Netflix’s ‘Black Mirror’ Takes a Dark Turn at Technology, Reality

By Grant Okazaki, Staff Writer

Does technology make us happier?

This is the question that season 3 of Netflix’s “Black Mirror” wants viewers to ask of themselves.

The darkly mysterious series shows viewers the negative side of technology and lays out how we are all willingly caught up in the moment of technological utopia. But how do we experience utopia? We should all consider the ethics and morality before we move on to the next step of societal evolution. It’s great that we have access to the internet, mobile phones and computers, but to further that technology into other areas of our life such as capturing moments, biological information and traveling through space and time seems like a dangerous frontier.

What makes this show so unique and interesting are the different worlds each episode takes place in like various alternate realities of the near future. Each episode looks at different technologies and how they affect us. From soldier implants to social media on steroids, this show will make you say, “What the f***?!” It will leave you depressed but wanting more, wondering if there will be a season 4 (which there will be).

“Black Mirror” presents ethical and moral dilemmas tied with technology in relatable ways. There is the parallel with having a singularity to having an afterlife. Hidden agendas with military technology. Social media gone haywire. Terrorism in the form of the internet. These are all real consequences that should be looked into going forward in technology and the future.

We shouldn’t be so readily ready to assimilate into the cloud just yet. We haven’t figured out the poverty and homelessness problem nor the gross inequality that spans our globe. The people’s of tribal Africa are seemingly happier than the contemptuous society we have created for ourselves in the first world countries.

Why aren’t we more afraid of the technological advances that are occurring each day and entering our lives on a daily basis? We are more overjoyed that they are occurring thinking that they will enhance our lives today, tomorrow and the years after.

What we should take away from “Black Mirror” is that we shouldn’t ignore the obvious downsides to what seems like a near perfect technology. Humans are the variable where we are the cause root of the problem. Anything we say or do has an effect on the greater good of the world-at-large and we shouldn’t be subsequent to remove ourselves from the equation just yet.

Watch the trailer and tell someone about it because we should all know what we’re in for for the next 10-15 years. Discuss with your friends in real life and on the internet because it concerns them too. Remove yourself from the subjugation of meta-reality and start the conversation on how we all are going to live in the world before and after we die … if we ever do.