How “Black Mirror” Gets Its Barely Sci-Fi Tech Just Right • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by extr » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:10 PM UTC

AlwaysRock wrote: post #25

Analemma_ wrote: post #2

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.…

To me it feels like all the subtly is gone. What would have not been explained in the first two seasons is spelled out in the third season. It got a whole lot less interesting or engaging.

Completely agree. The first two seasons had more of an "unexpected consequences" vibe. I never got the feeling they were trying to lecture me, I just left wondering "Hmm, I wonder how I would react if this was the reality of the world?". I've only watched 3 episodes of S3 so far (1, 2 and 5), but I couldn't help but feel like they were all drawn out and beat the viewer over the head with the message. At one point in E1 a main character literally explains to the viewer what is going on. And E5 was particularly bad. There was a very interesting point to be made on the realities of genetic screening and they just barely touched on it.

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

#42

Post by LurkingPresence » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:11 PM UTC

I really didn't like the 'bee' episode because it brushed a frightening ecological disaster under the table so it could have an episode about how mean people are on twitter. Really?

Even if we could construct something like those robot bees, what effect would that have on the surrounding eco-systems? What happens when a bird or a frog eats some little carbon-fiber robot? I feel like they squandered a more interesting premise in order to tell a sillier one.

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

#43

Post by tedunangst » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:22 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #36

tintor wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's one episode which I didn't finish as it just didn't interest me, it was the army-type episode, I got bored incredibly quickly. "Men Against Fire" was the most disturbing episode of the season. Army with AR implants for zero-empathy ethnic cleansing.

There was a trailer a few years back with a bunch of 20-something white gamer dudes in some kind of dystopian future gamer den playing a CoD style shooter, which was in reality --- well, the same plot twist as "Men Against Fire". I thought (a) the trailer was much more evocative than the Man Against Fire episode, and (b) that it was possible that "Man Against Fire" borrowed its idea from that trailer. Later Found it!…

Then again, if episodes were 10 minutes each, I'm not sure I could handle watching for an hour. One story per "time slot" feels about right.

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

#44

Post by tdkl » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:35 PM UTC

tintor wrote: post #17

unfunco wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the third episode (Shut up and dance) is the outstanding episode, at the end I was mentally exhausted and incredibly saddened. San Junipero is different, without ruining things, it's the only episode where at the end, I wasn't considering the "where" that we're heading towards as a society (though on further thinking, it's a question of whether something good is also something moral.) – It's just very differen…

> there's one episode which I didn't finish as it just didn't interest me, it was the army-type episode, I got bored incredibly quickly. "Men Against Fire" was the most disturbing episode of the season. Army with AR implants for zero-empathy ethnic cleansing.

The basic idea also isn't that novel, collective dehumanizing the enemy with using LSD on soldiers was quite a popular sport some decades ago.

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

#45

Post by skciva » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:50 PM UTC

soneca wrote: post #6

Analemma_ wrote: post #2

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.

You think that was a worse episode than the first episode of the series? Or The Waldo Moment?

I really think Black Mirror is suffering from the Internet hype machine. If you never saw the show and only read the buzz online you'd think the first 2 seasons were masterclass and this one was a disaster..I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 seasons and thought some episodes were stronger than others but there was no large change in quality between seasons.

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

#46

Post by skciva » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:55 PM UTC

AlwaysRock wrote: post #25

Analemma_ wrote: post #2

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.…

To me it feels like all the subtly is gone. What would have not been explained in the first two seasons is spelled out in the third season. It got a whole lot less interesting or engaging.

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.

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

#47

Post by Nydhal » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:56 PM UTC

unfunco wrote: post #20

tintor wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's one episode which I didn't finish as it just didn't interest me, it was the army-type episode, I got bored incredibly quickly. "Men Against Fire" was the most disturbing episode of the season. Army with AR implants for zero-empathy ethnic cleansing.

I might try it again, it got to the point where they were visiting the man that was a sympathiser and I switched off. It felt a bit like Starship Troopers (that isn't bad I suppose) but I just wasn't captivated at the time.

That seen reminded me of inglorious bastards beginning scene. It even has the same end where the girl runs away from the house while someone is trying to shoot at her.

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

#48

Post by vadym909 » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:56 PM UTC

unfunco wrote: post #5

Analemma_ wrote: post #2

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.…

To me, the third episode (Shut up and dance) is the outstanding episode, at the end I was mentally exhausted and incredibly saddened. San Junipero is different, without ruining things, it's the only episode where at the end, I wasn't considering the "where" that we're heading towards as a society (though on further thinking, it's a question of whether something good is also something moral.) – It's just very differen…

its boring right until before the end. Worth it to stick around if you haven't read the plot

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

#49

Post by the_af » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 9:59 PM UTC

extr wrote: post #41

AlwaysRock wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me it feels like all the subtly is gone. What would have not been explained in the first two seasons is spelled out in the third season. It got a whole lot less interesting or engaging.

Completely agree. The first two seasons had more of an "unexpected consequences" vibe. I never got the feeling they were trying to lecture me, I just left wondering "Hmm, I wonder how I would react if this was the reality of the world?". I've only watched 3 episodes of S3 so far (1, 2 and 5), but I couldn't help but feel like they were all drawn out and beat the viewer over the head with the message. At one point in…

Watch San Junipero (episode 4) then. I don't think that one is a lecture. It's also not a pessimistic episode, somewhat surprising for Black Mirror.

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

#50

Post by unfunco » Fri, Nov 04, 2016, 10:00 PM UTC

unfunco wrote: post #5

Analemma_ wrote: post #2

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.…

To me, the third episode (Shut up and dance) is the outstanding episode, at the end I was mentally exhausted and incredibly saddened. San Junipero is different, without ruining things, it's the only episode where at the end, I wasn't considering the "where" that we're heading towards as a society (though on further thinking, it's a question of whether something good is also something moral.) – It's just very differen…

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 have, and I know about and have read in detail about eugenics (which is what I think this episode is alluding to) – but to me, it's the most unrealistic, and that's why I've made my decision.

It reminded me of Die Jugend Marschiert though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLHFN6ynLgg