Obviously this episode has many implications concerning digital culture, as well as other cultural issues (isolation, narcissism, socioeconomic division, sexuality, etc.) What stands out for you from this episode?
This episode for some reason scared me the most out of all of the other ones that we have watched. For some reason the use of physical energy as the only way out of something makes me feel ill (partly because I wouldn't be able to do it..) because it reverts human beings into just bodies that need to have their brains appeased with bad television. They become brain-dead and cycle all day... and when they return to their closet-sized rooms, they are surrounded by screens and forced to watch. We, are not forced to look out our multitude of screens, but we do anyway. Will we still have a choice in the future?
One thing that I though was pretty crazy was the whole paying money to dress up your avatar. I remember when I had an Xbox 360 as a kid you were able to do the same thing with the avatar on your account. I use to spend money on my account to buy clothes for my avatar and just thinking about that in comparison to the show its pretty ridiculous to think that I did that. I was buying fake clothes for a fake me that at the end of the day did not really do anything. I thought in Black Mirror it was really interesting that people would dress their avatars in vibrant clothing yet all of their real clothing was gray. I think in this society avatars are more important than actual people because there is so much more effort to make your avatars look good than your actual self. Your avatar is going out and having fun while you're just riding a stationary bike.
What stuck with the most for sure was the digitization of literally everything in this episode. From the vending machines to the “currency,” everything was digital. I’m all for technological advancements and going digital but sometimes it’s too much. Sometimes I’ll go to apply for something and find out applications are only online. What if I want to fill-out a paper application? Why don’t I have the option? Or when I buy something small at the campus bookstore and the girl behind the counter says “credit or debit?” as I hold up a $20 bill. I thought to myself, what’s wrong with hard cash anymore? Why does everything have to be digital? Now we have the whole Bitcoin thing and I couldn’t stop thinking about that watching Bing pay for things with this imaginary currency. It’s basically the same thing. I could definitely see vending machines looking like the ones in the episode for sure.
I feel like society is in a rush to make everything paperless and live our lives through technology and the internet that we lose our sense of humanity. We live through social media and desire high friend lists and likes instead of spending time with people, kids play video games all day and don’t go outside anymore, no one uses cash, buying movies or music in physical form is outdated, the list goes on and on and this episode mirrors that kind of society. One other funny thing I noticed, isn’t it ironic that Bing’s name is also a search engine?
I find it interesting that the workers in this society are represented by a simulated character, like in video games. The people gather points through work so they can survive and this is their sole purpose in society. No longer are people simply consumers - they are efficiently controlled for only their labor. This seems to be a foreshadow for the direction digitAL culture could go down if there is not freedom of expression. These subjects have absolutely no way to express themselves, and their only way out of the hamster wheel is to be an entertainer for the laborers, perpetuating the cycle with a masked perception of freedom. Given the weight of augmented reality world we are currently undergoing, it is becoming more and more important to be criticAL of the media we consume and how we use media to express ourselves. If we are not careful, future media technologies could very well disguise reality to a point of no return.
The thing I really enjoy about Black Mirror as a whole is it's subtle social commentary on the effects of becoming too adapted to technology and let it dictate our lives. This episode in particular was interesting because of how this new society is entirely paperless. The way currency works is also fascinating since we get very attached to obtaining money not only for being able to buy goodies and services, but having the means to do so by having it physically. Rewards in this society are obtained digitally which is more of a concept from a video game, which ultimately is what you have to do to earn these "merits." The most coincidental thing about this is the fact that you also have to use exercising bikes, which leads to the separation of the physically fit and the obese who work as the custodial staff while being made fun of by the people on the bikes. Again, this is commenting on our society's way of separating difference social classes. Overall, this episode definitely conveys that the world we live in now can become that futuristic world.
I feel like in this episodes shows how our future could possibly be or is making a statement about our society as it is now. We are constantly looking for that gratification in life in any task we do. It's good to hear, "wow you sound so amazing when you sing" or " wow what a way to do that". But in this society we are constantly peddling towards something to work for the next big thing and for what that gratification of feeling good. This episode has so many hidden themes in it and just to point one out is just the tip of the ice berg. When Bing had the glass to his neck. He wanted everyone to listen, but they didn't they saw and heard what they wanted to see. Just like in many cases today where people see and hear what they want.
This episode was by far one of the best i have ever watched in a show. I must say that it was confusing at times but it packed up so many life messages in one single episode. One of the most important messages of this episode in my opinion was the representation of how technology is vastly evolving and increasingly changing the way humans interact with one another and causing that lack one human touch and the ability to have a face-to-face conversation with one another.
I liked “15 million merits” a lot. Black Mirror has been able to create dystopian worlds that are horrifying without any bloodshed. They have shown the omnipotent power of technology and realistic scenarios that could lead to the demise of any person’s sanity. When we are first introduced to Bing, he seems complacent in a world where everyone must become physically drained by cycling in order to power the country. If they want a shot at giving up the bike and becoming a celebrity, they have to achieve 15 million merits for a ticket on a game show watched by everyone. This world is filled with advertisments that can only be skipped by paying a small fee. Bing has close to 15 million mertits so he skips the commericals as he pleases. The episode was about the world’s desire for distractions as everyone is constantly cycling without any real purpose. As we mentioned in class, people can escape cycling by presenting a talent, but everyone must be so drained by the cycling that they would hardly have any time to prefect a talent if they even had one. After Bing gives a long rant at the end of the episode dismissing the premise of the game show hosts destroying people’s lives, he is suprsingly given an opportunity to have his own talkshow without ever having to cycle again. On the show, he explains that the only reason he hasn’t killed himself is because the system would find a way to revive him and give him a hefty penalty that he would never be able to repay. It was a great metaphor for society’s desire to be recognized and up to par with the rest of the Black Mirror episodes. I still think the scariest episode is “The Entire History of You” (Connor Hynes)
The themes of isolation and artificiality in a digital world are done incredibly well in this episode of Black Mirror. A scene that stuck out to me was when Bing was describing the dystopian society he was a part of. When Bing is trying to get Abi to take his merits to try out for Hot Shot, he says everything is like "confetti" and shes the only aspect of his life that is "real." The constant stream of sex and violent imagery around Bing parallels our modern digital world. I also found it interesting that Bing's character remains unpredictable throughout the episode. Why does Bing decide to go on to Hot Shot? Does he think all along he can create a show of genuine emotion because of his outburst on Hot Shot? Does he want to die or does he simply yearn to be liberated from his isolated bedroom? Also, I was wondering whether or not the view of the forest at the end of the episode was real or fabricated? I'm assuming that it's a digital depiction of natural scenery but I'm not entirely sure. I also really appreciated that the directors left the implications of the future open-ended. (Sophia Uhl)
I think one implication is that the "real" world has become very unpleasant; nature may very well be destroyed, and so everyone lives indoors and gets all of their entertainment from media. Human beings seem to be the main power source, too!
I found this episode to be very disturbing. One thing that stood out to me was the objectionable of women. This episode is presumably supposed to be set in the future, but it seems like nothing has really changed. Instead of praising women for their talents or intelligence, people are more concerned about how they look or what they can do for men.
For instance, the character Abi is not only a talented singer but she's also very intelligent. When she went on to sing, all the judges were paying attention to was her looks. Which is important in our society as well.
That episode of black mirror was incredible. At first i was actually bored, there was no dialogue at all and sometimes that can be a bit draggy for me, however, they did such a great job in telling a story with very little dialogue. I gathered that the man was quite awkward, he wasn't used to the situation he was put into. All i could think about watching that episode was just how we as a society are truly just puppets controlled by the higher power within us. Were told what to do, when do to it, and how to get there (for the most part.)
The women that he met was the first person who he felt 'real' with. He even bought her the golden ticket to try out for the reality show, where she was then taken from him and put into porn. She did have a really good voice, and that is why he bought her the ticket, but the judges only saw her as a tool for money making, they saw a porn star. This is a direct correlation to our society, where most of the time peoples real talents go unnoticed, and they do so to become famous any other way they can.
Ive realized that when i watch Black Mirror i get very frustrated. This is due to the fact that every episode ive watched, they've done such an amazing job in depicting our society in fantastic ways. (Nick Alvarez)
This episode of Black Mirror "15 Million Merits" had to be one of my favorites from this season. In my opinion the episode was very unique and made one think. The one idea behind the episode that I would question is how did the individuals in the episode enter a world like that. A world where everything was based on a points system and the only way to receive points was by riding on a workout bike. I picked up on when Bing and Abi were talking and Abi stated how she just entered because she turned 21. In my opinion I believe that before you turn 21 you have a different life and society is normal, but then when you turn the age 21 you have to work for everything and the only way to get out was to be famous.
One other aspect of the episode that I enjoyed was the musical soundtrack associated with when different characters interact. For sample, when Bing and Abi interact there was sort of a sweet, quiet, slow tune playing in the background that made the audience more interested in the characters relationship. Overall, I enjoyed this episode "15 Million Merits." (Brendan Tucker)
This episode takes humanity and injects it inside of a virtual reality show. Its scary to think that this is where we could be headed so long as we continue to feed our intense desire to unify with technology. People are slaves to impulses and their only purpose is to power the machine, literally. The virtual world pleases the common minded and rewards them with sexual stimulus. Its interesting to see the parallels between gorilla marketing on content now and how it would interact with people in a completely technologically submerged environment. The need to pay to not be continually bombarded with shitty advertising is a very real concept.
In today's society and as we become more and more connected to technology the impedance on our own personal mind by advertisements will increasingly be violated to a point where it will become an accepted and embraced part of reality as seen in this episode. This is because now advertisements pay for the content to entertain the viewer but when content is no longer the focus and the mind becomes subservient to the content rather then the content to the mind then the provider can hold individuals hostage as seen in the episode. This idea is amplified in an environment that is completely over saturated with technological stimuli like in this episode of black mirror. It feels like a depiction of a capitalistic technological society where work directly funds free choice within an isolated prison of a system. The ignorant happily work their lives away and are rewarded with menial sexual exposure and a chance to be recognized and judged on the big screen.
While Black Mirror may be tough to watch at times due to it's depressing nature. It points out problems in today's society that are important to point out.
In this specific episode, the people cycling on the exercise bike represents people in today's world who feel that their life is complacent. An example of this would be someone who is stuck working a 9-5 job that they do not like and have to do it to provide for themselves and/or their families. And they feel that this is a never ending cycle. I believe that the episode also points out how people are becoming to ingrained with the technology around them, and that they are not enjoying life because they are too connected to technology.
I really enjoyed this episode of Black Mirror. Although at times, it did get me frustrated with how much effort the male character (I don't remember his name haha) put into shipping the girl he cared about to the show because she had talent but she just sells out to become a porn star. I related this episode to the real world in the sense that people apply for jobs in the field they want to do but at the end of the day, they will give up that dream to get a job period. It also shows me how both money and freedom is power. The main character goes to the show the make a statement about how what they're doing is wrong but once they offer him a position to get away from the cycling and perform a monologue twice a week, he scratches his whole plan of obtaining his initial goal and sells out. Don't get me wrong, I would do the same!
Obviously this episode has many implications concerning digital culture, as well as other cultural issues (isolation, narcissism, socioeconomic division, sexuality, etc.) What stands out for you from this episode?
This episode for some reason scared me the most out of all of the other ones that we have watched. For some reason the use of physical energy as the only way out of something makes me feel ill (partly because I wouldn't be able to do it..) because it reverts human beings into just bodies that need to have their brains appeased with bad television. They become brain-dead and cycle all day... and when they return to their closet-sized rooms, they are surrounded by screens and forced to watch. We, are not forced to look out our multitude of screens, but we do anyway. Will we still have a choice in the future?
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I though was pretty crazy was the whole paying money to dress up your avatar. I remember when I had an Xbox 360 as a kid you were able to do the same thing with the avatar on your account. I use to spend money on my account to buy clothes for my avatar and just thinking about that in comparison to the show its pretty ridiculous to think that I did that. I was buying fake clothes for a fake me that at the end of the day did not really do anything. I thought in Black Mirror it was really interesting that people would dress their avatars in vibrant clothing yet all of their real clothing was gray. I think in this society avatars are more important than actual people because there is so much more effort to make your avatars look good than your actual self. Your avatar is going out and having fun while you're just riding a stationary bike.
ReplyDeleteMario Prainito
What stuck with the most for sure was the digitization of literally everything in this episode. From the vending machines to the “currency,” everything was digital. I’m all for technological advancements and going digital but sometimes it’s too much. Sometimes I’ll go to apply for something and find out applications are only online. What if I want to fill-out a paper application? Why don’t I have the option? Or when I buy something small at the campus bookstore and the girl behind the counter says “credit or debit?” as I hold up a $20 bill. I thought to myself, what’s wrong with hard cash anymore? Why does everything have to be digital? Now we have the whole Bitcoin thing and I couldn’t stop thinking about that watching Bing pay for things with this imaginary currency. It’s basically the same thing. I could definitely see vending machines looking like the ones in the episode for sure.
ReplyDeleteI feel like society is in a rush to make everything paperless and live our lives through technology and the internet that we lose our sense of humanity. We live through social media and desire high friend lists and likes instead of spending time with people, kids play video games all day and don’t go outside anymore, no one uses cash, buying movies or music in physical form is outdated, the list goes on and on and this episode mirrors that kind of society. One other funny thing I noticed, isn’t it ironic that Bing’s name is also a search engine?
I find it interesting that the workers in this society are represented by a simulated character, like in video games. The people gather points through work so they can survive and this is their sole purpose in society. No longer are people simply consumers - they are efficiently controlled for only their labor. This seems to be a foreshadow for the direction digitAL culture could go down if there is not freedom of expression. These subjects have absolutely no way to express themselves, and their only way out of the hamster wheel is to be an entertainer for the laborers, perpetuating the cycle with a masked perception of freedom. Given the weight of augmented reality world we are currently undergoing, it is becoming more and more important to be criticAL of the media we consume and how we use media to express ourselves. If we are not careful, future media technologies could very well disguise reality to a point of no return.
ReplyDeleteLogan McCurry
The thing I really enjoy about Black Mirror as a whole is it's subtle social commentary on the effects of becoming too adapted to technology and let it dictate our lives. This episode in particular was interesting because of how this new society is entirely paperless. The way currency works is also fascinating since we get very attached to obtaining money not only for being able to buy goodies and services, but having the means to do so by having it physically. Rewards in this society are obtained digitally which is more of a concept from a video game, which ultimately is what you have to do to earn these "merits." The most coincidental thing about this is the fact that you also have to use exercising bikes, which leads to the separation of the physically fit and the obese who work as the custodial staff while being made fun of by the people on the bikes. Again, this is commenting on our society's way of separating difference social classes. Overall, this episode definitely conveys that the world we live in now can become that futuristic world.
ReplyDeleteI feel like in this episodes shows how our future could possibly be or is making a statement about our society as it is now. We are constantly looking for that gratification in life in any task we do. It's good to hear, "wow you sound so amazing when you sing" or " wow what a way to do that". But in this society we are constantly peddling towards something to work for the next big thing and for what that gratification of feeling good. This episode has so many hidden themes in it and just to point one out is just the tip of the ice berg. When Bing had the glass to his neck. He wanted everyone to listen, but they didn't they saw and heard what they wanted to see. Just like in many cases today where people see and hear what they want.
ReplyDeleteThis episode was by far one of the best i have ever watched in a show. I must say that it was confusing at times but it packed up so many life messages in one single episode. One of the most important messages of this episode in my opinion was the representation of how technology is vastly evolving and increasingly changing the way humans interact with one another and causing that lack one human touch and the ability to have a face-to-face conversation with one another.
ReplyDelete-Maria Sanchez.
I liked “15 million merits” a lot. Black Mirror has been able to create dystopian worlds that are horrifying without any bloodshed. They have shown the omnipotent power of technology and realistic scenarios that could lead to the demise of any person’s sanity. When we are first introduced to Bing, he seems complacent in a world where everyone must become physically drained by cycling in order to power the country. If they want a shot at giving up the bike and becoming a celebrity, they have to achieve 15 million merits for a ticket on a game show watched by everyone. This world is filled with advertisments that can only be skipped by paying a small fee. Bing has close to 15 million mertits so he skips the commericals as he pleases. The episode was about the world’s desire for distractions as everyone is constantly cycling without any real purpose. As we mentioned in class, people can escape cycling by presenting a talent, but everyone must be so drained by the cycling that they would hardly have any time to prefect a talent if they even had one. After Bing gives a long rant at the end of the episode dismissing the premise of the game show hosts destroying people’s lives, he is suprsingly given an opportunity to have his own talkshow without ever having to cycle again. On the show, he explains that the only reason he hasn’t killed himself is because the system would find a way to revive him and give him a hefty penalty that he would never be able to repay. It was a great metaphor for society’s desire to be recognized and up to par with the rest of the Black Mirror episodes. I still think the scariest episode is “The Entire History of You” (Connor Hynes)
ReplyDeleteThe themes of isolation and artificiality in a digital world are done incredibly well in this episode of Black Mirror. A scene that stuck out to me was when Bing was describing the dystopian society he was a part of. When Bing is trying to get Abi to take his merits to try out for Hot Shot, he says everything is like "confetti" and shes the only aspect of his life that is "real." The constant stream of sex and violent imagery around Bing parallels our modern digital world. I also found it interesting that Bing's character remains unpredictable throughout the episode. Why does Bing decide to go on to Hot Shot? Does he think all along he can create a show of genuine emotion because of his outburst on Hot Shot? Does he want to die or does he simply yearn to be liberated from his isolated bedroom? Also, I was wondering whether or not the view of the forest at the end of the episode was real or fabricated? I'm assuming that it's a digital depiction of natural scenery but I'm not entirely sure. I also really appreciated that the directors left the implications of the future open-ended.
ReplyDelete(Sophia Uhl)
I think one implication is that the "real" world has become very unpleasant; nature may very well be destroyed, and so everyone lives indoors and gets all of their entertainment from media. Human beings seem to be the main power source, too!
DeleteI found this episode to be very disturbing. One thing that stood out to me was the objectionable of women. This episode is presumably supposed to be set in the future, but it seems like nothing has really changed. Instead of praising women for their talents or intelligence, people are more concerned about how they look or what they can do for men.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, the character Abi is not only a talented singer but she's also very intelligent. When she went on to sing, all the judges were paying attention to was her looks. Which is important in our society as well.
objectification typo.
DeleteThat episode of black mirror was incredible. At first i was actually bored, there was no dialogue at all and sometimes that can be a bit draggy for me, however, they did such a great job in telling a story with very little dialogue. I gathered that the man was quite awkward, he wasn't used to the situation he was put into. All i could think about watching that episode was just how we as a society are truly just puppets controlled by the higher power within us. Were told what to do, when do to it, and how to get there (for the most part.)
ReplyDeleteThe women that he met was the first person who he felt 'real' with. He even bought her the golden ticket to try out for the reality show, where she was then taken from him and put into porn. She did have a really good voice, and that is why he bought her the ticket, but the judges only saw her as a tool for money making, they saw a porn star. This is a direct correlation to our society, where most of the time peoples real talents go unnoticed, and they do so to become famous any other way they can.
Ive realized that when i watch Black Mirror i get very frustrated. This is due to the fact that every episode ive watched, they've done such an amazing job in depicting our society in fantastic ways. (Nick Alvarez)
This episode of Black Mirror "15 Million Merits" had to be one of my favorites from this season. In my opinion the episode was very unique and made one think. The one idea behind the episode that I would question is how did the individuals in the episode enter a world like that. A world where everything was based on a points system and the only way to receive points was by riding on a workout bike. I picked up on when Bing and Abi were talking and Abi stated how she just entered because she turned 21. In my opinion I believe that before you turn 21 you have a different life and society is normal, but then when you turn the age 21 you have to work for everything and the only way to get out was to be famous.
ReplyDeleteOne other aspect of the episode that I enjoyed was the musical soundtrack associated with when different characters interact. For sample, when Bing and Abi interact there was sort of a sweet, quiet, slow tune playing in the background that made the audience more interested in the characters relationship. Overall, I enjoyed this episode "15 Million Merits." (Brendan Tucker)
This episode takes humanity and injects it inside of a virtual reality show. Its scary to think that this is where we could be headed so long as we continue to feed our intense desire to unify with technology. People are slaves to impulses and their only purpose is to power the machine, literally. The virtual world pleases the common minded and rewards them with sexual stimulus. Its interesting to see the parallels between gorilla marketing on content now and how it would interact with people in a completely technologically submerged environment. The need to pay to not be continually bombarded with shitty advertising is a very real concept.
ReplyDeleteIn today's society and as we become more and more connected to technology the impedance on our own personal mind by advertisements will increasingly be violated to a point where it will become an accepted and embraced part of reality as seen in this episode. This is because now advertisements pay for the content to entertain the viewer but when content is no longer the focus and the mind becomes subservient to the content rather then the content to the mind then the provider can hold individuals hostage as seen in the episode. This idea is amplified in an environment that is completely over saturated with technological stimuli like in this episode of black mirror. It feels like a depiction of a capitalistic technological society where work directly funds free choice within an isolated prison of a system. The ignorant happily work their lives away and are rewarded with menial sexual exposure and a chance to be recognized and judged on the big screen.
While Black Mirror may be tough to watch at times due to it's depressing nature. It points out problems in today's society that are important to point out.
ReplyDeleteIn this specific episode, the people cycling on the exercise bike represents people in today's world who feel that their life is complacent. An example of this would be someone who is stuck working a 9-5 job that they do not like and have to do it to provide for themselves and/or their families. And they feel that this is a never ending cycle. I believe that the episode also points out how people are becoming to ingrained with the technology around them, and that they are not enjoying life because they are too connected to technology.
I really enjoyed this episode of Black Mirror. Although at times, it did get me frustrated with how much effort the male character (I don't remember his name haha) put into shipping the girl he cared about to the show because she had talent but she just sells out to become a porn star. I related this episode to the real world in the sense that people apply for jobs in the field they want to do but at the end of the day, they will give up that dream to get a job period. It also shows me how both money and freedom is power. The main character goes to the show the make a statement about how what they're doing is wrong but once they offer him a position to get away from the cycling and perform a monologue twice a week, he scratches his whole plan of obtaining his initial goal and sells out. Don't get me wrong, I would do the same!
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