LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The world’s most twisted science fiction show that borders on dystopia with a bleak outlook on the future of technology in human hands is returning with its sixth season. ‘Black Mirror’ Season 6 has a slate of five brand new tales, keeping to its anthology format – one story per episode. From depicting the rise of social media to the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the show has offered satirical and dramatic takes on the disadvantages and scope of future technology. Even viewers who despise the disturbing themes of the show can't seem to get enough of it.
Creator Charlie Brooker's distinctive knack for storytelling has meant that ‘Black Mirror’ was a fan favorite from the very start. But the series blends fiction with reality so deftly to offer insights into an unexpected future that the show can be more prophetic than one ordinarily expects in terms of TV fare. Since the show premiered in 2011, there have been many comparisons of the show’s episodes to the real world. But no one thought that any of the episodes would accurately predict where we are in 2023, as the show tends to set the stories way into the future. Here are the Top 5 episodes that are unsettling precisely because they came true!
‘The National Anthem'
In the pilot episode of 'Black Mirror,’ titled 'The National Anthem', a British royal is kidnapped. The kidnapper then demands that the Prime Minister have "sexual intercourse with a pig" on live television for her release. This out-of-the-box and absurd storyline, which features political satire, bleak comedy, and extremely dark drama, is truly an uncomfortable watch. To think of such a plot and bring it to fruition is what sets ‘Black Mirror’ apart from the rest of the science fiction shows out there. But to everyone’s horror, four years later, an eerily similar story was released in the press, that was referred to as "piggate".
The former British Prime Minister David Cameron was accused by Daily Mail of having placed a "private part of his anatomy" into the mouth of a dead pig during an initiation ceremony at his frat house in university. Fortunately for him, the claim was never corroborated, but the notion that this might have happened is both creepy but also hilarious, something that series creator Charlie Booker happened to agree with.
'Metalhead'
In the fourth season of ‘Black Mirror,’ Episode 5 titled ‘Metalhead’ followed its protagonist Bella played by Maxine Peake trying to flee from robotic dogs after the unexpected and unexplained collapse of the human society. These robotic dogs had been programmed as guard dogs to protect resources at some point in history. Even after society's collapse, they continue to do just that, chasing after the human protagonist who is scavenging for resources in the dystopian wasteland. Charlie Brooker later revealed that the design of the robotic dogs shown in the episode was inspired by the Boston Dynamic Dogs.
Brooker was even shocked to see such robotic dogs later being tested and deployed by New York Police. There were videos of these robotic dogs being walked around by the members of the NY Police. Another instance where Brooker got it right.
'Nosedive'
In Season 3, Episode 1, Brooker presented a world where every citizen's life, from the house they lived in to their social circle, was determined entirely by the ratings they got from others based on their daily interactions. When anyone, like the unfortunate protagonist Lacie played by Bryce Dallas Howard, dipped below a certain popularity rating, they were hauled off to jail and effectively 'canceled' from society.
Season 3 was released in 2016 when we were just getting used to artfully curating our lives for Instagram and Twitter didn't feel like the Salem witch trials. The word "influencer" hadn't entered the English dictionary but it would in 2019 when people started raking in millions because of the "likes" they got. Celebs, media personalities and politicians also quickly realized how quickly they could get "canceled" and disappear from the public eye if they tweeted something that led to "unfollows" or worse, 'cancel' campaigns. And now, Gen Z practically lives off 'likes' on TikTok. Another prophetic episode that predicted just how far being liked would matter in 2023.
‘Black Mirror’ Season 6 airs on Netflix starting June 15, 2023.
