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Black Mirror


Angury

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Black Mirror is a British TV series that examines the impact of technology on modern society. It is very dark and satirical, and every episode leaves you with a horrible feeling at the bottom of your stomach.

 

Some of the episodes are not that far fetched, and that's what makes it so scary. The acting is fantastic, and the stories really grab you and hold you to your seat.

 

The episodes have received critical acclaim which is why I decided to give them a go (I very rarely watch TV) and I cannot get the series out of my mind. The next series is beginning in October this year, and I just wanted to start this thread to see if there were any other fans waiting for the new episode to premier.

 

I also find it interesting that Charlie Brooker (who created the show) chose the name Black Mirror as it describes how technology looks when we turn it off - TVs, iPhones, iPads, laptops etc. We are all really just staring into black mirrors.

 

"If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The 'black mirror' of the title is the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone."

- Charlie Brooker

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/dec/01/charlie-brooker-dark-side-gadget-addiction-black-mirror

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I watched these on DVD a few years ago.

Quite disturbing but a highly prophetic but gloomy portrait of what it is to live in the modern world.

All that staring at screens while frantically cycling at the gym is a microcosm of how Mr Civilised lives these days.

That was a good series.

Edited by itsmeagain
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This sounds really excellent and I have to check it out. The effects of technology on the brain and socialisation is one of my favourite topics, and a few months ago in Dubai I heard a terrific lecture from British neuroscientist Susan Greenfield about this very topic, with particular focus on the effects of social media and the way it distorts our perceptions and psychological development. There are some very scary implications in a lot of this recent research. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Interesting. I remember seeing a one off drama last Christmas with that name by Charlie Brooker. It was about the future. It was really good but quite dark. Have they made it into a series now?

Edited by ~Andrea~
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Interesting. I remember seeing a one off drama last Christmas with that name by Charlie Brooker. It was about the future. It was really good but quite dark. Have they made it into a series now?

Yes, there are two series and a Christmas special. Definitely worth watching.

 

Also, exciting news:

 

 

Not so exciting: I don't have Netflix. :(

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've just finished watching Season 3. I was worried that it wouldn't live up to the previous two seasons but it certainly did. It is a harrowing experience watching the episodes, and I feel like this season captured our internet obsessions in a far more accurate (and therefore more scary) way.

Edited by Angury
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I'd never even heard of it till a couple of weeks ago, and now it seems to be everywhere - LOL! I'm totally going to have to go back and watch all of them from the start.

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I have only two episodes left to watch of Season 3 - but I didn't enjoy eps 3 and 4 much at all so I haven't bothered with the last two.

What did you think of the San Junipero episode?

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Episode 2 really messed with me. It was brutal. But I loved it, in a morbid way.

 

I thought 3 was just dull. When you've already seen that many episodes of the show, you start to look for what's twisted about every character, and it was pretty obvious from a few minutes in. Plus:

 

 

I knew starting it that all the instructions were leading up to a bank robbery because I saw it called 'the bank robbery' episode online. The fact that it was all trolling was good, but that was the only unexpected/unpredictable bit of the episode for me.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I watched two episodes last night and found it very disturbing. :o  I don't think I can watch several episodes back to back, as I need to time to think about them. Weird stuff. :o

Yeah, I don't think it's a series you can binge watch (which I know is difficult with Netflix!). I always needed to take time to digest each episode before continuing with the next.

 

I found that some of the episodes had some meaningful lessons which made me think about my own life and how I interact with technology on a day to day basis.

Edited by Angury
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  • 7 months later...

I recently finished watching this series and loved every minute of it! Very thought-provoking.

 

Apparently Charles Brooker is going to publish three 'Black Mirror' volumes of novellas written by different people. These will go on my wish list for sure.

 

 

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I still have a couple of episodes left in Black Mirror - most ranged from 'liked' to 'loved' for me (favourite being "Playtest", the virtual reality one) but I really disliked "San Junipero" for some reason and it put me off watching more.

 

OH hasn't seen the show (and generally doesn't like anything too depressing, but is curious), so I might coax him into watching an ep and see what he thinks!

 

Would absolutely love to read those novellas, thanks for the info Kylie.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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