Black Mirror presents speculative fiction showing our current society distorted to show that these things are very possible and could come about in the near future, and acts like a warning for what could come if we are not careful. The key conventions of dystopian sci-fi are that society is ruled by violence, people live in fear and are watched / monitored by the government, people are encouraged / brainwashed into thinking a certain way and having particular beliefs, the environment has been destroyed by humans and that society presents an illusion of a utopian world.
Examples of dystopian shows include The Handmaid’s Tale, Westworld, The Walking Dead, World War Z and Divergent. These shows follow a consistent narrative over a series of episode, but Black Mirror is different, showing a multitude different plots from episode to episode. Rather than science fiction, the show is speculative fiction – a genre of fiction that is still in the real world just with an element of supernatural, futuristic or extraordinary elements. This looks to explore the human condition and does not mimic real life but rather reflects what it could be.
The main theme of Black Mirror is usually the ‘unpleasant effect’ that society could have on us, and how we do not realise just how strong and advanced it is becoming. Each episode also leads into other genres such as politics and satire. It has also been noted the first two seasons are bleaker than the Netflix produced ones, as though they were really coming from the voice of someone outside looking in.
The theme of technology is important in the show as most of the audience will likely already have an ‘intimate relationship’ with their devices. The dystopian nature of these relationships is that they begin to warp bodies and consciousness, but also speak to those who are cynical and conscious of how harmful technology use is.
George Orwell’s 1984 explores a futuristic society called ‘The World State’ revolving around science and efficiency. Emotions and individuality are taken from people, brainwashed out of them at an early age, and everything they do is controlled and monitored by the government – there is a big eye constantly watching over them and reminding them that they see everything they are doing. In the trailer we see there is a ‘Dictionary of Newspeak’ showing even the things they say are controlled. The book was written in 1949 and displays George Orwell’s fear of what the future would look like and the vision he had for it. This was especially important for the time it was written in, post world war 2, as the idea of people being turned into mindless zombies who's only purpose is for maximum efficiency does not strain too far from the current army status.
The Handmaid's Tale follows women who
are forced to live in fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. This was prevalent for the time it was written and still continues to be due to oppression against women and just the existence of patriarchy. It is one of the few dystopian novels to indulge in the intersection of politics and sexuality. It is a response to oppressive, totalitarian, and religious governments that have taken control, and shows women all the patriarchal oppressions in life that go unnoticed.
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