Black Mirror Comes Just in Time for the New Year
Jonathan Barkan
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Netflix’s original series “Black Mirror” has announced that its fourth season will hit the streaming giant on December 29th, giving people just enough time to end one of the most contentious and difficult years with a binging session. Alternatively, those of you who are patient can wait a couple of days and then start 2018 off with a bit of a bang, although I’m not sure what kind of tone that will set for a new year… In any case, a trailer that compiles footage from each of the six episodes that will be in this season can be seen below.
“Black Mirror” first aired in 2011 on British Channel 4 and had a three-episode run, the same as the second season, which premiered in February of 2013. My personal view of the show is that the first two seasons were cautionary tales not against technology – although that was certainly a part of it – but rather against our own terrible human nature. While I won’t spoil the ending of the first episode of Season 1, I will say that the most powerful moment came at the end when it was clear that the onlookers had to face not only what they were seeing on the screen but also a reflection of their own sadistic and grotesque desires. Many of them got precisely what they asked for only to then realize just how awful it and, by extension, they truly were. The critical eye was aimed at those who derive pleasure from someone else’s pain, which is why I adored the first two season.
Admittedly, I couldn’t finish the third season because I felt that the show took a turn and began to attack the actions of the “protagonists.” Instead of being a commentary on society and its use of new technology, the stories focused their anger (for lack of a better word) at those who needed help. I enjoyed the sweeping commentaries of the original episodes, but something about the tone of the third season completely drove me off. Perhaps this will be a reason to try again?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ELQ6u_5YYM
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