JOHN LEONARDO I.

LETRAN
GED104-SEC76

The British television series entitled, “Black Mirror” refers to the blank or black screen we
see when our gadgets and televisions are turned off. It may perhaps represent coldness, and an
empty void that resembles us being latched to today’s technology, forever entrapping us in an
endless loop of obsession over modern technology. The show is about how technology, specifically
social media, affects society in deep and vivid symbolisms portraying a futuristic world; where we
may horrifically live in.

One of its episode, “Nosedive”, in my opinion is the spotlight of the show. The episode is
what seemingly is an alternative reality wherein one person rates one another based on their
attitude after every encounter. The higher the rating, the better the benefits. The episode follows a
young woman named Lacie, who is obsessed with increasing her rating for her own image and for
the benefits she will receive; specifically, a home at a certain area. Throughout the episode, she
puts multitude amounts of efforts impressing people trying to increase her rating, but what she was
doing, was terribly the opposite leading to the dramatic decrease of her rating. The four main
characters each depicts different perspectives on the reality they are living in. ‘Lacie’, someone
who is a social climber and would do anything to be on the upper social class. ‘Naomi’ a person
that has two faces; she may be on the upper social class, but her hidden agendas or attitudes, may
or may not be different from people on the lower social class. ‘Susan’, someone who has realized
the harsh reality of the society due to the tragic event that happened in her life. ‘Ryan’ this is a
person who is true to himself and to the people around him. He is contended with his life. Each of
the characters represent different people perceiving the society that they are living in.

It is a social media nightmare dressed like a pastel daydream (Framke 2016). Though it
may look like a fantasy, and took place in the mere future, but it is already evident in today’s
society. Social media sets the standards of what an ideal man, woman, physical and facial feature,
etc. is, and further stripping, distorting, and manipulating the identity of an individual. It dictates
what a person should be, should act like, to be accepted in the modern society. We, as individuals
must learn to not let social media dictate our identity. We must learn to not heavily rely on people
to approve of who we are and we must always remain true to ourselves and to the people that
surrounds us.
JOHN LEONARDO I. LETRAN
GED104-SEC76

Bibliography:

Framke, C. (2016, October 30). Black Mirror's "Nosedive" is a social media nightmare dressed like
a pastel daydream. Retrieved October 12, 2018, from
https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/culture/2016/10/21/13360144/black
-mirror-season-3-nosedive-recap-review