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How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

magenta.as

101–110 of 117 posts

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have references for that? There are many challenges involved in recycling, and it's certainly far more valuable to reduce consumption and increase re-use, but any review I've seen still shows recycling having a significant net environmental benefit.

Only certain materials are truly valuable - they're the ones people pay to recycle. Metal-based recycling is incredibly valuable to the population and environment.

And on top of that, it's valuable enough that you don't need to worry about it, because eventually someone will mine the trash for the metals they need.

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#102
post #6

Are people liking the latest season of Black Mirror? I'm only three episodes in and haven't yet gotten to San Junipero, which everyone says is the really good one, but so far I've been a little disappointed. This might be regression to the mean, since I felt that the first six episodes were six home runs in a row and it must be tough to keep a streak like that going, but so far season 3 seems to have lost something.…

The first episode is the very worst of the whole serious. "Fan-fiction" level of writing. Everything so obvious with tired tropes. A critique to social media that could be done by an imaginative high school kid. The other ones are good, interesting and worth watching. Although only San Junipero is great. Edit: Shut up and dance is great too.

I believe you'd like this Community episode. It's the same subject, but with a better view

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3278596/

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#103
post #64

I wouldn't consider using people on bicycles to power society good science. It's probably one of the most inefficient methods of energy generation. That episode seemed a bit far fetched to me.

I agree that it would be terrible science, but since that seems so clear - the bicycles could barely power the screens in front of them at the speed the people were riding, let alone the greater world - I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed that they're literally make-work. The (presumably uneducated) riders may believe they're doing something necessary, but this could be a picture of a dystopian post-scar…

I see this as part of the point of the episode. It's about control: the cycling is supposed to be pointless, many of the riders may even be aware of this, but speaking out against it just gets you... well... [spoilers]

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#104
post #87
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly the only subtle episodes I can think of pre-season 3 are White Bear and White Christmas. I'd love a discussion on why you (or others) think otherwise.

I started watching S1E1 after having watched a couple of other episodes from season 2 and 3. I quit watching it halfway. Not sure what was subtle about it. Honestly if it was the first episode I'd watched, I'd probably have written off the whole show altogether.

I started with S1E1, quit watching it halfway, and have written it off. Should I reconsider?

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#105

Are people liking the latest season of Black Mirror? I'm only three episodes in and haven't yet gotten to San Junipero, which everyone says is the really good one, but so far I've been a little disappointed. This might be regression to the mean, since I felt that the first six episodes were six home runs in a row and it must be tough to keep a streak like that going, but so far season 3 seems to have lost something.…

The only episodes that even came close to making me feel like the older episodes did were "Playtest" and "Men against Fire," but even they're not up to par.

I think San Junipero is widely overrated, the pacing is awful and it isn't terribly thought provoking.

They've peaked, the high point was the Jon Hamm special episode and now it's over.

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#106
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It got the dichotomy right - the solution for horrible things like PTSD also turned out to be justifying continuation of a horrific crime in its own right. The balance of how technology is amoral and how we use it as a society and for what agendas is illustrated in one of the better ways in this specific episode. The problem I had with the episode is similar to my complaint with all of season 3 - unnecessarily slow p…

Um, how would PTSD "date" an episode? The clinical term may be recent but it's not going to go away and it didn't just start - see reports of shellshock from WW1.

PTSD being such a big and publicized topic is the difference today than from past wars. The topic of ethnic cleansing actually happening wasn't even a thought until years following WW2. The politics of war were pervasive in media much more than the conditions and microscopic effects upon those that are on the frontlines (all those war movies didn't exactly paint as grim of a picture as it was though thanks to pro-war sentiment by US leadership for decades).

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#107
post #82
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to comment again, but you mentioned "six home runs in a row" – there's also a Christmas special called "White Christmas" – if you haven't seen it already, is also one of the better episodes, starring the main guy from Mad Men (Jo(h?)n Hamm?)

Yes, very good but doesn't seem to get the love for some reason. The way he ties the different plots and technologies together was fantastic. Maybe Netflix will release it for the holidays this year?

It's on US netflix already.

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#108
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Um, how would PTSD "date" an episode? The clinical term may be recent but it's not going to go away and it didn't just start - see reports of shellshock from WW1.

PTSD being such a big and publicized topic is the difference today than from past wars. The topic of ethnic cleansing actually happening wasn't even a thought until years following WW2. The politics of war were pervasive in media much more than the conditions and microscopic effects upon those that are on the frontlines (all those war movies didn't exactly paint as grim of a picture as it was though thanks to pro-war…

>The topic of ethnic cleansing actually happening wasn't even a thought until after WW2.

"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians."

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#109
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've just finished watching the "Men Against Fire" episode, due to feedback, to me; it's still the weakest of the bunch, but probably because it seems the most implausible, every episode of Black Mirror previously has made me question my own black mirror, and whether it's a good or bad decision to own one. This episode specifically is too detached from my own day to day choices to have had the impact it's meant to ha…

Eugenics are not evil and would rid the world of many terrible, terrible hereditary diseases. However, the way to get it out of humanity should be done by the 'soft' way, not with violence.

I understood eugenics to be defined by a push to get desired people to reproduce more and undesirable ones to reproduce less? This seems quite different to things like gene testing and embryo selection which aren't as easily abused.

Re: How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right

#110
post #16

Are people liking the latest season of Black Mirror? I'm only three episodes in and haven't yet gotten to San Junipero, which everyone says is the really good one, but so far I've been a little disappointed. This might be regression to the mean, since I felt that the first six episodes were six home runs in a row and it must be tough to keep a streak like that going, but so far season 3 seems to have lost something.…

I really enjoyed this season. Maybe the fact that is 6 episodes long (I spaced them out throughout a couple of weeks) made me spend more time thinking about it, than the first seasons. I don't think that the quality has slipped. Maybe you are being too critical because it has lost its initial shock factor?

Agreed. The quality is just fine. I think because of the year-plus hiatus, we, the viewers, set way too high a bar for the return of the series. This takes into consideration that even though, in my opinion, the series was on par with the first 2 seasons (discounted for initial shock value and departure from conventional sitcoms and dramas), it was still engaging enough to enjoy despite not everything being perfect.
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