After two short seasons on British broadcaster Channel 4, the near-future techno-dystopian sci-fi series "Black Mirror" moves to Netflix, with a bigger budget and more episodes.
For those who have yet to go through the looking glass, a short description would be " 'The Twilight Zone' meets the digital age." Each episode is a stand-alone story imagining the terrors and frustrations that await us in an infinitely wired world. As series creator Charlie Brooker told The Guardian, "We are forever s—-ting out these miraculous inventions, but there isn't time to think about their horrifying consequences."
Season three launched on Oct. 21, and the first episode, "Nosedive" — directed by Joe Wright ("Atonement") and starring Bryce Dallas Howard — is typical of the "Black Mirror" approach, imagining what happens when the five-star review system of websites like Amazon intersects with the social networks, and every interaction you have with another human being is instantly ranked.
The heroine is an aspiring 4.2 who has perfected the art of being artificially perky and cheerful at all times, and who doesn't want to be dragged down by her brother's pariah-like 3.4. It recognizes the performance-like aspect of constructing an online persona — all BFF smiles, mouthwatering desserts, gorgeous sunsets — and the self-censored, no-negativity- ever pastel-colored hell that results.
"Black Mirror" is available on Netflix Japan: bit.ly/blkmrrrnetflix.
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