Current Events > Watched the first episode of Black Mirror. That uh... was quite an episode....

(+) Yeah! (+)

Actually I lied, I watched the first 2 episodes tonight and I watched a random season 3 episode months ago, but still that first episode was

uh



well


er


wow.


He sure fucked that pig >_>
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the rest of it sucks
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refmon posted...

the rest of it sucks

Don't listen to this guy, the series is great.
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The first episode was pretty good I felt. Some genuinely disturbing stuff.

The second episode though was terrible IMO and I haven't watched more yet. I hope every episode isn't a variation on "Wake up sheeple"

Whole show is fucking awesome. You're in for a treat
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The one with the black guy and where they live in the fake world (think it's ep 3 ) creeps me the fuck out
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Itachi157 posted...

The first episode was pretty good I felt. Some genuinely disturbing stuff.

The second episode though was terrible IMO and I haven't watched more yet. I hope every episode isn't a variation on "Wake up sheeple"

Couldn't even finish the second one tbh
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refmon posted...

the rest of it sucks

this tbh. White bear is pretty good, and the christmas special, but the first 2 episodes are the best by far.
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giantblimpN7 posted...

Couldn't even finish the second one tbh

I barely did it. Was close to just turning it off a couple times.

giantblimpN7 posted...

Itachi157 posted...

The first episode was pretty good I felt. Some genuinely disturbing stuff.

The second episode though was terrible IMO and I haven't watched more yet. I hope every episode isn't a variation on "Wake up sheeple"

Couldn't even finish the second one tbh

I don't want to interact with people like you
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I think the first episode is pretty terrible, it felt incredibly unrealistic, I don't think that's how people would react in that situation.
Some episodes are okay though.
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CrestedTax posted...

I think the first episode is pretty terrible, it felt incredibly unrealistic, I don't think that's how people would react in that situation.
Some episodes are okay though.

Nah, it might not be how people would really act, but that we can't say for sure that they wouldn't really act like that is kinda the point. They take it very seriously which is what makes it great.
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joe40001 posted...

CrestedTax posted...

I think the first episode is pretty terrible, it felt incredibly unrealistic, I don't think that's how people would react in that situation.
Some episodes are okay though.

Nah, it might not be how people would really act, but that we can't say for sure that they wouldn't really act like that is kinda the point. They take it very seriously which is what makes it great.

No, we know that's not how peeps would really act. They're given no guarantee apart from the kidnappers' say so that they'll release the girl if he fucks the pig. No one brings this up, and everyone just assumes that the criminals will stay true to their word.

It makes the entire episode feel forced and unintelligent. All the social commentary is made irrelevant because the situation simply doesn't ring true in reality.
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My favorite one was the military one where the soldiers implants forces them to see the enemy as literal monsters. That ending was fucked up
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First ep was the worst(maybe tied with Waldo)

Rest of series is great
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Mal_Fet posted...

joe40001 posted...

CrestedTax posted...

I think the first episode is pretty terrible, it felt incredibly unrealistic, I don't think that's how people would react in that situation.
Some episodes are okay though.

Nah, it might not be how people would really act, but that we can't say for sure that they wouldn't really act like that is kinda the point. They take it very seriously which is what makes it great.

No, we know that's not how peeps would really act. They're given no guarantee apart from the kidnappers' say so that they'll release the girl if he fucks the pig. No one brings this up, and everyone just assumes that the criminals will stay true to their word.

It makes the entire episode feel forced and unintelligent. All the social commentary is made irrelevant because the situation simply doesn't ring true in reality.

They do public opinion things and they do talk about this and it's about how he's basically a good guy trying to do a good thing and the public cares so little about him and his shame relative to this beloved woman.

Sure he could just ignore it and potentially let her die over this, but this act doesn't actually like physically hurt him it just is infinitely humiliating.

I believe some of the public would say in polls they want him to do it, and so all it really takes is the public demanding he do it and him thinking he has to do what the public demands.

I don't think you are giving it enough credit for what it does right
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Itachi157 posted...

The first episode was pretty good I felt. Some genuinely disturbing stuff.

The second episode though was terrible IMO and I haven't watched more yet. I hope every episode isn't a variation on "Wake up sheeple"

It's not. I have that episode ranked 10th out of 13 in my current ratings topic for that reason. I think it's still very well done overall, but it's too bluntly WAKE UP SHEEPLE-y to be the best. Most episodes are a little less overt.
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Blackstar110 posted...

Itachi157 posted...

The first episode was pretty good I felt. Some genuinely disturbing stuff.

The second episode though was terrible IMO and I haven't watched more yet. I hope every episode isn't a variation on "Wake up sheeple"

It's not. I have that episode ranked 10th out of 13 in my current ratings topic for that reason. I think it's still very well done overall, but it's too bluntly WAKE UP SHEEPLE-y to be the best. Most episodes are a little less overt.

Sorry but no. It's not "Wake up Sheeple". In case you missed it:

A wake up sheeple narrative is going to say 'the world is full of mindless people who don't see the evil going on in the big oppressive systems' and maybe the lead is a very idealistic type. But rather than making his idealism be rewarded with a big 'wake up sheeple moment' or having a big 'the evil evilly kills his idealism' you have the much more nuanced and awesome ending. The consumerism and commodification just absorbs him.

The oppressive institutions in dystopian futures are so often shown as transparently evil, but this one actually seemingly gives him exactly what he wants, he gets a space to speak truth to power and yet at the same time this space is part of the system that he is speaking against, the glass to the neck (which is an awesome symbol for dissent, particularly when you think about all the layers that metaphor is working on) becomes an item that the avatars can push. This guy isn't the perfect hero, he doesn't go for the more plain girl that is into him, he's superficial in his own way,
superficially drawn towards dreamers and ideals and the system absorbs him.

'Wake up sheeple" narratives gives the audience clear answers as to what is wrong with society and how people should be for it to be better, but if you take the main character in that episode... what should he have done differently? It's hard to say if he did anything wrong, and yet by the end of the episode he basically became a part of the thing he stands against, and that scary moment is the final punch in an episode full of brilliant intellectual punches.

If it doesn't vibe with you or something that's ok-ish, but that episode is so well done and so smart that I have a hard time letting people rag on it for being surface or some other nonsense without needing to speak up.
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15 million merits was not a wake up sheeple story lol. How the heck do you guys walk away with that impression?
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The first episode is based off a real life story.
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lilORANG posted...

15 million merits was not a wake up sheeple story lol. How the heck do you guys walk away with that impression?

Perhaps that's a bad way of phrasing it. My criticism is the "only one or two people have any issue with what's going on here" angle.

And it's still a minor criticism.
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Blackstar110 posted...

lilORANG posted...

15 million merits was not a wake up sheeple story lol. How the heck do you guys walk away with that impression?

Perhaps that's a bad way of phrasing it. My criticism is the "only one or two people have any issue with what's going on here" angle.

And it's still a minor criticism.

But by the end of the episode we see that even explicit dissent from the culturally commodfied establishment is just absorbed into the establishment. So really we can only say that of the small window of people we see in the guys life only a few take issue with society, but clearly just the structure of life and society and this culture has a way of absorbing dissent.

I personally did not get the impression that this was the first guy in the world to try to fight against the establishment, just this dystopian future was impressively resilient against such dissent as showcased in how they respond to him.

It's beautiful how something 'evil' can become undefeatable if it seems to give those who fight against it everything they want
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First episode is probably the weakest...
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vbty3 posted...

The first episode is based off a real life story.

Not at all.
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