TRIGGER WARNING: I will probably be writing some strong profanity, as it was actually material to the plot of the show.
BLACK MIRROR
A recent Netflix original, Black Mirror is a six-part fictional anthology that intends to display the world not as it currently is, or as it will be far in the future, but as it could be weeks from now, or months from now. There will be six seasons (three have been released so far), each with no more than five or six episodes. Each episode runs around an hour long, each with its own individual plot, making the show more or less a six-season miniseries.
The issues portrayed in the show are very relevant to current life: Corrupt politics, reliance upon technology, social media, virtual gaming, etc. However, I have seen only one episode, so I am unsure of how these other issues have been portrayed.
"NOSEDIVE"
The episode of Black Mirror that I have seen was called "Nosedive." The issues that this episode focused on were social media, technology, and personal validation. In the world that this episode portrays, everyone "rates" their encounters with each other on a scale of 0-5 stars, via their cellphones. When you get rated highly, your social status is boosted higher, and people think more highly of you. This status extends so far as to include your socioeconomic status. Eventually, your status becomes your identity. You're a "4.2" or a "4.8", and people with higher numbers typically have better lives. They have better jobs, can afford better houses, and are more sought after for connections. But if you're much of anything below a 3, you're an outcast to society, an untouchable.
Lacie Pound is a solid 4.2. Not super high, but certainly high enough to live comfortably. However, she desires to buy a condo in a very upscale neighborhood, the quality of which requires her to be at least a 4.5. To achieve that status, she must be "up-rated" via many positive interactions with people of a higher status. So, when a girl that she went to school with (who treated her very poorly), who is a 4.8, asks Lacie to be in her wedding, Lacie knows that she hit the jackpot.
However, Lacie's trip to Naomi's wedding is what begins her downfall. Her status begins to fall because of a handful of poor encounters with strangers, and she misses her flight. Her falling status doesn't allow her to purchase a decent rental car, and the crappy older model breaks down. Her perfectly organized world is starting to fall apart, and it's spinning out of control. She finally makes it to the wedding, after trekking through the woods for several hours, and is determined to make her maid-of-honor speech. So, as a 2.8, Lacie barges in to a reception dinner of an enormous group of people above 4.5, and begins to rail on Naomi's perfect life. She sarcastically applauds her for marrying "that...JACKHOLE" and for creating such a world around her that she will never know what it's like to actually not be able to function in this society. Lacie is removed from the scene by police, and is taken into custody.
The show ends more beautifully than I could have ever imagined. While in custody, Lacie doesn't have her phone or any other kind of technology, and is isolated to a tiny cell with glass-plated doors. Across the aisle from her is another man in custody, and they begin to have a conversation. Eventually, they begin insulting each other. He doesn't like her clothes, she doesn't like his face. But it quickly evolves, and the episode ends with them screaming "FUCK YOU" at each other.
In this version of society, everyone has to be perfect all the time to achieve this desired status of perfection. They can't say what they actually think. They can't give their true opinion, and they certainly can't insult anyone. That's why the episode ends so beautifully. Lacie and her fellow detainee are screaming their actual thoughts, their actual opinions at each other, for the first time in their lives.
Rating: A
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