Going behind the scenes on the acclaimed and controversial Season 4 of Black Mirror, which is one of Netflix’s most popular series. But what is it about? Via Rappler:
Black Mirror is one of the greatest shows on television – or rather, on the internet – right now. But anyone who’s seen it will know just how soul-crushing the show can be. Since the first season dropped almost 7 years ago, we’ve encountered a person “blocked” in real space, visited a society obsessed with social media ratings, and seen a woman’s memory wiped clean before undergoing daily torture in a so-called justice park. And don’t forget that one episode where the prime minister of the United Kingdom is forced into having sex with a pig.
One of the show’s harshest conceits is depriving the audience of the emotional release that would make a program this bleak otherwise bearable – or fun, even. (Notable exceptions include San Junipero, the Emmy Award-winning episode from Season 3.)
Season 4 changes that, for the most part. While Black Mirror’s creator and co-showrunner Charlie Brooker is still spinning cautionary tales of humanity bowing to technology, these new episodes give us a bit more catharsis. Hell, there’s even a post-apocalyptic action-thriller episode (Metalhead) that would make James Cameron and Linda Hamilton happy. Metalhead is the perfect thematic anchor for this season because it shows (in stark grayscale) humanity fighting back. The fight may not always be won, but that struggle validates our humanity.