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Tao Jones posted:It depends. I've shown it to a few people adopting the strategy that was used to expose me to it ("It's from the UK, it's called Black Mirror, don't watch it if there are children around, I won't tell you anything else about it"). The first two episodes, more than the rest, really rub your face in poo poo and I think they lose some of their effectiveness if you're prepped for how Black Mirror tells stories. But because they rub your face in poo poo, some people have a negative reaction to it and don't watch the whole series.
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Feb 9, 2015 02:49
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My fiancee will not watch this show with me. And frankly, considering 15MM made me switch off my Facebook in response, the show tells you a lot about a person. People who don't want to see the seedy side of humanity versus the people who see it and identify in. Goons are the kind of folk who go "Yep, that's precisely how people would use technology." Because we know those people, or ARE those people. And the most cheerful implementation of the stories came in The Waldo Moment, I think. Even the Tory candidate acknowledged that Waldo/Jamie was right about the system being horseshit, "but it built these roads." Even the absurdity is vital to our continued functioning. The really happy people, the TRULY happy people, are the ones who don't worry about the future - not because the future doesn't concern them, but because keeping their minds on the here and now keep them sane. The stories keep showing folks trying to overcome the world within the world's parameters, and it doesn't work. Bing becomes a commodity, Jamie becomes homeless, and Michael becomes a pariah. I don't think Brooker is advocating for the end of technology so much as advocating for kindness.
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Feb 9, 2015 23:34
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Your Boy Fancy posted:My fiancee will not watch this show with me. And frankly, considering 15MM made me switch off my Facebook in response, the show tells you a lot about a person. People who don't want to see the seedy side of humanity versus the people who see it and identify in. This. This is a good post. Us old guys have watched technology evolve, and the social ramifications with it. Black Mirror seems a natural exploration and a great introspection of the subject. It also hits really loving hard emotionally, which is great but also limiting. Everybody I've shown this has had to take a few days between episodes. Not something you binge watch.
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Feb 10, 2015 02:21
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Wake_N_Bake posted:This. This is a good post. Us old guys have watched technology evolve, and the social ramifications with it. Black Mirror seems a natural exploration and a great introspection of the subject. Wish someone would have told me this before I dove in expecting a light-hearted pig-loving political farce, and watched them all in two days. 
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Feb 10, 2015 11:05
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I have to say binge watching this is NOT a good idear if you have clinical depression like I do... I could not get out of bed for days. Definitely worthwhile and entertaining but NOT recommended.
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Feb 10, 2015 12:36
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Talorat posted:Just started watching this show and holy poo poo Fifteen Million Merits maybe the most horrifyingly cynical piece of television I have ever witnessed. I haven't had that strong of an emotional reaction to a piece of television in months, maybe years. It's terrifying, especially as someone in tech, after all this is the future we are all so desperately trying to bring about, isn't it. Yeah, that episode hosed me up too and it's way, way too on-point about how much it sucks to be alive in general.
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Feb 17, 2015 03:08
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Yeah, that episode hosed me up too and it's way, way too on-point about how much it sucks to be alive in general. Let us know how you like White Bear.  Edit- be sure to stay for the credits. It's a laugh riot! Wake_N_Bake fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 03:34
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Your Boy Fancy posted:Goons are the kind of folk who go "Yep, that's precisely how people would use technology." Because we know those people, or ARE those people. And the most cheerful implementation of the stories came in The Waldo Moment, I think. Even the Tory candidate acknowledged that Waldo/Jamie was right about the system being horseshit, "but it built these roads."
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Feb 17, 2015 03:44
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Sardikar posted:I have to say binge watching this is NOT a good idear if you have clinical depression like I do... What the hell
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Feb 17, 2015 11:10
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Wake_N_Bake posted:Let us know how you like White Bear. Haha yeah, I've seen all the episodes a couple times. The first time I saw White Bear I had trouble getting to sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's definitely true that Black Mirror is less about the perils of technology and more about the perils of us being given easier ways to gently caress each other over, because we absolutely will. Brooker's totally cynical about people in the same way that makes Terry Gilliam's Brazil scarier than 1984. It''s not about some big bad people forcing something scary on society, it's about society, through a combination of selfishness and lack of willpower, accepting and merrily rolling into these self-inflicted totalitarian states.
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Feb 17, 2015 16:44
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To be fair, I think there is a collective understanding of wrongdoing at the end of National Anthem. They accept this being wrong, and they ultimately don't treat the Prime Minister as a joke. The issue is that they're not treating themselves as complicit in a rape. It's not the artist who forces the Prime Minister, it's the public. Their distance and sense of not being directly responsible allows them to just simply feel good about accepting the PM after raping him. They're blind to the personal cost and how they've completely shattered his life internally.
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Feb 18, 2015 03:21
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I agree in principle, but part of what was hard for me about that episode was how it pointed out that there wasn't any understanding of wrongdoing. The Prime Minister is a total abstraction to the people watching (and even most of the people involved), both before and after the event.
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Feb 18, 2015 04:07
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Timeless Appeal posted:To be fair, I think there is a collective understanding of wrongdoing at the end of National Anthem. They accept this being wrong, and they ultimately don't treat the Prime Minister as a joke. The issue is that they're not treating themselves as complicit in a rape. It's not the artist who forces the Prime Minister, it's the public. Their distance and sense of not being directly responsible allows them to just simply feel good about accepting the PM after raping him. They're blind to the personal cost and how they've completely shattered his life internally. Totally agree with this. My strongest reaction while watching was to the public gleefully watching. Didn't someone say it went on for over an hour? They were still watching. And that explains why the PM was still PM and more popular a year later. So the public doesn't have to feel complicit or feel shame that they watched. Anyway, I just got through the two seasons. Haven't watched the Don Draper Xmas ep yet, but here are my thoughts on each ep. I ultimately judge these by how likely I think the scenarios could happen and/or how accurate I feel the human responses are to the situation presented. Sorry if these points have already been made: National Anthem: I interpreted this as like the ultimate convergence of trolling and terrorism, but like I said my strongest reaction was to the public. Fifteen Million Merits: I thought this was the most tragic episode with the most attention to world building detail. The fat folks being demoted to janitor work and getting treated like poo poo was a nice touch. Entire History of You: Made me nauseous. And how loving depressing that everybody knowing the truth about everything leads to that. We need out little white lies. I would like to see a version of this episode with the wife not actually cheating. Be Right Back: This was the least depressing ep for me. I didn't really have a strong reaction to it. I also couldn't buy that someone would get that invested in a fake dead loved one. White Bear: Brilliant episode. The combo of phone drones and vengeance culture makes so much sense. Also? Just the simple fear of eye contact with another person. There's plenty of satires about executions being on TV, but yeah. This seems more likely to me. Punishment porn. Waldo Moment: I didn't care for it. I don't really buy the conclusions. I'm cynical about political systems, but this ep crossed over to ridiculous territory for me. Look Sir Droids fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 22:54
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You've got good opinions. 15 Million Merits kicked me in the balls then The Entire History of You punched me in the face. I had to turn the TV off for a while. I've got a mild touch of OCD so I totally understood his desire to know the truth at all costs.
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Mar 3, 2015 23:52
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I just got around to watching White Christmas. Ffffuck me. Just, gently caress. The casual indifference with which Jon Hamm flicks the switch on the time thing to 180 days was just chilling. Can someone explain The National Anthem to me? Everyone seems to love it, but in my head it's probably the weakest episode, and it's a real shame that it's the first one because I don't feel like it's representative of the rest of the Black Mirror feel at all. I watched 15 Million Merits first and that was perfect and really told me what I was getting into. That one's probably the strongest, along with Be Right Back. I'm worrying that I just didn't get The National Anthem? What point was it making? What aspect of society is it worried about?
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Mar 5, 2015 20:26
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Watched the whole thing last week. Liked most of it, really did not like the Waldo episode, but otherwise thought it was a good show. Then I watched the christmas special and was loving blown away. I think that might have been the single best episode of anything I've watched in years. None of the other episodes quite did it like that for me. Just the right amount of insane build-up to pure loving horror.
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Mar 5, 2015 20:30
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Look Sir Droids posted:Totally agree with this. My strongest reaction while watching was to the public gleefully watching. Didn't someone say it went on for over an hour? They were still watching. And that explains why the PM was still PM and more popular a year later. So the public doesn't have to feel complicit or feel shame that they watched. Whatever is done in my name...
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Mar 5, 2015 21:55
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Boing posted:I just got around to watching White Christmas. Ffffuck me. Just, gently caress. The casual indifference with which Jon Hamm flicks the switch on the time thing to 180 days was just chilling. Nah, it's something about the way he bites the toast that really drives home the horror of how little he cares. Boing posted:I'm worrying that I just didn't get The National Anthem? What point was it making? What aspect of society is it worried about? It's talked about like a dozen posts up, but the episode is basically all about the media circus and how it was able to create enough pressure to make a man ruin himself on national television (with nearly nobody paying attention to the real world to notice the princess was just out wandering around).
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Mar 6, 2015 00:02
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Sardikar posted:I have to say binge watching this is NOT a good idear if you have clinical depression like I do... lol pussy (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Mar 10, 2015 01:08
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Boing posted:
It's about politics and how the public reacts to to terrorism and how a leader handles it. The prime minister debases himself on national television because he knows that if he doesn't and the hostage dies, he'll be blamed and maybe he'll even feel responsible for it. Honestly, this show made me feel very depressed about modern society. Everyone should watch it.
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Mar 14, 2015 19:29
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Boing posted:Can someone explain The National Anthem to me? Everyone seems to love it, but in my head it's probably the weakest episode, and it's a real shame that it's the first one because I don't feel like it's representative of the rest of the Black Mirror feel at all. I watched 15 Million Merits first and that was perfect and really told me what I was getting into. That one's probably the strongest, along with Be Right Back. I'm worrying that I just didn't get The National Anthem? What point was it making? What aspect of society is it worried about? Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that The National Anthem is tonally different to the rest of the series and that someone that watched it out of order would probably not be as affected by it as a newcomer to the show. I think it's that all episodes other than the first are clearly vessels through which Brooker et al. are trying to convey a point. Meaning that the point being made is the most important part and the plot itself is almost an afterthought. I mean, in The Entire History of You, you pretty much get the message that "recording everything is bad", but then Brooker makes you keep watching until you really get it, gently caress you and gently caress humanity The National Anthem, on the other hand, is structured a bit more traditionally and almost reads like a standard thriller movie up until the twist at the end. Coupled with the fact that, if you're a newcomer, you really aren't expecting a brutal critique into modern society and politics, then the ending and the message just hit you that much harder. If you watched any of the other episodes and liked them, then by now not only are you probably expecting that kind of message, but probably also don't want to wait through the standard TV show trappings before you get to the sweet, sweet misanthropy.
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Mar 14, 2015 23:00
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I'm of the opinion that National Anthem was literally just a bunch of writers coming up with what would happen if someone forced the Prime Minister to gently caress a pig. The 'point' of it was just to see what might logically happen and I believe this because I agree with the progression of the plot. People would naturally make fun of the PM, the PM would refuse, there would probably be a behind the scenes thing where he's forced to do it by a political cabal, people would watch it, laugh at first, then feel super uncomfortable, they would welcome him as a hero afterwards then everyone would secretly feel like he was 'tainted'. His love life would be ruined and he'd be a shell of a man. All of it makes sense. Because it all makes sense I really don't think they were trying to come up with a deeper artistic interpretation, like how everyone in the world is 'raping' the PM by enabling it or whatever. It was really just a unique idea for an initial show, then Black Mirror took off as this complex philosophical show. I dunno, National Anthem just doesn't 'fit' to me with the rest of the series. Just seems totally different, probably because it doesn't extensively involve electronics outside of them trying to fool the kidnapper.
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Mar 15, 2015 01:22
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Doltos posted:I'm of the opinion that National Anthem was literally just a bunch of writers coming up with what would happen if someone forced the Prime Minister to gently caress a pig. The 'point' of it was just to see what might logically happen and I believe this because I agree with the progression of the plot. People would naturally make fun of the PM, the PM would refuse, there would probably be a behind the scenes thing where he's forced to do it by a political cabal, people would watch it, laugh at first, then feel super uncomfortable, they would welcome him as a hero afterwards then everyone would secretly feel like he was 'tainted'. His love life would be ruined and he'd be a shell of a man. All of it makes sense. Classic real-life example of this for me was the whole Justine Sacco thing: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?_r=0 For her, it was the event that ruined her life for a year+; for everyone else, it was Tuesday (or whatever day it actually was).
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Mar 15, 2015 01:59
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Doltos posted:I dunno, National Anthem just doesn't 'fit' to me with the rest of the series. Just seems totally different, probably because it doesn't extensively involve electronics outside of them trying to fool the kidnapper. I hadn't quite thought about it in that way. I think it and Waldo are different from the other five episodes in that they don't involve "magical" technology. There's nothing extraordinary in the premises for them, it's all stuff that could at least in theory happen tomorrow. That said, though, I don't think National Anthem could have happened without TV, the internet, the ability to follow a developing story with up-to-the-minute information, the lack of institutional control over social media, etc.
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Mar 15, 2015 05:45
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Thanks for posting this. What a great article. No Wave posted:I think it's a pretty clever discussion of the distance between how public media events are experienced by spectators vs. people actually involved.
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Mar 15, 2015 14:05
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Crunk Abortion posted:Thanks for posting this. What a great article. There's a whole book coming out on the subject by that author shortly: So You've Been Publicly Shamed
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Mar 15, 2015 15:41
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I know it's not quite the same thing, but I feel that the Star Wars Kid deserves a bit of coverage somewhere in there.
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Mar 15, 2015 16:02
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Watched the first three episodes I thought this was a horror anthology  It's so good, but I feel like such poo poo now.
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Mar 19, 2015 02:49
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Tao Jones posted:I hadn't quite thought about it in that way. I think it and Waldo are different from the other five episodes in that they don't involve "magical" technology. There's nothing extraordinary in the premises for them, it's all stuff that could at least in theory happen tomorrow. Yeah of course I just don't think they were the main theme of the episode. The deeper meaning could be that the use of mass media allows a larger group of people to weigh in and influence powerful political decisions but the surface value could just be hey what happens if someone makes the prime minister gently caress a pig.
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Mar 19, 2015 05:02
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But you could say the same for the memory rewinding episode: "What if someone was paranoid and jealous and combed over there relationship looking for proof their partner was cheating?" isn't an inherently new concept either, but the technology involved is. The broad point of the show is how technology exacerbates the darker side of human nature, and social media is still new enough and poorly understood enough that it's ripe for exploration.
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Mar 19, 2015 05:52
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Exactly, technological changes bring about changes in society and it's worth exploring how our current and incredibly fast technological evolution may change our society. It's just that in Black Mirror the answer is always "about the worst loving way possible".
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Mar 19, 2015 06:20
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No Wave posted:I think it's a pretty clever discussion of the distance between how public media events are experienced by spectators vs. people actually involved. Thanks, that's a good article. It's one of the reasons I stay off Twitter, and keep my facebook profile as closed to outsiders as I can. What scares me though is someone taking a bad joke and tweeting it out to the world to shame me, like what happened to the one guy with his dongle joke. Public shaming has obviously been a thing forever, now it's just even more wide scale. Here's to hoping someone never takes one of my jokes the wrong way.
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Mar 20, 2015 21:09
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Doltos posted:Yeah of course I just don't think they were the main theme of the episode. The deeper meaning could be that the use of mass media allows a larger group of people to weigh in and influence powerful political decisions but the surface value could just be hey what happens if someone makes the prime minister gently caress a pig. That's just the difference between plot and story - the plot is what happens, the story is what happens.
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Mar 21, 2015 05:33
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Magic Hate Ball posted:That's just the difference between plot and story - the plot is what happens, the story is what happens. All I'm saying is looking deeper into the first episode reminds me of an 11th grade English teacher trying to get his class to figure out that the blue curtains in Catcher in the Rye meant that Holden Caufield was depressed. I think people are just looking into the first episode too much to make it the same as the later episodes, which I most definitely agree that they all revolve around technology as the main story. The first episode just doesn't smell of the same motif to me. That's all.
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Mar 21, 2015 05:40
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Doltos posted:the surface value could just be hey what happens if someone makes the prime minister gently caress a pig.
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Mar 21, 2015 08:19
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Doltos posted:he's forced to do it by a political cabal, Small quibble but I don't think it was the political cabal that forced him to do it really. Of course there was the palace phonecall bit, and his party were insinuating that they would throw him to the wolves, but the episode constantly showed the public move from 'don't do it mate' to 'well he's got to do it', and the word 'insurrection' was even used. I thought the real turning point was when the angry hospital worker said "Yes he loving has (to do it)". The episode definitely doesn't gel with the rest of them though, you're right.
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Mar 21, 2015 13:52
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Episode one isn't bad at all, it's just that the rest of them are so drat much better. An episode where social media gets the Prime Minister to gently caress a pig is certainly something, but maybe not the best introductory point for the show. Same thing for Waldo. I introduce friends with 50MM. That or White Bear if they're familiar with most tropes they lull you with. What do you guys use? Edit- Christmas episode is a great intro, if you have it Wake_N_Bake fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Mar 21, 2015 |
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Mar 21, 2015 14:30
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Wake_N_Bake posted:Episode one isn't bad at all, it's just that the rest of them are so drat much better. An episode where social media gets the Prime Minister to gently caress a pig is certainly something, but maybe not the best introductory point for the show. Same thing for Waldo. I don't introduce my friends to Black Mirror. Because I do not loving hate them.
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Mar 21, 2015 22:21
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Wake_N_Bake posted:Episode one isn't bad at all, it's just that the rest of them are so drat much better. An episode where social media gets the Prime Minister to gently caress a pig is certainly something, but maybe not the best introductory point for the show. Same thing for Waldo. I keep telling my friends to watch 15 Million Merits because I think it is the best episode of the series. That being said, everyone I have talked to has identified most with a different episode. I think it really speaks to what you fear with what episode you like/are freaked out by the most. A lot of people say White Bear but that one was less effective for me because I am not British and am unfamiliar with Tabloid culture. So far everything in the show has been excellent regardless.
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Mar 27, 2015 07:18
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I think Merits is probably best for most people in my generation. I know a lot of people liked the pilot but I thought it was just gross and silly. It totally turned off more than one person I recommended the show to despite my explicitly telling them that the first episode isn't representative of the rest of the series if they didn't like it. I think the pilot and the waldo one also turned me off because they just seem way more British for some reason and I just don't relate. White Bear totally makes sense to an American though.
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Mar 27, 2015 07:45
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