Posted on 03/16/2018 12:56:22 PM PDT by GoldenState_Rose
You’ve surely gotten the memo by now. As a fan of The Twilight Zone, you’re supposed to be head over heels for Black Mirror.
I wish I could join the chorus.
I don’t mean the show is without merit. It’s well-produced, acted and directed. It has some intriguing storylines. But it’s no Twilight Zone for the 21st century.
Sure, it’s an anthology with fantasy/sci-fi touches. But it’s also incredibly pessimistic...Yes, TZ had its share of downbeat endings (hello, Henry Bemis). And it’s true that Serling didn’t shrink from showing us the dark side of human nature (“The Shelter” and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” being two notable examples).
But one of the hallmarks of Serling’s writing was his faith in humanity. He didn’t leave us to wallow in misery — he kept encouraging us to be better. We don’t have to tear each other apart, he said. We can overcome suspicion and hatred.
And it worked. As we listen to his concluding narrations, we feel as if we want to try harder.
Black Mirror shows us the dark side as well. The problem is, it leaves us there.
And it keeps hitting the same theme: we’re all slaves to our devices. A fair point, but does that have to surface in practically every episode?
And as the questions above indicate, there’s a bit of a preoccupation with sex. Even if you think a “modern TZ” needs that (and I don’t), surely it’s possible to have an episode or two without it? Apparently not.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, tune in. But if you’re looking for a “modern-day Twilight Zone,” I wouldn’t recommend it. Black Mirror casts a dark reflection indeed.
(Excerpt) Read more at thenightgallery.wordpress.com ...
It’s a great story and a good short novel. I don’t think it’s cinematic, though, and Serling didn’t help at all. Luckily we got a far superior vision.
today, we know better
And that's why I only watch baseball games and Hitler documentaries.
I know the soundtrack for “San Junipero” is how several of my friends in Russia first got exposed to Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth.” (Which is an amazing song if one doesn’t take the lyrics literally of course!)
Isn’t the backdrop of the episode a god-less afterlife and the focal point a friendship being “realized” into a lesbian relationship?
I love “Black Mirror.” I saw USS Calister first and I was hooked ever since.
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