Strong acting and innovative stories explore our difficult relationship with technology
Humanity’s interaction with technology returns as a timely primary theme in the latest season of Black Mirror. Unlike last season’s obsession with cruelty and extreme violence, season 7 of the mind-bending series explores the ways technology shapes our understanding of reality and relationships. The latest advances lure consumers with affordable pricing and irresistible features, but soon we are caught in a cycle of dependence even as the price rises, ads bury the features, and the never-ending contracts trap us in ways that seem impossible to escape. Video games provide a conflicting combination of immersive connection and distinct unreality which leads to moral decisions in a fictional context that may not match real-life choices. The top casting means the concepts are explored with immersive acting, even if the ultimate conclusion doesn’t quite live up to expectations. And, for most of the episodes, the stories are thoughtful and engaging, while raising questions without providing clear answers.
Common People. School teacher Amanda (Rashida Jones) and her construction worker husband, Mike (Chris O’Dowd), are a loving but financially struggling couple. When Amanda suffers a near-lethal seizure, doctors tell a stunned and grief-stricken Mike that she won’t make it. But then he learns about Rivermind, a high-tech system that gives Amanda a chance at life for a seemingly reasonable monthly fee. However, as time moves on, the couple discovers the real price of keeping her alive. The episode is the strongest of the season and offers commentary on the bait-and-switch techniques of online subscription services that lure us in and change the rules as time progresses. But this time, the service is not just television streaming or a music app; it’s the thing keeping Amanda alive. The episode also deals with disturbing obsessions with suffering and humiliation as a form of entertainment and income. Tracee Ellis Ross is excellent as the slick-talking salesperson for Rivermind whose constant doublespeak keeps Amanda and Mike tangled in a web of frustration. The episode is riveting, poignant, and tragic.
Bête Noire. Maria’s life as a food product development specialist changes when an old high school classmate, Verity, appears. Everyone else finds Verity (Rosy McEwen) appealing, except Maria (Siena Kelly), who finds her strange, suspicious and annoying. As Verity insinuates herself deeper into Maria’s life, Maria notices odd occurrences and inexplicable inconsistencies that no one else seems to notice. The episode starts out as an intriguing psychological thriller, with each new mystery building on escalating tension before the story descends into an unexpectedly wild ending.
Hotel Reverie. Superstar actress Brandy Friday (Issa Rae) is tired of the same old film roles and jumps at the chance to be part of struggling film company’s high-tech remake of an old black-and-white classic film. To save money, the film company’s owner hires tech firm ReDream, led by Kimmy (Awkwafina). The tech firm drops Brandy’s consciousness into an AI version of the old film along with the consciousness of the film’s long-deceased star. Of course, with this weirdly complicated set up, things don’t go exactly as planned when Brandy’s AI co-star (Emma Corrin) becomes self-aware and Brandy herself becomes attached to the person inside the character. To make things worse, Brandy’s own life is at risk since she is (unexpectedly?) neurologically linked to the film. This means she has to finish the film to survive. If you think too hard about the scientific logic of this episode, you will turn it off, so it’s best to employ a willing suspension of disbelief to enjoy the quirky love story that unfolds. The episode has similar vibes to an earlier poignant romantic story, San Junipero, but the appeal of this tale lies mostly in the classic, early-twentieth-century film style that it eerily captures while having a contemporary character immersed in it.
Plaything. Doctor Who fans will be excited to see Peter Capaldi onscreen as the mysterious protagonist in Plaything. Cameron (Capaldi) is an eccentric older man whose obsession with a ’90s video game ties him to an unsolved murder from that time. When he is arrested for an unrelated crime, he tells the police detective and police psychologist the story of a video game whose characters are real creatures. Cameron’s protectiveness of the creatures leads to extreme consequences. The episode has a cameo of Will Poulter from the stand alone interactive episode Bandersnatch.
Eulogy. The quiet life of a bitter and isolated man (Paul Giamatti) is interrupted when he is asked to submit memories for an old acquaintance’s funeral. As part of the process, an computer platform connects to his neural system and takes him on an immersive journey through his damaged old photographs. Along the way, we learn the true nature of his relationship with the deceased as the AI guide (Patsy Ferran) prompts him to face some difficult truths about his past. The episode is an intriguing and artistic discourse on affection, pride, and bitterness, and is definitely another standout episode for the season.
USS Callister: Into Infinity. The original story USS Callister gave us a fascinating vision of Star Trek-style fandom inverted into a disturbing exploration of cruelty and toxic anger. In the original episode, a socially awkward genius, Robert Daly (Jessie Plemons), feels unappreciated at his high-tech company. He takes revenge on his colleagues for a range of perceived slights by creating sentient copies of them and torturing them in a Starfleet-inspired, computer-generated world of his creation. But when his latest captive Nannette (Cristin Milioti) arrives, she inspires the enslaved starship crew to fight back. The sequel, USS Callister: Into Infinity, undoes much of the satisfying wrap-up of the original by creating a new problem for the crew: the Callister now can’t survive without game credits (physical currency) to buy fuel, etc. However, the Callister and crew are unregistered players and so can’t earn the credits needed. So they steal currency from other players (avatars of real people), which leads to further conflict in the game and ultimately a violent showdown with the company owners in both the real world and the virtual world. The premise of the sequel is unexpected since none of these obstacles were mentioned in the original story. However, as we saw in Common People, the rules of technology grow harder and more expensive the longer you play. It’s a full-circle moment of irony to wrap up the season.
Season 7 of Black Mirror is significantly more cerebral than the prior one, with thoughtful and timely discussions of AI, technology, and the problematic ways we often treat each other as human beings. While the premise of AI as useful and relatable exists, many episodes lean into cautionary explorations of the roles of technology in our lives. The strong acting and innovative tales give us, as in real life, deep and important questions without clear answers.
Nerd Coefficient: 7/10.
Highlights:
- Relatable messaging on our interactions with technology
- Unspectacular endings for some episodes
- Memorable acting delivered by a strong cast
POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction-writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.
