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Group essay - Black Mirror

Melissa Cofie & Ratidzai Chavarika

Black Mirror created and written by Charlie Brooker is a British based anthology television series centered around  themes of Sci-Fi, political satire, the dangers of our advanced technological age and modern society. The main speciality of the series is the method in which it efficiently demonstrates another reality or possibility of our future society. Brooker's main hope for Black Mirror's audience, is to take away a healthy dose of fear through this collection of cautionary tales designed to heighten our awareness and about how short steps from our world could lead to a drastically different reality, one which we may end up not liking very much. Due to this, these episodes can be described as thought experiments designed around the question “What if?”.

In addition, the title of the series is very representative of the meaning of the show. As the title of the show suggests it is a mirror of our society but a darker version. Holding up a reflection of how the current path we heading on could eventually lead to misery and dystopia. A Black Mirror is used in Black magic as a window to the Universe and to the Spirit world. Looking into the dark reflection can provide visions and insights of past lives or things yet to occur. Also providing an array of answers to questions you may have or show you your spirit guides as a gateway to the other side.

The very title of the tv series "Black Mirror" is a significant feature of the show, suggesting a darker perception of the current reality we are living in. It's no surprise that we are living in a rapidly growing and ever changing technological age, we are so over consumed with our devices and gadgets that the negative impacts that we may fail to see, Charlie Brooker emphasises through the narrative of each episode. Resulting in a dark and twisted version of our outlook on our obsession over social media for one example. As a result, each episode is constructed by a different director, allowing the power and authority of creating a new world.

The most prominent feature of the series is it's a rare and challenging format, a format difficult to pull of through a visual medium. Each episode is like it's own mini movie with a beginning, middle and end and a catharsis. Brooker compared the series to a short story collection. With the added agency to the viewers on Netflix of watching in any order they please. Each episode is dropped into a situation which is not immediately explained to the audience.

Often what is gathered in the first few opening minutes of the episode is purposely far from the whole picture as there tends to be a plot twist or major reveal in the later minutes of the show.

The narrative structure of the show therefore contradicts and goes against the 'Russian doll structure', otherwise referred to as embedded narrative. Which directly defined as "A story within a story". In addition, embedded narratives work by analogy or contrast as if story us taken in completely different direction then still have an impact based on first story. Leading to an overall dramatic mood and tone of the narrative, illustrating the thematic function of the series. Therefore, the style the Brooker adopts can be compared to the embedded narrative structure. Especially as each episode starts of smoothly then leading to a plot twist in the story and finally a catharsis. Overall, the episodes to not easily fall together to show a wider story but they wait for facts of the universe to be revealed gradually through events.

Brooker has suggested that all episodes in all four seasons collectively coexist amongst each other within the same universe. This is suggested by the strong use of Easter eggs and ideological micro texts at least once in each episode. Brooker includes the use of Easter eggs in each episode to evidently suggest the many overlapping details of the stories, further suggesting these episodes to some degree could be in a shared universe psychologically. We also see technologies which resemble each other. In "White Christmas" the Z-eyes the augmented reality devices planted in the eyes of humans bare a striking resemblance to the "ear grains" seen in another episode which record and analyse sound from your entire life history. The Z eyes prove to be more developed than the grain ear technology suggesting the “White Christmas” episode took place at a later time in the same universe.

In each episode of Black Mirror there is no specific importance allocated to one character in particular. In a majority of episode if there is no one main character there are often two characters who hold the most significance to the narrative being told. Most of the time these two characters are unaware of each others presence at the beginning of the episode but coke to know each other through a certain event which occurs and leads the way for the eventual twist in the plot. Occasionally another character of importance may be introduced towards the catharsis of the story, but solely for the purpose of revealing a major plot twist in which the episode turns dark.

An example of this would be in season three's "Hated in the nation", Blue Coulson, a new detective in the job of a crime investigation was introduced to her boss the second character at the beginning then following into the story. When researching on social media for the “#DEATHTO” hashtag another hashtag appeared as trending which said “#FREETHEWHITEBEARONE” referring to a character imprisoned in a previous episode called “White Bear”. In support, moments during the show where screens are shown in shot are where Brooker takes the opportunity to hide references in plain sight.

Through the inclusion of easter eggs in each episode this illustrate spatial temporal as well as psychological microtexts. This can be depicted further as a means of Brooker connecting the alternate world while reflecting and magnifying some real life elements of ours. Episode "Nosedive" shows us a world in which our current climate of social media obsession escalates until all of society is engulfed in the pressure of maintaining high social scores online.

Although Black Mirror is describe as an anthology we are given hints that the episodes are all part of the same universe rather than a completely different world. This is evident in multiple episodes. There is an episode called USS Callister, a receptionist in this episode uses the same dating app used in the episode ‘Hang the DJ’ that I will analyse later in this essay. This app becomes one of the main plots for this episode showing that Black Mirror uses the same universe but also foreshadows future events. There is a use of Easter eggs used within a few Black Mirror episodes and the fact that they are the same shows that the characters share the same reality.

Black Mirror reflects our reality within the name of the show itself. This is then evident within the episodes that we watch on Black Mirror. An episode that stands out which relates to our current society is the episode called ‘Hang the DJ’. This episode is based around online dating which is a big thing that we have around us today.

We have apps like Tinder then there’s websites such as ‘Match.com’, ‘SeekingArrangment’, ‘EHarmony’, ‘Zoosk’ and ‘Elite Singles’. These apps help us to find the perfect match by viewing their online profiles and talking to them over social media in hope for it to escalate to real life. Apps like these can allow us to become quite obsessive because we’re so caught up in the idea of finding our suitable partner by the off chance.

In this episode of Black Mirror the characters are using a system that is automatic. They name this system as their ‘coach’. Their coach plans and organises the characters multiple dates in hope that eventually they will find their perfect match however these dates have a specified time limit. A date can last from 24 hours to even some years. This allows the character to learn about their likes and dislikes allowing the coach to match them to their perfect partner eventually, they then leave the app forever afterwards.

The two main characters are Amy and Frank. They go on a date which lasts for 12 hours and they clicked instantly, this was a problem as the coach does not allow them to have more time with each other. They are only allowed to have the time that is specified. Amy and Frank then continue to date other people as this is a routine and throughout the episode we see that Amy doesn’t want a relationship based on lust, she wants something more real and meaningful.

Eventually and coincidentally the two of them are paired to go on another date with each other but this time they decide to not look at how long the Coach is going to give them because they enjoyed the connection they had the first time round.

Unfortunately, Frank gets way too anxious since he likes Amy so much therefore he sees how much time they have together without asking her permission to look. This takes a turn for the worse because on his initial look it says 5 year but the Coach knows he didn’t seek permission therefore the system decides to punish him cutting their ‘date’ from 5 years to just 20 minutes. Amy leaves him after finding this out however she sees him again and they both rebel from the system. Black Mirror always has plot twists and this episode ends quite strangely. We find out they were actually part of a bigger app where the actual version of the characters find each other.

I believe that the episode tells a chilling story about love, not just online dating. As there is a system put in place the characters can never fear rejection which we fear in our society today. This is due to the fact that the system chooses for you and you can’t refuse the match you get. The timing of the dates allow the character to choose how many emotions they want to convey because if you really liked someone you would give them as much as you can opposed to a match who you don’t like. The dating apps of today have filters to match to our preferences which is like the app in Black Mirror. Maybe eventually in our society a coach system could be formulated.

Another way that Black Mirror reflects society is in the episode ‘Nosedive’. This episode relates to social media again however this time it is in terms of personal pages.

All in all, in our we society use apps like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to showcase our lifestyles. We can post images and thoughts. The only difference in Black Mirror is that you can see their profile digitally through your eyes and you can rank them.

The main plot of this episode is that the main character gets caught up in her score and tries to increase it in order to fit in with the higher class of society however her actions catch up with her and her score becomes worse than it was initially. This mirrors our society today because there are a lot of people who will do things to fit in with the standards of social media. They do this through photo manipulation, stupid videos and showcasing hobbies.

This can have a downfall as some people can lose their lives doing dangerous things to impress people on social media. It can also encourage a fake personality which Black Mirror definitely shows. The characters all act really nice to each other and do not swear just so they can get high scores from anyone they come across. This doesn’t show their true personality and they follow things like sheep. An example of this is when someone broke up with their partner in this episode and an office full of workers stopped talking to the ‘villain’ in the relationship because they feared that they would get judged and that their scores would go down. This behaviour also happens in real life e.g. schools.

[thefilmtyro]

Embedded narrative

Audio visual features

Wearable portable technologies - Z eyes/ear grains

(Ear grain is removable)

Intersubjective space with others = creating highly submersible environments

- blocking characters 

[thefilmtyro]

Approaches to Narratives - LOST IN LA MANCHA

Lost in La Mancha (2002) - Blog task 8

- Can you identify the embedding and embedded narratives in Lost in La Mancha?

- Can you identify of different microtexts present in the film (spatial-temporal, psychological, ideological)

- Can you identify a shift in narrator or in narrative?

- Where does the sense of validity (and truth) come from in the film?

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Blog task 7

1 - Choose a TV series that you know well and analyse whether it is of the SUPER KNOT or SUPER KNOTTY ROPE kind.

2 - Analyse what are the risks inherent to the large amount of time employed in the narration and what are the strategies employed by the series to try and avoid these risks.

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Approaches to Narrative - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

1 – Michel Gondry likes it when unexpected problems such as weather issues force him to think on the fly. “It makes everybody work faster, with more energy”. Can you spot any scene in the film where improvisation of actors or of any scene might have been constructed in the making due to unexpected circumstances? How does that affect the theme of time?

An example of unexpected circumstances which may have been constructed during the production of the film is the weather. Gondry quoted “It makes everybody work faster with more energy”, evident in the living room scene where it began raining. Secondly, the scene where they are transported onto a snowy beach in bed.

Another example of improvisation was shown in the scene at the ice lake where Clementine slipped and fell on the ice.

2 - The idea of the film started from the concept of an artist, friend with Gondry, who thought of “sending a card to people mentioning they had been erased from the memory of someone they knew. He wanted to study their reaction as part of an art experiment”. How did this idea develop into the film written by Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman? How does this idea affect the idea of time in the film?

The concept of the art experiment affects the idea of time throughout the film as it follows a non-linear narrative. This is evident through the significant choice of colouring the character, Clementine’s hair from blue, green and finally red. 

The method of editing went against the policy of continuity editing as the film was cut into different scenes of different moments in time as well as memories. 

3 – Most visual tricks in the film are made in an old-fashioned way with a camera and no digital means. Can you identify some of those?

A main example would be in the kitchen scene after Joel begins to go back to his childhood memories. The set was intentionally designed to make Jim Carrey appear visually smaller in comparison to the objects around him. The way in which the camera was angled was also very important to this camera trick, as when filming from the character Joel’s point of view, Clementine was made to appear as a large sized adult to emphasise the feeling and perspective of a small child.

The second example is when Joel and Clementine are being washed inside the sink. The cameraman was made to position the camera above Joel’s mother’s shoulders, her hands were then replaced with much larger hands which had been created to construct the illusion of size.

4 – The film results in a fractured narrative about memory and loss. How does that display itself in the film? Which elements work towards this objective?

A main element is due to shot composition, the aspect of fractured narrative and memory loss is displayed within the film through the point of view of Joel Parrish. Evident in the structure of the film in particular, as the way in which the film opens with the audience following the journey of Joel repeats several times within the film, each time with details changed slightly.

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Approaches to Narratives - LOST Series

LOST (the series) (2007) - Blog task n.6 - deadline 15th of November

1) How many characters does the TV Series “Lost” develop?

2) Choose a character in “Lost” and analyse the way in which its narrative is developed over time. Analyse how the expansion of time in the story serves the character development.

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Approaches to Narrative -MULHOLLAND DRIVE

1) How does the concept of double apply to the film, from the point of view of narrative, characters, space and time?

2) Can you think of other examples in literature, film, mythology or comics where the double is used in a similar way?

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Approaches to Narrative - THE BIRDMAN

Blog task n.4 - BIRDMAN, Alejandro Inarritu (2014)

1) What are the GEOMETRICAL POINT character are seen from in the film?

How the film begins with Birdman's voice "How did we end up here?" Entering his current state of mind in which we go onto more events demonstrating a rollercoaster of emotions until the final scene shows him at peace.

The search for meaning and relevance to fulfil our existence as human beings.

As the audience we hear Thompson's inner birdman as a voice in his mind (reality vs fantasy - magic realism)

Narrative of a serious nature involving moments which defy real life.

____

Manager walks in on Riggon trashing his dressing room we enter his perspective as camera pans in and locks onto his movement.

___

Perspective of Sam in the ending scene dealing with her fathers death, especially as a recovering drug addict.

2) What is the POINT OF VIEW / POSITION the subject sees from in the fim?

The audience are able to view the film from the eyes of the main character Riggon Thompson a majority of the time. However we are also given the same chance to do so through other characters.

Few of the sequences feel natural at first glance but gradually progress with a movement which we would not physically be able to do as individuals.

Scene where Mike Shiner and Sam get busy above the stage, the camera pans down to the stage where Mike is also present.

Objective POV

3) Is there a SPACE out of frame?

Riggon begins to fly. An artistic representation of how he feels or hallucination due to insanity

In the end we do not see Riggon jump but hear sirens indicating he committed suicide. Sam also runs to the window and looks up smiling leaving an ambiguous end for the audience to imagine. Reflections represent space.

4) How is the RELATIONSHIP events /space costructed?

Long take

Through sound and what the audience is visually presented with within the shot. For example we hear drums throughout which we take as the soundtrack for the film. However when we see the drummer twice playing the very notes we hear, this gives an unclear/hallucinating effect as we are unsure of what is reality or fantasy.

5) How does the LONG TAKE structure affect all of the above?

Presents physical movement very well, as well as the movement and passing of tyoe through hyperlapses/timelapses.

A majority of the film being edited into one continuous shot evoked the authenticity of live theatre. Also creating a dreamlike quality where the audience is fully immersed within the space of the film. There are few still standing moments making the viewers feel as if they are the character moving along with the plot.

An hour and 39 minutes of this distinct visual aesthetic from the moment the film begins to when Riggon shoots himself. The film begins to cut pointing to a significant change in reality. The only way to free himself from birdman is to end his life.

APPARENTLY WINDOWS IN HOSPITALS DO NOT OPEN

Organising time and space into a FLOW, organise the whole if the relationship in the film.

[thefilmtyro]

Approaches to Narrative - RUN LOLA RUN

1. Tom Tykwer claims “a cinema that interests me is a cinema an=bout openings, unresolved questions, and experiments; cinema that explores the possibilities offered by narrative and by associations without refusing chaos, chance, destiny or the unexpected”(Film Education, 2010_ - After having watched Run Lola Run, what do you think is the meaning of this claim?

What makes the film 'Run Lola Run' such an engaging film us that audiences curiosity is fulfilled: as though the plot we are shown almost every possible result/outcome of each action, event, or act of conflict. Whether they occurred by chance ir were the fate of the characters

2. The movie has a non-conventional opening scene that lasts for four minutes. How are time and space of the film defined in this scene?

In terms of space and location 'Run Lola Run’ was very ambiguous and transported the audience away from their seats in front of the screen and into this fast paced hyperlapse of confusion. The time frame and pace of the opening scene were heavily supported by the soundtrack. The choice to open an action based film with an animation further demonstrates space.

3. Lola’s adventure is presented in a series of possible states and with an interesting and non-linear narrative structure. In what way does this narrative structure differ from a linear narrative?

Run Lola Run cannot be considered as a linear narrative as the whole film was formed based on the beginning of the story. Therefore, going against the very definition of a linear narrative as there was no real story from the beginning, middle and to the end. In addition, it rather expands on the most complex and interesting element of the plot as a means of pursuing the narrative.

4 - An interesting way used in the film to demonstrate the character’s feelings and thoughts without the use of speech or action is through symbolism. Tykwer uses colors and spirals to give the perfect visual style for this movie. Can you make some examples?

During the flashbacks and flash forward scenes, including when Manny and Lola had died. Twyker's use of colour and spirals was most significant and evident in this particular moment. Especially as the flashback of Manny and Lola in bed had a red tint all throughout.

5 - Lola’s approach isn’t rational because she is being hooked into this course of events that only requires her action. This fact is clearly demonstrated through the people Lola encounters in her way. Wherever Lola changes her course, she changes the circumstances for the others, thus changing their ending. Can you make some examples?

• The woman pushing the baby stroller who had cursed and yelled at Lola as she ran past. • The man who had followed Lola and attempted to sell her the bike he was riding.

• The security guard who ended up in the ambulance.

• Mr Meyer's car who in each possible fate or reality still accidentally crashed into the car full of men.

[thefilmtyro]

Approaches to Narratives - THE MATRIX

1 – The Matrix is a re- writing of the philosopher Hilary Putnam’s “brain in a vat” scenario, in which a disembodied brain is subject to computer stimulation and operates in a false reality.

Putnam’s vision was an update of the 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes’s first meditation, in which he posited the idea that an evil demon had fabricated the external world (Anthony. 2007).

What is in your opinion the idea of reality proposed by “The Matrix”? And how does the film express this visually?

Through the use of shape shifting and teleportation within the film. Secondly, the appearance of characters also provides evidence of a visual representation of a false reality. Each character within the Matrix group dress in 

Everything in matrix code

2 - In The Matrix, the machines initially make a utopian simulation, but the humans don’t believe in the reality, so it is adjusted to include all the pain and drama humans associate with being alive.

Looking back at the idea of “filmic experience” (Casetti) as something able to orientate our experience also in relation to the world external to the film, how does this film re-orientate our experience of the world we live in? And how does this reflection further in relation to the current use of new media, especially VR?

Includes naive and oblivious real people

Camera angles - special effects - movement of walls etc

Contact with people

______

3 – What are the symbols used in the film to orientate the relationship between the real and the virtual? How is space described?How is time represented?

Matrix coding/computer symbols symbolise VR false reality world.

Environment wise

The aspect of time is delivered as ambiguous throughout the film