It’s finally the year 2018 — hardly anything surprises us anymore. From celebrities running for president to a staggering amount of mass shootings, things once unimaginable are becoming societies norms. This new reality is also taking hold of our digital media. Television, movies, and youtube videos are beginning to display futuristic worlds and dimensions that don’t seem too far out of reach. One of the most popular series depicting this is the British science fiction series Black Mirror.
The show was created by Charlie Brooker and premiered on the British television channel called Channel 4 in December 2011. With an 8.9/10 IMDb score and a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the series is clearly a huge hit. But why? I was intrigued to find out, so I started with the first episode.
I was hardly impressed with the slow moving, confusing plot. I’m pretty sure I turned it off not even halfway through. A few weeks later, I was recommended the series by a peer and figured I would give it another shot. This time, I researched the top-rated episodes and started from there.
Black Mirror is an episode-by-episode series. No single episode relates to the next. While binge watching is a little different in this situation, I like the setup because it gives the viewer his or her own freedom to choose which episode they’d like to view without the restraints of the past episodes. For my second go around, I started with the episode “Arkangel” (season 4, episode 2). I was blown away. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the screen. This particular episode dealt with a mother whose overprotectiveness of her only daughter backfires later in life. This plot is tech-savvy and futuristic, yet is set in a normal, everyday neighborhood and community like the ones we are a part of today.
This connection between the future and the present is really what kept me coming back for more. It’s so easy to relate to the show because not only is the setting a 21st century America, but the advancements in technology and social groups are things that are close to arriving in our own reality.
I continued to watch, episode after episode. Some were horror-based, some were thrillers, and others were romantic and relationship oriented. Black Mirror really has it all. So, if you’re a sci-fi geek, horror junkie or a thrill seeker, I definitely recommend this series to you. If you’re afraid of what our future may hold, well, maybe you shouldn’t get this sneak peek. Black Mirror is available on Netflix!