The series "Black mirror": reviews of the audience

Modern man is increasingly absorbed in virtual technologies that allow him to "escape" from reality into a fictitious world. Previously, this issue was not paid enough attention, but in 2011 the British released a shocking TV series "The Black Mirror." The plot of this project, using the example of crippled destinies of various heroes, warns viewers about the dangers of such an alluring virtual world.

A bit about the "Black Mirror"

In 2011, the famous British satirist Charlie Brucker got the idea to create a fantastic television series about the impact of information technology on people and their relationships. The Brooker project was interested in the British public channel Channel 4. In December 2011, he released the first three releases of the new show "The Black Mirror" on the screens. The series almost instantly attracted attention around the world.

The format of Black Mirror corresponds to the best traditions of British television. In each season - 3 series plus a Christmas episode of the project "Black Mirror". The series (new seasons are coming out, like in the case of Sherlock, every two years) has become a cult, despite a small number of episodes.

First season

The pilot episode "National Anthem" is dedicated to the interaction of public opinion and politics. So, the beloved people Princess Susannah is kidnapped by an unknown person, who demands that the British prime minister, as a ransom, get on the air with sex with a pig. The government is trying to find a way to avoid public humiliation of its head, but under the pressure of public opinion a man has to fulfill the demands of abductors. It just turns out that the princess was released much earlier, but no one noticed this, as everyone watched the disgrace of the prime minister.

In the second episode - "15 million prizes" - the reality show is cruelly ridiculed. In the near future, humanity's only way to provide electricity is dynamo machines connected to exercise bicycles. Ordinary citizens daily for several hours twist pedals to provide society with energy. You can get out of this hell with the talent show. The protagonist of the episode falls in love with the girl and helps her to get to this show. However, by the will of judges, an innocent participant becomes not a singer, as she dreamed, but a porn actress. The disillusioned hero himself makes his way to the transfer and, threatening to commit suicide, expresses to the judges on the air the truth about modern life. The guy's performance is so popular with the audience that he has his own reality show.

Describes the need for human memory to forget the sad past in the season finale series "The Black Mirror." The main characters in the episode "All About You" are a married couple. They live at a time when every citizen wears bionic contact lenses that record everything a person sees. Later, these records can be viewed on the TV screen. Once the spouse starts to suspect that his wife still loves her ex. Disassembling records of his own memories, as well as his wife and her potential lover, the hero finds evidence of treason. In feelings, he removes the lens, having lost the ability to record everything that happens. On this sad note, the final episode of the project "The Black Mirror" is coming to an end.

The series (season 1) was enthusiastically received by spectators and became a unique phenomenon in the history of television. The pilot series was watched by 2 million people, but closer to the final, the number of spectators decreased by half.

Second season

In the second season of the project, the distribution of the plot was diametrically opposite to the first. At first there was a story about the tragedy of one family, then - about the degradation of the public, and the final episode concerned politics. And this time managed to keep the million ratings to new series of the project "Black Mirror".

The series (season 2) begins with a story about a young woman who recently lost her husband ("I'll be back soon"). Soon it turns out that she is pregnant. Despite the joyful news, she is very depressed from the thought that her husband died without knowing that he will become a father. On the advice of her friend, the widow downloads information about correspondence, audio and video recordings with her husband to a special website. Thanks to this program creates a virtual image of the spouse with whom a woman can communicate. Unhappy so attached to the virtual copy of the spouse, which orders a synthetic robot, created in the image and likeness of the deceased. Despite the fact that he completely copies his husband, cares about a pregnant woman and even has sex with her, the widow feels uncomfortable. She is torn between the desire to leave him and the feeling that he is not real. In the end, the heroine gives birth to her daughter and, together with the robot, brings her up.

The second story - "Polar Bear" - tells of an unknown person who does not remember anything about the past. Trying to understand and find help, it becomes an object of bullying of surrounding people. After experiencing a lot of unpleasant adventures, the heroine finds out that in the past her lover was killed by her daughter, and she herself instead of helping the child shoot everything on video. As punishment for the act of a woman, she herself becomes an object of shooting and mockery every day, and every evening she is erased by memory and begins all over again.

It touches on the theme of politics episode "The Moment for Waldo" in the project "The Black Mirror." The series in this story tells about the actor-loser, voicing the animated bear Waldo. During the campaign, Waldo jokingly should conduct an interview with a famous candidate. Only the performance of the cartoon bear was so popular with the audience that he became one of the candidates. The main character realizes that his character, despite his popularity, is not capable of bringing benefits to society. He tries to stop Waldo, but the producer of the project himself undertakes to sound the bear and sets passers-by on the poor actor. In the final, the hero becomes homeless, and the career of the animated character only grows.

Special edition "White Christmas"

During the break between the 2nd and 3rd seasons in 2014, the Christmas episode of the project "The Black Mirror" appeared on the screens. The series positions this release as a bonus, not included in any season.

According to the plot, Joe and Matt are working somewhere in the middle of permafrost. Despite the fact that they are there only together for 5 years, they hardly speak. On Christmas Eve Joe decides to arrange a holiday and offers to talk heart to heart. At first he tells two stories about himself.

Once, Jo liked to help lonely guys get acquainted with the girls. During another "consultation" his client was killed. And the hero himself lost his job and family.

In the second story, the narrator enlightens Matt about who he was before. In the near future, everyone can copy their identity and on its basis create a virtual clone. The hero used to "adjust" these clones, forcing them to work for their creators, preparing food for them, buying the right things, scheduling the schedule, and so on.

During the conversation, the relationship between the characters improves, and Matt talks about himself. Previously, he was happily married, but when his wife became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion, the man opposed it. Then she blocked it. For a long time they did not see each other because of the block, but the hero managed to find out that the former had kept the child. Since the block was distributed to the child, the man only a few years later, after the death of his wife, found out that it was a girl. It only became clear that earlier the spouse had changed him, but was afraid to admit, and the girl's father was her lover. In frustrated feelings, Matt was the cause of the death of his father-in-law, and the innocent baby froze in the woods, trying to escape.

At the end of "White Christmas" it turns out that the conversation between Matt and Joe is the communication of two virtual clones. All this is done so that Matt confessed to the police in a perfect crime.

The third season

The debut release "Dive" tells about the future, in which estimates in social networks affect the standard of living of a person. Happy owners of 4 points and above get better medical care, live in elite areas, etc. The main character, despite her modest external data, is trying to earn the status of 4.5 to buy a house in an elite neighborhood. Having achieved the set goal, she receives an invitation to a wedding from an old school friend. However, due to a series of misunderstandings, the average score of a girl is inexorably decreasing, and she is in prison. Despite the fact that her life went downhill, the heroine scandals with a neighboring prisoner, and this brings her unspeakable pleasure.

The second episode of "Testing" talks about a guy who, in order to earn some money, agrees to take part in testing a new virtual game. However, everything is out of control, and the subject dies during the experiment.

The third series - "Shut Up and Dance" - echoes the picture "Nerve". The protagonist becomes a victim of virtual blackmailers who control his life and are forced to carry out various assignments.

In the fourth episode of "San Junipero" in a disco there are two girls, and gradually between them a novel is fastened. Gradually it turns out that everything around is just a modulation of reality. And the beauties themselves are two old women, living out their days in a nursing home.

The fifth issue of Men Against Fire says that in the future dangerous mutants called "cockroaches" appeared on the earth. According to the media, they are the cause of disease, hunger and devastation. The protagonist - soldier Lampas - is involved in the extermination of "cockroaches". During the next operation, he is irradiated, and he begins to see the real faces of his opponents, figuring out the truth. It turns out that the government, in order to destroy unnecessary people, came up with a story about "cockroaches". All soldiers implanted implants, and they do not see the true appearance of their opponents. Civilians meanwhile see that "cockroaches" are ordinary people, but they are so scared that they believe the media more than their eyes. In the final, Lampus agrees to erase his memory and gets fired home, to his beloved wife. But it turns out that all this is a simulation, but in fact he lives alone in an abandoned house.

The last series of the new season Hated in the Nation tells about the program in the social network. Its essence is that people can vote for the murder of a public person, and then she will die. Trying to stop this, the protagonists themselves become targets and are horrified to discover that many would not mind killing if they could remain anonymous and share their guilt with thousands of others.

The problems of the television series

This project involves a lot of questions. First of all, this is how easily the media is manipulating the public consciousness today.

The heroes of the "Black Mirror" speak directly from the screen that spectators are deceived, forcing them to wish and buy unnecessary things; Watch inhuman shows, on which the participants are humiliated for the sake of entertainment; To turn a blind eye to cruelty and meanness only because society has allowed it to do so.

Most of the series show possible options for the development of future technologies and what this can lead to. Through all the episodes, unconnected meaning, one regrets the loss of his humanity by the person on the Internet. So, in the world of the future only self-loving egoists become masters of life, and those who are able to show sensuality turn out to be victims.

Black Mirror in a caustic form derides the dependence of modern people on social networks. So, in the series "Diving" the heroine, like many Instagram users, earns a high score, laying on the Net a touching look of photos of touching little things. At the same time, she constantly has to embellish reality, but points that are so important to social status are useless in the face of death.

The saddest thing is that many of those who watch the series "The Black Mirror", the reviews leave the project as an ordinary TV show, not taking in all its depth. Meanwhile, despite the elements of fantasy, Black Mirror can safely be considered the most realistic in the history of modern television.

"Black mirror": reviews about the show

"How many episodes in the project at the moment?" - this question often worries the audience, closely following the events of the television series. At the moment, the broadcast was 13 episodes, including "White Christmas".

Initially it was planned that in the new season there would be 12 episodes of the series "The Black Mirror". Reviews about the film meanwhile the focus group was worse than the previous two seasons. Therefore, it was decided to divide all episodes into two blocks (6 episodes each), the first of which was shown on October 21, 2016. The release date of the second is being specified.

It is worth noting that not every spectator is able to understand and appreciate the TV series "The Black Mirror". Reviews of those who could overcome the shock and disgust after the debut series, very eloquent. Viewers around the world say that Black Mirror makes it a different way to start evaluating their way of life and value system.

Some compare the project with the works of Ray Bradbury, who also did not promise anything good to humanity if it does not come to its senses. In one of the reviews, a parallel is drawn between the story "The Corporation" Puppets "and the episode" I'll be back soon ". It is noted that the creators of Black Mirror go further than the American science fiction, looking at the theme of an artificial person from a new angle.

Not all the watched TV series "The Black Mirror" leave positive reviews. Many criticize the project for a gloomy atmosphere, leaving a depressing feeling after watching, and the lack of bright special effects. Others, on the contrary, see in this minimalism the main merit of Black Mirror. After all, thanks to simple interiors and stingy special effects, the spectators' attention is not dissipated, but concentrates on the plot.

Excessively tightened the string - this is another drawback, which, according to fans, the series "The Black Mirror" sins.

Reviews of the audience, which contains praise, is what has allowed the project to remain one of the most rated for many years.

The reaction of critics

Almost immediately after the premiere, Black Mirror attracted attention. He was compared to the cult "Twilight Zone".

Some respectable publications, including The Washington Post, compared Waldo's animated bear-foul language with Donald Trump. As for the famous kinoportals, they highly appreciated the project. Metacritic awarded the "Black Mirror" rating of 82 out of 100.

The same high marks were earned by Black Mirror and on "Kinopiski". Visitors of the site awarded the project with an unusually high score - 8,429 out of 10.

The series "The Black Mirror": actors and roles

Not the least role in the success of the project played the performers of the main roles. Almost all of them are popular British actors.

In the episode "National Anthem", the role of the unfortunate lover of the guinea pig was played by Rory Kinnir, known for his role as the monster Frankenstein in "The Heinous Horrors". In addition, he played in three films about James Bond, in "The Game in Imitation", and also in "The Empty Crown". Liked in this series and actress Lindsay Duncan ("Rome", "Boyfriend of the Future", "Sherlock").

Jessica Brown Findley (Downton Abbey, Love Through Time, Victor Frankenstein) and the legend of British cinema Rupert Everett ("The best friend's wedding", "How important it is to be Serious "," Quiet Flows the Don ").

The star of the third series, no doubt, can be called Toby Kebbella ("Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", "Fantastic Four", "Kong: The Island of the Skull").

In the debut episode of the second season, the role of the deceased husband and his robot-copy was played by the talented offspring of Brendan Gleeson - Donal. The audience remembers him for the roles of Bill Weasley in "Harry Potter" and Tim Lake in "Boyfriend from the future." The partner on the set of Dolan was Haley Atwell, now known to all fans of the Marvel Cinema, thanks to the role of agent Peggy Carter.

In the "White Bear" the main roles were played by Lenora Crichlow (Doctor Who) and Tuppence Middleton ("The Game in Imitation", "The Ascent of Jupiter").

In the final release of the second season, Jason Fleming ("Abode of the Damned", "Viy") and Tobias Menzies ("Rome", "The Stranger") were shown.

Among the famous artists who starred in the "White Christmas" - the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin Una ("The Game of Thrones", "Sherlock"), Natalia Tena ("Harry Potter", "The Game of Thrones"), John Hamm ("Madmen", "Forbidden Reception ") and Janet Montgomery (" Live Target "," Made in Jersey ").

At the "Diving" starred at once three stars: Bryce Dallas Howard ("The Girl from the Water", "The Servant", "The World of the Jurassic Period"), Alice Eve ("Men in Black-3", "Startrek: Retribution") and James Norton ("Belle", "Death Comes to Pemberley").

For the next five series of the project, for some reason, mostly novice actors played: Wyatt Russell, Woonmi Mossacu, Hannah John Kamen, Alex Loter ("The Game of Imitation"), Jerome Flynn ("The Game of Thrones"), Gugu Mbata-Rowe (Belle , "Free Jones State"), Mackenzie Davis ("This awkward moment", "Martian"), Sarah Snook, Malachi Kirby, Benedikt Wong (Doctor Strange), Fei Marsay (The White Queen) and Kelly Macdonald (" Anna Karenina ").

Interesting facts

• The name of the project is a hint at monitors of mobile phones, computers and TVs, which are becoming more and they ring around everyone and affect it.
• The series do not have a clear timekeeping. Typically, one episode lasts from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
• Stephen King is one of the fans of Black Mirror.
• In 2012, the "Black Mirror" received the "Emmy".

In 2015, Black Mirror from Channel 4 was bought by the American media company Netflix. The new owners decided to change the format of the TV show "The Black Mirror". The series (season 3) will now consist not of 3, but of 12 episodes. It is also likely that new seasons will appear more often than once in 2 years. Because of this, many are afraid that in the pursuit of high ratings the "Black Mirror" TV series will lose its former sharpness. Reviews about most of the new series are not as enthusiastic as they were before. However, fans of Black Mirror should not bury the project in advance, because, perhaps, Netflix will breathe new life into your favorite TV series.