Black Mirror

Netflix’s Black Mirror is a TV series about different scenarios concerning humans’ everyday lives, in terms of the evolution of technology. Each episode is different than the other, where each episode tackles a different issue. I have recently watched the episode Nosedive, where the protagonist, Lacie(as shown on the left), lives in a society where social status depends on how others rate you on your phone and rate the images you post on an app(shown on the left) similar to Instagram and Facebook. Each person has lenses that gives them the ability to see someone’s name and overall rating. Her everyday life consists of practicing how to smile and laugh in front of her mirror, and kissing up to people to get them to give her a five star rating, which is the maximum rating. For example, she has an encounter with a women, who works in the same building as she does, where they were both being fake and stalking each other’s accounts on their phone to “have a conversation.” However, in reality they both knew nothing about each other and they couldn’t stand each other, but they mingled to get a five star rating from each other. The episode continues to Lacie’s hinderances in getting her rate score up to get her dream house. Along the way, she contacts her childhood friend, Naomi, who has a high ranking, and ends up getting invited to her wedding and is asked to become her maid of honor, even though she actually hates her, because Naomi slept with her ex-boyfriend. This episode shows the obsession of being accepted in a particular society, through reviews on an app that define a person’s social status. It also shows how technology has destroys relationships between others. The lenses are a representation how Cyborgs will eventually exist and spread to become a part of humans’ daily lives. Here’s the link to the episode on Netflix!