4th Day Of (TV) Christmas: Black Mirror
Nothing says Christmas quite like the uniquely dark view of the future and technology and human nature that is Charlie Booker's Black Mirror. Right? Okay well probably (definitely) there are things that say Christmas better but let's talk about the totally bananas "White Christmas" episode anyways.
Note; This is one of the rare times this month when I really want to be careful about spoilers. Since this episode is free-standing and because the ending is absolutely fantastic, I'm going to be general in case someone hasn't already seen this one.
"White Christmas" is, in my mind, a really brilliant bit of television writing. We start with two men (Jon Hamm and Rafe Spall) trapped in a remote cabin over Christmas. From the beginning, we don't really know anything about these men and the very particular way we get information throughout the episode is paced just right.
At first it seems like the men are just a basic frame story for Booker to weave together a few different tales about the ways we interact with technology. The stories are dark- one about the ways tech can bring us together through shared (horrifying) experiences and one about the way tech can isolate a human in an otherworldly way. And the tech in this episode (unlike some of Black Mirror) is a very near-future extension of things we already have. These stories feel like they're about five minutes in the future, rather than centuries, which is somehow way more terrifying.
As the stories unfold, it's slowly revealed the ways that they're all intertwining. That slow trickle of information lets the pieces come together and show you the importance of what you've already seen.
This is an episode with an absolute wealth of fantastic performances. Hamm and Spall are just great together, playing perfectly off each other. Blog favorites Natalia Tena and Oona Chaplin are in supporting roles but they're always great, and they do so much with every scene they're in.
This is a suuuuuper dark and suuuuper great episode of television. Which makes me think that this month has started on maybe too dark of a note. Things get lighter from here on out, friends. Pinky promise.
Happy Watching!
CT
Note; This is one of the rare times this month when I really want to be careful about spoilers. Since this episode is free-standing and because the ending is absolutely fantastic, I'm going to be general in case someone hasn't already seen this one.
 |
| Image from IMDb |
"White Christmas" is, in my mind, a really brilliant bit of television writing. We start with two men (Jon Hamm and Rafe Spall) trapped in a remote cabin over Christmas. From the beginning, we don't really know anything about these men and the very particular way we get information throughout the episode is paced just right.
At first it seems like the men are just a basic frame story for Booker to weave together a few different tales about the ways we interact with technology. The stories are dark- one about the ways tech can bring us together through shared (horrifying) experiences and one about the way tech can isolate a human in an otherworldly way. And the tech in this episode (unlike some of Black Mirror) is a very near-future extension of things we already have. These stories feel like they're about five minutes in the future, rather than centuries, which is somehow way more terrifying.
 |
| Image from IMDb |
As the stories unfold, it's slowly revealed the ways that they're all intertwining. That slow trickle of information lets the pieces come together and show you the importance of what you've already seen.
This is an episode with an absolute wealth of fantastic performances. Hamm and Spall are just great together, playing perfectly off each other. Blog favorites Natalia Tena and Oona Chaplin are in supporting roles but they're always great, and they do so much with every scene they're in.
This is a suuuuuper dark and suuuuper great episode of television. Which makes me think that this month has started on maybe too dark of a note. Things get lighter from here on out, friends. Pinky promise.
Happy Watching!
CT
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