A much better take at the social media frenzy era than Black Mirror's The National Anthem. This episode smoothly transitions from a murder mystery to a Candyman-esque horror to a crime thriller, standing on a better ground in the balance between surveillance and sousveillance. Unlike The National Anthem, which often felt one-dimensional by portraying a government slow to adapt to technological changes, this episode effectively weaves together today's surveillance capitalism with the cyber-bullying tendencies of the social media era.
For me, the episode could have been even more impactful if it had maintained a smaller scale. The complete system shutdown feels overly dramatic to drive home a point and somewhat deviates from Black Mirror's typically grounded approach to technology.
And the episode can't quite shake off the crowdphobic feel reminiscent of The National Anthem, occasionally portraying the masses as a thoughtless mob of bullies. It seems to lean towards apologism in its condoning of government surveillance. You can already see the episode earning nods from proponents of big government and figures like Elon Musk. Nevertheless, the well-interwoven plotlines and the teasing of a possible sequel in the cliffhanger crime thriller-like end make this episode a thrilling ride.
Shout by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2023-08-11T13:06:35Z
A much better take at the social media frenzy era than Black Mirror's The National Anthem. This episode smoothly transitions from a murder mystery to a Candyman-esque horror to a crime thriller, standing on a better ground in the balance between surveillance and sousveillance. Unlike The National Anthem, which often felt one-dimensional by portraying a government slow to adapt to technological changes, this episode effectively weaves together today's surveillance capitalism with the cyber-bullying tendencies of the social media era.
For me, the episode could have been even more impactful if it had maintained a smaller scale. The complete system shutdown feels overly dramatic to drive home a point and somewhat deviates from Black Mirror's typically grounded approach to technology.
And the episode can't quite shake off the crowdphobic feel reminiscent of The National Anthem, occasionally portraying the masses as a thoughtless mob of bullies. It seems to lean towards apologism in its condoning of government surveillance. You can already see the episode earning nods from proponents of big government and figures like Elon Musk. Nevertheless, the well-interwoven plotlines and the teasing of a possible sequel in the cliffhanger crime thriller-like end make this episode a thrilling ride.