2013 has witnessed the magnificent return of the satirical, grumpy, piss-taking Charlie Brooker. And it's a double whammy. Not only do we have Weekly Wipe on BBC2 (which I personally shocked at, Charlie Brooker seems a bit too opinionated to be trusted by the BBC) but also the phenomenal series that is Black Mirror.
I have been an avid watcher of the controversial series ever since the first episode, which featured a fictional Prime Minister partaking in sexual acts with a pig. At the time, that was disgusting and I'm a bit worried why I enjoyed the show so much and why I continued watching. But anyway, I can't see that being a problem now with the new Facebook trend of uploading videos of yourself being pleasured by a dog. The whole concept of Black Mirror, although far-fetched, is to show an insight into what could happen if we allow our obsession with social media to spiral out of control.
Now, don't let the whole beastiality issue of Episode 1 put you off. The second series has arrived even more spectacular and more clever than the first; my personal favourite was Series 2, Episode 2: White Bear. Throughout the hour-long episode, you become emotionally attached to Victoria, who seems to be in a '28 days later' kind of world, but with zombies being replaced by women in rabbit masks. As she runs for her life, she is filmed by dozens of spectators with mobile phones; although she's too busy trying not to be killed to really stop and think what the hell are these people doing, the audience has time to consider the purpose of these dumb voyeurs. Brooker hyperbolises the craze of sharing every aspect of your life through images and videos brilliantly, making all of us instagrammers look pretty shameful.
To really sell White Bear to you, I'd have to reveal the ingenius twist at the end of the episode. Which would be a bit too harsh. But it is good!
The 'unique selling point' of Black Mirror, as it were, is the overwhelming sense of ambiguity in each episode. Not only is each episode confusing, and full of twists which shock and (most of the time) creep you out, but the structure of the series, as isolated plots, means the audience is never quite sure what to expect next. One week you have a Prime Minister having sex with a pig, the next you have the characters cycling for their lives in virtual reality and entering a gameshow which suspiciously looks like Britain's Got Talent.
I know my description of Black Mirror may have overwhelmed and put you off ever watching it. But it is worth the confusion and the 'hide behind the cushion' moments. It really is shocking what entertains us, and I guess that's Charlie Brooker's message.
All episodes, from both series, are available on 4od here.
Let me know what you think of the shows and comment below!
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