im sure you did not invented capitalism. u cant say humans are inherently evil because some people created a system... you can say a system is inherently bad...

[@accaliawolf2903]

@@badconnection4383 who is "we"?

[@aj7058]

Right? Because he's served by it. He can see it but never actually understand it and that's the gap.

[@Qwitsoender]

Hard disagree. Every single episode in this season still has some kind of technology at its core. And Black Mirror has ‘always’ been about how ‘we’ go wrong, by misusing or misunderstanding the consequences of technology, not about how the technology messes us up. It’s always been about a ‘mirror’, not a trap. What if… what if… ‘people’ have changed their relationship to technology (and streaming) some more since 2019, and ‘that’ is why it ‘feels’ different? Just a thought.

[@JotaC]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with most of your points. Yes, it is supposed to be a commentary of society and humanity, and even media itself, but a lot of shows already do that. Sci-Fi, from its very beginning already did that. What made black mirror stand out was the framing of those themes: horror technology. By stripping away the frame, it makes the show generic and without an identity.

[@NaikaVideo]

This was a fantastic analysis. I wasn't the biggest fan of BM Season 6 but this a very very neat POV that I didn't consider initially. Thanks so much for making this!!!

[@nickmartin3647]

Netflix definitely did it's thing

[@zifnab]

I honestly stopped watching black mirror because the existential horror and future it portrayed was so grounded and believable that was literally sending my anxiety into overdrive.