Black Mirror
released 2011
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“Black Mirror” is an English science fiction anthology series centered around modern society and technology. It has elements of sinister humor as well as elements of psychological horror as well as dystopian themes. It was created by Charlie Brooker with writers such as Rashida Jones, William Bridges, Jesse Armstrong, Konnie Huq, Christopher Morris and Michael Schur to name a few. It stars a huge caste that includes Hannah John-Kamen, Michaela Coel, Beatrice Robertson-Jones , Jade Clarke, Daniel Westwood, Daniel Kaluuya, Toby Kebbell, Rory Kinnear, Hayley Atwell, Lenora Crichlow, Daniel Rigby , Jon Hamm, Bryce Dallas Howard, Malachi Kirby, Alex Lawther, Kelly Macdonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wyatt Russell, Georgina Campbell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Douglas Hodge, Maxine Peake, Jesse Plemons, Andrea Riseborough, Jessica Brown Findlay, Lindsay Duncan, Jodie Whittaker, Domhnall Gleeson, Chloe Pirrie, Elizabeth Chan and so many others. It has won many awards with a growing fan base.

Black Mirror IMDb webpage

Black Mirror Channel 4 website

“Black Mirror” is a series of stories in the style of “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits” and “Tales From The Dark Side” in that each episode is a story that offers a critique of people and society while bending reality. I watched the first episode of the first season and was horrified not only at what lay in the human mind but how technology can fit into that nightmare. I particularly loved the story called “Fifteen Million Merits” where people are trapped on a treadmill with technology as their indoctrination, entertainment and basically prison. What a sad story on how people get broken down and forced into terrible situations. Each story is a cautionary tale of where technology can lead us and I love the idea of it. Someone told me that the name `Black Mirror´comes from what people´s cell phones look like. It´s basically a black mirror when it´s off. They have become our window to the world for most of us and our very identity. That is to say, how the world sees us.

I love the idea of “Black Mirror” and the loads of talented people who worked on it. I think anthology series, especially scifi, are a very important staple to TV and the internet and are often timeless when other shows burn out in just a few season. I still Watch old episodes of the  “The Twilight Zone” and “The Outer Limits” and love them every time. So check out “Black Mirror” because it´s a fresh and interesting look at the pitfalls of technology in our society.

Written by John

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