|
Common People is peak Black Mirror
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 18:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2025 14:33 |
|
|
Mostly what I am getting from Eulogy is that Paul Giamatti is a loving great actor.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 18:23
|
|
|
Victorkm posted:Mostly what I am getting from Eulogy is that Paul Giamatti is a loving great actor. Astronaut meme: always has been First saw him as pig e: appropriate mistake in the black mirror thread I guess Professor Beetus fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Apr 12, 2025 |
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 18:51
|
|
|
Paul Giamatti is great, I do however always picture him very blue when I hear his name at first.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 19:07
|
|
|
Sideways is legit one of my favorite movies ever. Paul rules
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 19:29
|
|
|
The definitive Paul Giamatti performance is clearly American Splendor.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 20:12
|
|
|
Khanstant posted:Yeah they both suck, but there also wasn't a happy ending to that relationship solved by communication, it would be miserable for them to get together after the cheating and counter-cheating. Angry lashout self-centered man wasn't going to change his whole character if she told him at the dinner where he was so absorbed in his own poo poo he couldn't read the room to save his life, and if he did show up and decide to stay, the daughter would've grown up with a dad who on some level resented her. Just hard to not see her better off without him since they showed us so much of him being a poo poo. I agree with this and Paul Giamatti being a fantastic actor (The Holdovers was fantastic too) I think the lack of happy ending is more realistic to what would actually happen in this situation. They weren't going to suddenly be great people because they communicated, they just ruined their chance to be together by the lack of communication. It wouldn't have led to a great or bad life, it just would have been a life that he really wanted. Like a previous poster said it's a wish fulfillment story but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be a great wish. The step daughter wasn't necessarily just tearing up that she missed out on her parents finding each other, but also she was watching them both sabotage themselves to make her life kinda lovely too.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 23:09
|
|
|
The concept of a eulogy service that brain clones a person into a digital avatar with emotions whos sent off to memory mine the dead's past associates is sorta wild. That isn't the point of the episode but still fun to think about.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2025 23:35
|
|
|
Euology - if this was a normal black mirror episode, we would be having the episode in the perspective of the step daughter, trying to put the pieces together of a broken family, as the only info we got was - she's an only child raised by a single mom, who still worked in the Orchestra on the Cello, and was brought up to continue the mom's legacy. as we don't really know what happens with the into, other than it probably goes into the step daughters brain, your black mirror twist of bag incidents and horrible moments, leads to this. instead, by making it about "Phil", who doesn't want to go to the funeral, and doesn't want to see anything about her, and not wanting to go back to these moments, but reliving them, it's a tragedy of "these lovely people could've fixed it, but they didn't" Non-Spoiler:: I'm still very tired of stories involving the button on your temple. I'm waiting for the origin story of this technology and the Frankenstein horror show it created, and the Business Dipshit that profited anyway.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 00:29
|
|
|
Binged the remaining episodes, LOVED the sequel to USS Callister. I watched the first episode again, a real banger, and I was wondering why the Russian woman was blue again and where the AI boss was but that all got explained so yeah...it was solid Best season of the Netflix era "Black Mirror". All the episodes hit. I even liked the little dig at the stupid robot bees episode in "Common People". I do hope Brooker does eventually do a sequel to "San Junipero". Those servers aren't going to run forever, what happens when the company is bought out, or they run out of money?. I'm happy to wait 2-5 years if it means that Brooker can come up with some new stuff and I'm sure Netflix is itching to throw money at him. Black Mirror is no.1 in my region according to Netflix. Snuffman fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Apr 13, 2025 |
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 02:44
|
|
|
The San Junipero servers are preserved by a very functional future U.S. Government as a National Park and added free counseling services for people who are considering ending their extended existence. I'm afraid everything is far too perfect and good and non-dystopian to support an episode. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 02:58
|
|
|
If they do another USS Callister they should do a riff on TNGs The Measure of A Man where they litigate the personhood of the little people in our computers that Charlie Brooker loves so much.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 03:32
|
|
|
TelevisedInsanity posted:Non-Spoiler:: I'm still very tired of stories involving the button on your temple. I'm waiting for the origin story of this technology and the Frankenstein horror show it created, and the Business Dipshit that profited anyway. Callister episode There's a great bit in the garage flash-back with a prototype version of the button. That cable  Was the button already a given thing in the museum of horrors episode? I suppose it must have been.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 03:39
|
|
|
The proper episode order 5 6 3 4 1 2
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 05:17
|
|
|
Did anyone else download the Easter Egg Thronglet game? It's pretty fun, I'll probably just play it on my work laptop. Can confirm they don't like fire.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 06:35
|
|
|
The thronglets were cute but it didn’t look like a game from that era. It looked like a modern pixel art thing. I know that complaint is dorky as gently caress, but it threw me off cause the rest of the episode had decent attention to detail. Also, not that it was a bad ep, but with the current state of AI I’m feeling way less enthused than I would have a few years ago about the subject matter. It’s invoking like, Jeff Minter and acid to make it seem like some psychedelic next level experience, but it just sort of reads as “AI is far out, man” when we all know it loving sucks and was immediately hijacked by capitalists.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 08:10
|
|
|
Bete Noire The two leads were fantastic and it was really fun, but it felt like a Red Mirror episode about bullying and trauma where they just quickly replaced the magic amulet plot device with a "computer remote". It really didn't add anything to the episode. I wish they would just establish a tradition of having one Red Mirror episode per season and stand by it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 10:18
|
|
|
TelevisedInsanity posted:Euology - if this was a normal black mirror episode, we would be having the episode in the perspective of the step daughter, trying to put the pieces together of a broken family, as the only info we got was - she's an only child raised by a single mom, who still worked in the Orchestra on the Cello, and was brought up to continue the mom's legacy. Yeah I also was getting a bit tired of the button on the temple, but I guess it lets them just shortcut without having to reinvent tech every story. But that also means that the tech is all very similar. She wasn't "step daughter", just daughter of his ex girlfriend.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 10:24
|
|
|
veni veni veni posted:The thronglets were cute but it didn’t look like a game from that era. It looked like a modern pixel art thing. I know that complaint is dorky as gently caress, but it threw me off cause the rest of the episode had decent attention to detail. Right. It had anachronistic features from modern engines. Like the pixel distortion that made their eyes different sizes. That visual glitch can be hidden. It's possible they wanted the game to look uncanny.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 10:58
|
|
|
Colin is a genius he's ahead of his time
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 11:02
|
|
|
The pixel art didn't conform to the pixel grid! 
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 11:09
|
|
|
veni veni veni posted:Common People is peak Black Mirror just saw it and yep.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 15:31
|
|
|
veni veni veni posted:The thronglets were cute but it didn’t look like a game from that era. It looked like a modern pixel art thing. I know that complaint is dorky as gently caress, but it threw me off cause the rest of the episode had decent attention to detail. I'm assuming if people are posting on SomethingAwful they're experienced with video games and can all agree that every attempt to jam video game language into this season were Hey Fellow Kids moments. No one in Infinity would act that way in a MMO, why was Balatro even featured in an episode when it had nothing to do with it, and like you said the Thronglets game was way too advanced for the era.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 17:04
|
|
|
Thronglets looked to me like a TV version of Populous. It wasn't period accurate and I don't fault them for it because it's a TV videogame and those never are.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 17:07
|
|
|
I think Balatro was seen almost as a playing solitaire in the background and ignoring the call and might be a nod from the creator Charlie Brooker who also used to be a video game journalist.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 17:09
|
|
|
Thronglets reminded me a lot of SimEarth which I was definitely playing in 1994 even though it was outdated back then
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 18:29
|
|
|
The much more jarring anachronism was the reference to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk Which definitely hadn't been a thing in 94
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 18:32
|
|
|
Khanstant posted:Thronglets looked to me like a TV version of Populous. It wasn't period accurate and I don't fault them for it because it's a TV videogame and those never are. if it was a different show I don’t think I would have cared at all, but I guess I hold Black Mirror to a higher standard for dorky things than most shows. It’s a pretty minor gripe but I guess I would have liked it to look period accurate.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 18:59
|
|
|
veni veni veni posted:The thronglets were cute but it didn’t look like a game from that era. It looked like a modern pixel art thing. I know that complaint is dorky as gently caress, but it threw me off cause the rest of the episode had decent attention to detail. I was about to say that all here who compare Thronglets to a "Tamagotchi" or "The Sims" clearly show their (lack of) age, because the whole game aesthetic was very obviously lifted from Populous (1989) and/or Powermonger (1990). Edit: Didn't refresh page. Season had a lot of callbacks, but I guess a lot of BM episodes have them. Issa Rae's character's home address being "Junipero Way" was a bit too on the nose though. Felt like a rehash from a slightly different angle. USS Callister sequel was fun, but not quite as good as the first one (the curse of sequels). Still top tier. But then again I will probably watch and enjoy anything with Cristin Milioti in it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 19:11
|
|
|
First thoughts on the first 3 episodes, all I've watched so far: Common People Really didn't like this one, as the plot was just you need money every month or else you will die. That's just actually existing capitalism. The criticism of subscription based models, enshittification and spamming ever more ads also don't really directly feel connected to the doing horrible poo poo for money on the internet, even though sure those are all things. If anything the technological contrivance weakened the plot, as being able to take a relatively cheap top tier limited time card that would allow someone to learn all kinds of incredible skills and perfectly manage their emotions would allow someone to say, turn themselves into a Matrix-style highly skilled badass killer and go on an absolute rampage in the tech company's offices, rather than wither away and die meekly in a lovely corner alone. Why did the rear end in a top hat working class guy get his comeuppance but the tech nerds and suits didn't get Luigi'd? Just a complete rear end episode in every way I can think of. Bête Noire Not a fan either tbh as it took way too drat long for the reveal as to what the technological plotpoint was and up until that point it might as well have been magic. When I first saw the pendant with the 3 lights my mind went to her having found a literal genie granting her three wishes. And well, she did except she had infinite wishes. The writers get points for answering "so you had infinite power and possibilities yet you chose to do this?" by having her have done everything else first. Except I guess she never tried doing some therapy that actually worked? Anyway, as the episode went on I found myself doing a bit of philosophical musing I'll get into in a sec, and also concluding that, just like in the previous episode, ultraviolence was the answer. So at least I was surprised that the main character did go for the violence is the answer solution this time, and also it worked, and then she revealed herself to be the exact kind of rear end in a top hat her boyfriend had her pegged as, which ok mildly amusing I guess, but what am I supposed to take away here? Anyway to get into the philosophy of the revenge plot, if infinite multiverse theory is real and you can freely move multiverse at will to be in the one that lines up exactly how you want, doesn't that just completely undermine your revenge plot inherently? Because people are who they are because of their past experiences, and if you change the past experiences of the people you're taking revenge on, you're not taking revenge on them anymore are you? You're just taking revenge on someone who looks exactly like them. Ship of Theseus type stuff. Also no guarantee that taking revenge, even if succesful (and I believe we've just found out it carries some risks), isn't guaranteed to make her feel any better about herself or her past, so why not just change that past, or you know, go to the multiverse where you take therapy that completely heals you and allows you to feel happy. Hotel Reverie Definitely my favorite so far. Threw a hell of a lot of fast hugely important decisions at the characters right at the end which kinda sent me for a spin also. Didn't feel entirely happy with the phone ending, but overall was definitely the most interesting of the lot so far, though falling in love with a person and then being forever seperated by vast gulf in time isn't really different from being seperated in some other insurmountable way, like say death. Kinda doubling up on the seperation there, I guess just for the dying in her arms emotional beat. But then that's negated by the phone, when the episode could've ended with the shot of the pensive look in the car imo. Got frustrated by the USB stick early on, and if it's so important that the actor takes in all the material on the USB stick before showing up because otherwise your old studio and startup company will die then maybe give them a call to check if they've received it and everything is in working order? I don't feel like previous seasons of Black Mirror had this much wilful plot contrivance just to keep things going? To this episodes credit though, at least it was engrossing enough for me to move past this and enjoy what came after, unlike the previous two. Overall, hope the remaining three episodes are better, cus so far this is looking like the worst season yet for me. Orange Devil fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Apr 13, 2025 |
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 22:56
|
|
|
Orange Devil posted:Common People That was the point though. The whole reason sci-fi is an interesting genre is its potential to take the problems of the current day and repackage it in the fantastical. The situation in the ep was so obviously hosed up but it was hosed up in a way that every single person watching can relate to and Dumb Dummies was a pretty clear allegory for sex work which very much ties in to people not being able to afford poo poo. It was bleak and miserable because life in end stage capitalism is bleak and miserable, it's the perfect summation of where we are are right now as a society. I actually really love the comparison of this ep to Fifteen Million Merits because they're both critiquing the same thing but Fifteen Million Merits feels like its written with so much more innocence and naivety which really represents how times have changed since then. Orange Devil posted:Anyway to get into the philosophy of the revenge plot, if infinite multiverse theory is real and you can freely move multiverse at will to be in the one that lines up exactly how you want, doesn't that just completely undermine your revenge plot inherently? Because people are who they are because of their past experiences, and if you change the past experiences of the people you're taking revenge on, you're not taking revenge on them anymore are you? You're just taking revenge on someone who looks exactly like them. Ship of Theseus type stuff. Also no guarantee that taking revenge, even if succesful (and I believe we've just found out it carries some risks), isn't guaranteed to make her feel any better about herself or her past, so why not just change that past, or you know, go to the multiverse where you take therapy that completely heals you and allows you to feel happy. Verity was a psycho hth
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 23:28
|
|
|
Rarity posted:That was the point though. The whole reason sci-fi is an interesting genre is its potential to take the problems of the current day and repackage it in the fantastical. The situation in the ep was so obviously hosed up but it was hosed up in a way that every single person watching can relate to and Dumb Dummies was a pretty clear allegory for sex work which very much ties in to people not being able to afford poo poo. It was bleak and miserable because life in end stage capitalism is bleak and miserable, it's the perfect summation of where we are are right now as a society. I actually really love the comparison of this ep to Fifteen Million Merits because they're both critiquing the same thing but Fifteen Million Merits feels like its written with so much more innocence and naivety which really represents how times have changed since then. Adding the sci fi takes away from the critique because it then makes it out as if those things are bad with this fictional thing, when they are just as bad and just as real absent the fictional thing. Plus you could use the sci fi to more effectively fight against the people perpetuating the awfulness, which again speaks to its inclusion undermining its point. As for criticism? Not really. It showed that in the end all you can really do about this awful situation is take it, humiliate and debase yourself trying to live with it and then ultimately die miserably and inconsequentially. It’s misery porn, and gently caress that. If anything that makes it propaganda for the status quo, leaving those who have seen this episode feeling dejected, depressed and disempowered. You can fight back against this bullshit, as China shows us in real life, or closer to home and on a smaller scale, Luigi. Once you decide and accept you are going to die anyway, why not take some of these bastards with you?
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2025 23:47
|
|
|
Orange Devil posted:First thoughts on the first 3 episodes, all I've watched so far: I don't think there would be much chance of there being a 'I Know Kung Fu' slider for shenanigans. It looked like it was all stuff like 'Serenity', 'Pleasure', 'Live, Laugh, Love'. Even 'Parkour' was Rex Kwon Do/The Office bullshit. Though seeing some frustrated customer jumping out of a mobility scooter and going John Wick on the executive board would have been great. Orange Devil posted:Hotel Reverie I greatly enjoyed the irony of this being on a platform that apparently offers less than ten titles made before 1980.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 00:05
|
|
|
Orange Devil posted:You can fight back against this bullshit, as China shows us in real life, or closer to home and on a smaller scale, Luigi. Once you decide and accept you are going to die anyway, why not take some of these bastards with you? I get Luigi and that message but I'm not sure I get what you mean with China?
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 00:36
|
|
|
Khanstant posted:I get Luigi and that message but I'm not sure I get what you mean with China? There is an alternative to capitalism. And it works.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 01:23
|
|
|
I guess alt-capitalism is just not the medicine for capitalism I need, especially not with the parties around now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 01:37
|
|
|
Only seen the first episode so far, but Jesus Christ that was depressing even by Black Mirror standards. Agreed with much of the criticism about predictability and passivity. I also was sitting there wondering how a welder and a teacher with no kids are truly struggling to come up with $300 a month for lifesaving medicine - are they already in some horrible debt spiral or trapped in some heinous mortgage or something? Maybe I'm out of touch but they didn't seem THAT destitute in their overall living situation
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 03:09
|
|
|
JosefStalinator posted:Only seen the first episode so far, but Jesus Christ that was depressing even by Black Mirror standards. Agreed with much of the criticism about predictability and passivity. I also was sitting there wondering how a welder and a teacher with no kids are truly struggling to come up with $300 a month for lifesaving medicine - are they already in some horrible debt spiral or trapped in some heinous mortgage or something? Maybe I'm out of touch but they didn't seem THAT destitute in their overall living situation dudes were ripping out teeth for $20 I'm assuming maybe there was massive deflation in the future or shits just that bleak paywise
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 03:14
|
|
|
socialsecurity posted:dudes were ripping out teeth for $20 I'm assuming maybe there was massive deflation in the future or shits just that bleak paywise Been predicting a Japan-like future economy for the USA, checks out.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 04:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2025 14:33 |
|
|
I finally had a chance to watch all of the episodes and Eulogy stood out the most to me. It's my favorite this season. It's a different kind of Black Mirror episode with the way Paul Giammatii's character was able to find closure with the help of technology. It hit hard when he finally smiles at the end watching her play the cello
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2025 05:09
|
|
