In 1961, Walker Percy published The Moviegoer, a
philosophical novel concerned with how an individual can truly know
themselves in a mediated world. His protagonist, Binx Bolling, is a
traumatized and disaffected young man who has returned to New Orleans
after the Korean War and finds that he is not capable of interacting
with other human beings. Instead, he tries to come to an understanding
of his life by going to the movies. Movies function, for Binx, as a
framework for understanding life, and he is constantly convinced that
each new film will give him what he needs to connect in a meaningful way
with himself and with others.
Black Mirror, whose first two seasons (of three episodes each) are available online, meditates on this very same question. How does technology shape our vision of ourselves, our relations with others, and the complexion of our society as a whole? The brainchild of British satirist Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits for a new generation. Both of those precursors also focused themselves around questions of technology (the bomb and airplanes are frequently recurring themes in TZ, while the anxieties of robotics fueled OL), but focused on the external questBlion: how does technology change the world? Black Mirror is far more concerned with how technology changes us.
The first season episode “The Entire History of You” takes a piece of technology like Google Glass, and asks what might happen if such a device could record every moment of our lives so that they could be reviewed later. How might the ability to dissect every blink, nod, every gesture and word affect us? It is stark and chilling, a horror story that happens only in the mind of one obsessive young man. Perhaps the best episode of the series is “Be Right Back,” starring the delightful Domhnall Gleeson and Hayley Atwell, which depicts a world not unlike that of Spike Jonze’s Her, where computer algorithms can recreate the dead by combing through their social media histories. Unlike the twee fondness of Her, however, “Be Right Back” is like cliff diving into the uncanny valley, and what lurks at the bottom is almost unspeakable in its eerie despair.
Each episode stands alone, and runs between 60 and 90 minutes, perfect for casual watching though so thought provoking that they will reward multiple viewings. Along with Sherlock, this is the best that British television has to offer. A must watch
This content appeared originally at Pop, Shop, and Troll
Black Mirror, whose first two seasons (of three episodes each) are available online, meditates on this very same question. How does technology shape our vision of ourselves, our relations with others, and the complexion of our society as a whole? The brainchild of British satirist Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits for a new generation. Both of those precursors also focused themselves around questions of technology (the bomb and airplanes are frequently recurring themes in TZ, while the anxieties of robotics fueled OL), but focused on the external questBlion: how does technology change the world? Black Mirror is far more concerned with how technology changes us.
The first season episode “The Entire History of You” takes a piece of technology like Google Glass, and asks what might happen if such a device could record every moment of our lives so that they could be reviewed later. How might the ability to dissect every blink, nod, every gesture and word affect us? It is stark and chilling, a horror story that happens only in the mind of one obsessive young man. Perhaps the best episode of the series is “Be Right Back,” starring the delightful Domhnall Gleeson and Hayley Atwell, which depicts a world not unlike that of Spike Jonze’s Her, where computer algorithms can recreate the dead by combing through their social media histories. Unlike the twee fondness of Her, however, “Be Right Back” is like cliff diving into the uncanny valley, and what lurks at the bottom is almost unspeakable in its eerie despair.
Each episode stands alone, and runs between 60 and 90 minutes, perfect for casual watching though so thought provoking that they will reward multiple viewings. Along with Sherlock, this is the best that British television has to offer. A must watch
This content appeared originally at Pop, Shop, and Troll
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