The Introduction
Charlie Brooker’s TV drama ‘Black Mirror’ aired on Sunday 4th December 2011 to 1.9 million viewers on British television’s Channel 4, the channel’s largest drama release of the year[2]. ‘The Entire History of You’ is the third episode in the three part series, set in a future where memory can be stored into a tiny grain inserted behind the ear. Images can be replayed as if you were experiencing them in that current moment, details can be zoomed in upon that you never noticed and voices constructed for conversations that you didn’t hear. ‘The Entire History of You’ turns the unthinkable into a daily occurrence as dinner guests project old memories they have onto a television for all to watch.
Although there are high expectations for peak time viewing figures, this alone cannot explain the reasoning for ‘Black Mirror’ claiming the highest viewing figures for a Channel 4 drama in 2011. Thus, it is not so implausible that a deep-rooted national interest in the topics discussed within ‘Black Mirror’ was the reason for its popularity. ‘Black Mirror’ explicitly shows how technology has become increasingly invasive in our modern day lives by presenting a state where technology and humanity has merged (through the grain). Thus, the characters are a type of quasi-cyborg, not the full metal beings commonly thought up in science fiction, but a product of technological reliance nonetheless. This is a point of interest to the viewing audience when the extent to which technology is replacing our functions instead of increasing our capabilities is considered. The grain technology in ‘Black Mirror’ presents in scenario where technology has replaced and removed the necessity for the brains memory function. As it is revealed at the end, Liam goes blind when he removes the grain, thus losing the ability to form any visual memories every again. In our modern society, in which we are surrounded be technologies that extend our capabilities as human beings, how relevant is ‘Black Mirror’ as a metaphor for our detrimental reliance on technology?
Although there are high expectations for peak time viewing figures, this alone cannot explain the reasoning for ‘Black Mirror’ claiming the highest viewing figures for a Channel 4 drama in 2011. Thus, it is not so implausible that a deep-rooted national interest in the topics discussed within ‘Black Mirror’ was the reason for its popularity. ‘Black Mirror’ explicitly shows how technology has become increasingly invasive in our modern day lives by presenting a state where technology and humanity has merged (through the grain). Thus, the characters are a type of quasi-cyborg, not the full metal beings commonly thought up in science fiction, but a product of technological reliance nonetheless. This is a point of interest to the viewing audience when the extent to which technology is replacing our functions instead of increasing our capabilities is considered. The grain technology in ‘Black Mirror’ presents in scenario where technology has replaced and removed the necessity for the brains memory function. As it is revealed at the end, Liam goes blind when he removes the grain, thus losing the ability to form any visual memories every again. In our modern society, in which we are surrounded be technologies that extend our capabilities as human beings, how relevant is ‘Black Mirror’ as a metaphor for our detrimental reliance on technology?
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