Black Mirror on Netflix: 3 episodes that predicted the future

Warning, spoilers. It is recommended that you watch the 3 episodes of Black Mirror mentioned below before reading on.

Black Mirror, an anthology series created by Charlie Brooker, has flooded our screens with scary and disturbing dystopian stories about the excesses of technology and its use in society. With its very dark and satirical tone, but very relevant to what is best and what is worst in humanity, the Channel 4 and then Netflix series often shocks with its twists and amazing twists.

But there are episodes that have left a more indelible mark on our lives and that were even “precursors” of technological innovations and some of them amazing uses. A preview of Black Mirror episode 3 that predicted the future so to speak. When reality trumps fiction, there’s something to shudder about.

The Waldo Show (Season 2, Episode 3)

Fast forward to 2013, the final episode of Black Mirror Season 2 features Jamie Salter (Daniel Rigby), a comedian specializing in motion capture, who animates and voices Waldo, the blue bear in computer graphics. While participating in a fake children’s show, he makes fun of Liam Monro (Tobias Menzies), a representative of the British Conservative Party, through Waldo.

It’s an instant success for Waldo, who the show’s producers have thrown into the political arena. Very quickly, Waldo, led by Jamie, appears as a candidate in the ongoing local election campaign. But Waldo’s success won’t sit well with James, especially when “The Agency” tries to make Waldo the international face of political opposition.

Through Waldo, he can convey any message, whether it’s from Google statistics or various opinions from Twitter. Uncomfortable, Jamie tries to escape this political trap, but is attacked. When he wakes up in the hospital, he realizes that Waldo has indeed become a symbol of protest after the blue bear came in second in computer graphics (not far behind Twitter’s blue bird).

If no synthetic bear has ever appeared in any election, it’s clear that comedians or entertainment clowns have moved into positions of power years after an episode of “The Waldo Show” aired, then it seemed impossible.

Leader: Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman, TV host and producer who ran as the Republican Party candidate in the 2016 US presidential election. And while no one expected to see Donald Trump in the White House, he was indeed the 45th president. United States from 2017 to 2021.

Another example: Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian, producer, actor, screenwriter and director who became the president of Ukraine in 2019. The comedian was the lead actor in “Servant of the People,” a sitcom in which he played a teacher-turned-president-in-waiting. . Volodymyr Zelensky, who is very popular in his country, created his own political party based on the image of a character from a TV series fighting elite corruption, and thanks to an atypical election campaign, he became the president of Ukraine.

Freefall (Season 3, Episode 1)

The first episode of the Netflix version of Black Mirror, after it acquired the broadcasting rights previously held by Channel 4, “Freefall” kicks off the third season of Charlie Brooker’s series about the scary dystopian world hats.

We follow the daily life of Lacey (Bryce Dallas Howard) in a society governed by personal ranking, that is, each person rates others from 0 to 5, and those with higher ratings have access to better services. Lacey has a 4.2 but wants access to a higher quality of life. So he will do everything for it and change his profile accordingly.

When her 4.6 rated childhood friend Naomi (Alyssa Eve) contacts her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, it’s a dream come true for Lacey, who only dreams of improving her social status. But on D-Day, Les makes a number of mistakes and miscommunications that greatly diminish his quality.

It’s a descent into hell for Lacey, who sees her privileged access disappear. Naomi then bans him from the wedding, explaining that she only invited him because he had a 4.2. Betrayed and depressed, Les somehow ends up at a ceremony where he gives a rousing speech before being arrested and imprisoned.

Is it impossible in our society? Not for China, which in 2014 announced the introduction of a lifetime (!) rating system for its citizens. This Chinese government project, inspired by the United States’ credit score, rewards people and companies that respect established rules and punishes those that don’t.

After experiments in 2014 and test phases in 2018, the system was deployed throughout the People’s Republic of China in 2020. However, there is no national standard. The system takes different forms depending on the city; Some focus on innovation, some on highway code enforcement, and some on morality. And failure to comply could prevent some citizens and businesses from receiving loans and government aid.

Metal Head (Season 4, Episode 5)

In Episode 5 – almost silent and in black and white – of Black Mirror Season 4, Bella (Maxine Peake), Tony (Clint Dyer) and Clark (Jake Davies), three burglars in search of resources, explore an abandoned warehouse to find. A particular piece of cardboard that should ease a certain Jake’s pain.

But the three accomplices don’t just find the box, they also come across “The Dog”, a quadrupedal robot that has been patrolling the warehouse and has a knack for killing anyone it spots. The dog quickly kills Tony and Clarke and chases after Bella, who manages to escape without the box.

If he manages to lose the dog by driving his car off a cliff, he knows very well that he has little time left because the dog has put a beacon in him. He manages to pull it out with the knife, but the blood he’s lost follows the dog.

A long and painful chase ensues between the dog and Bella, who uses every possible strategy to blur the dog’s vision and ensure that his battery is drained. Unfortunately for her, Bella ends up in an abandoned house where the dog attacks her one last time before putting her down.

He realizes that the dog has managed to plant several tags in it, which attracts many other killer dogs, leaving Bella to her sad fate. The episode ends by revealing the contents of the box that Bella, Tony, and Clark gave their lives for: teddy bears.

Although the dogs in Black Mirror were based on Boston Dynamics robots like BigDog, reality overtook the fiction very quickly. However, technology has come a long way since then, and the firm has created a smaller, more dynamic version of BigDog. Called SpotMini, the four-legged robot prototype is even closer to canine style.

This very clever version shocked netizens when a test video was uploaded. But it’s not the only artificial intelligence that has created panic on the nets, as an MIT robot named Mini Cheetah has also been made to run, jump and even play football!

All six seasons of Black Mirror are available on Netflix.