r/blackmirror

A lot of people were put-off with the ambiguous nature of the story. Was Nida really crazy or was Gaap the Demon-intern making her do the murders? Did the nuclear attack really happen in the end, or was it just a figment of Nida's imagination?

These questions are great, however they seem to miss the fact that the ambiguity IS the main point of the story. This episode brilliantly uses it to drive home the main message of this story.

To establish the ambiguity it gives us evidence of Nida's descent into madness - her loneliness, the racism around her, a possible brain disease she genetically inherited from her mother - all are presented as possible causes.

However the story also provides evidences, sometimes subtle and sometimes not, about the supernatural element as well. Nida is an Islamic immigrant living in England in 1979. Now ancient Persia (now Iran) had of the myth of the Djinn, an entity which famously grants three wishes when the user encounters it's associated talisman (wishes would be with or without loopholes depending on the iteration of the story). It is therefore not far fetched to think that Nida inherited a generationally passed-down talisman from her mother, used it to summon Gaap -  an evil alternate version of the Djinn, who demands three kills to prevent eternal doom, instead of granting three wishes to achieve eternal glory. We outright see how Gaap helps her choose her targets, and keeps her on her path to 'save humanity' by giving her accurate butterfly-effect consequences of her present decisions.

This established ambiguity is critical to drive home the point of the story, that it does not matter if she's crazy, or there's a supernatural entity - a devil on her shoulder - making her do the murders. It does not matter if a nuclear attack really happened or not. What matters is how we - the audience - react when we see what she does. We applaud her when she delivers justice to the paedophile and the wife murderer. We support her in her endeavour to kill the racist-in-sheep-skin politician. We even take guilty pleasure in her killing the brother of the wife-murderer - who symbolically represents the apathetic society that turns a blind eye to criminals among its own. And when she fails to kill the last person, the World itself is burned, as if to symbolise that a World without justice is a world that should not exist. The story is ultimately a reflection on how the human consciousness craves for freedom, justice and equality. Does it really matter whether it is delivered by a crazy person, or by an agent of Divine Retribution? 

That's why it's perhaps the best Black Mirror story of all time. No other story holds up the 'Mirror' to society as well as this one.

I think National Anthem was a terrible first episode because not only is it the weakest episode in Season One, but I feel it does a terrible job of giving the viewer a feel or idea of what this series is like or really about.

Fifteen Million Merits is the first true episode of black mirror because not only is it a great episode, but it does an excellent job of establishing what this series is like and about.

I'm actually shocked this episode was from 2011 and is 15 years old! It truly feels timeless and the only thing I think dates it in anyway is the American Idol type talent TV show which is no longer a "star maker" or as prominent compared to other outlets now like social media platforms where you create and upload your own content rather than auditioning on a TV show.

We now have companies trying to sell you the dream of talking to your loved ones again using AI trained on their digital footprints.

I recently watched this episode with my 78 year old mother (I've been trying to show her the somewhat more positive episodes!) and she laughed at the end, you know, when they were shouting "f... you!" at each other! I did not expect her to love the episode so much.

She has seen this episode and USS Callister. Which episode should I show her next? (apart from Eulogy, my father recently passed away)

I understand Carrie and Jack were kind of a rushed couple.

I understand the baby moved things along fast for them.

I understand Carrie had a VERY strong personality and that she was miserable in a coma.... understandable totally.

But holy shit......to live in someone else's head?

My husband and I of over a decade, when we watched it, we just looked at each other and unanimously agreed we'd never say yes to that. The conflict potential is endless. The issues we see play out seemed obvious.

I understand Carrie was desperate to live again and see her boy, and that Rolo preyed on their vulnerability, but holy Jesus no IDC how close I am to someone, please don't put me in their head or vice versa.

Fuck Rolo eternally, btw.

Literally like a quarter of these episodes should be full-length movies, and the other 75% works so fucking perfect for the show.

Sorry.

I'm drinking and I've almost finished the entire series.

I always hate shows I feel like I could write myself. I could never write this show.

Ever.

Wow.

shut up and dance is most traumatizing for me and my favorite is USS callister

never missed

I'm a huge fan of the original Twilight Zone and despite that show ending decades before I was born I feel it is still a timeless show that still holds up even today. This year I watched the Jordan Peele 2019 TZ reboot and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I could not believe how terrible the episodes were with how poorly written and heavy handed they were and it was even more unacceptable to me because unlike other anthology shows Twilight Zone is pretty open with the types of stories you can tell. There's fantasy, science fiction, romance, Western, even realistic morality type stories ect! And yet the remake was a complete dud while Black Mirror which is much more limited and restricted to just technology based stories somehow managed to surpass the 2019 TZ reboot and I'd even go as far as to say Black Mirror is the only anthology show that can compete with the original Twilight Zone.

As a newbie to Black Mirror I'm just really impressed to finally find a series that matches the original Twilight Zone in terms of high quality thought provoking episodes. I read Charlie Brooker was a huge TZ fan and considered it a big influence on BM so I feel he'd be happy to see fans like me compare his series favorably to the original TZ. Anyone else feel the same way about Black Mirror and Twilight Zone?