User Reviews

A Mirror Darkly 15 Million Merits is almost an adaption of 1984, the world which is depicts is one of stark and total sensual deprivation, where people literally live though their social networks, there isn't money, there isn't reality, there are the confines of you room, and where you work. But even in this hollow reality there are the Telescreens constantly crying for your attention, to the point of being the wholeness of your personal life.

This episode is not only a rebellion against the puerility, of reality television and the way it distracts from what is important in life, like the week of hate in 1984; it rallies the mob to a cause that is ultimately insignificant but encourages an almost self-fulfilling prophecy or purpose, it doesn't matter what is shown, or who it is, if it is real or not, but the mind has moved to a point of total deprivation of thought. The mind of these characters has become dead, uniqueness is something expressed though the hair of an avatar, it does as it is instructed, it thinks what it is told to think. In the world of 15 Million Metris, Sex and Horror are the new gods there is no morality it has all been digitized away by screaming avatars mimicking life with glassy eyed insincerity of a black mirror.

This episode if a brilliant indictment of not only the people that watch reality television and those that don't but the life it creates around it, the constant buzz between horror and sex. Ala Cheryl Cole being a role model for young women, while she prostitutes herself at HMV on posters where she kneels on all fours looking up at you, no different to the constant stream of pornography shown in this episode. This instalment is about indifference breading contempt for morality and life and that innocence is something to be cherish not sold, where it becomes cold and twisted, a broken Hallelujah.

"To predict the behaviour of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence." Friedrich Nietzsche

• Just watch it

To me, this is the episode which best captures the essence of "Black Mirror". Don't get me wrong, this entire show is filled with thought-provoking stories that will often make you think. It's one of the greatest attributes which consistently draws me to the sci-fi genre. However, for me, this episode nearly defines the entire show, in more ways than one.

"Fifteen Million Merits" centers on a futuristic civilization that is saturated in all things visual. Nearly everything is fake and synthetic; geared towards cheap pleasure, which offers no lasting meaning. The episode essentially takes what our current society values, from an entertainment standpoint, and extrapolates it into the future.

Let's face it. Human nature is drawn to superficial looks and "shock and awe". Just turn on the TV, and look at nearly every person on the screen. Every woman is a knockout, and all men have charisma. This is true from television shows, to news anchors, to even commercials. Society likes to look at beautiful people.

So this episode hits the nail right on the head, when it explores what happens when an innocent, attractive young lady enters a singing competition, with the hopes of winning first prize using her talented voice. In an "American Idol" style competition, the judges focus more on her looks than her voice. Innocence is stolen, as a heartfelt, noble dream is turned into something dirty.

This episode is of Shakespeare caliber, in terms of its writing. Not only is it highly creative, it also touches something that we can all relate to. General society, as a whole, is shallow. We're all judged, at least initially, on our looks; whether we like it or not. It's one of the ugly attributes of mankind, and this show's purpose, is to reveal it -- Hence the name "Black Mirror".

When you turn off the television screen, we're left with a black screen -- a mirror. That mirror reveals that we, as individuals, choose to watch what's on the screen. We see our own reflection, every time we turn off the screen. We're reminded of whose watching. The first episode makes this same point, but this episode does, as well.

After watching this episode, multiple times, I'm able to see its contribution to the series, as a whole. Bing escapes his life on the bike, by putting a piece of broken glass to his neck. That piece of glass resembles the same broken piece of glass at the beginning of every episode, in the title sequence. The title sequence shows the screen break on the "Black Mirror" title. Could one of those broken shards reflect this episode and Bing's new way of making money with his new stage prop?

I may be making an unintended connection between this episode, and the opening title sequence of this show. However, that's one of the beautiful things about this show. There's so much to be seen and recognized, since it truly causes viewers to think.

The music, for this episode, is also noteworthy. The composer did a great job conveying complete innocence with the beginning scenes of Bing and Abi. The characters connect on a completely innocent level, and the music captures this, perfectly. Appropriate music also captures Abi's fall, on the "Hot Shots" stage, when the judges and crowd, pick her apart, and cause her to give in to their sinister idea. The music perfectly conveys the chipping away of her innocence. She's like a lamb, being surrounded by hungry wolves. The directing is brilliant, and the writing is top-notch!

I love this episode, for so many reasons. It subtly underscores the way humans think, and what people tend to value, on an instinctual level. This not only makes the episode clever, but also highly relatable; and it does so in a tasteful, yet entertaining, manor. The director could have chosen to show lots of nudity, but they chose not to. It's able to make the point, without being the point. Well done.

Anybody here see and remember the movie "The Running Man"? It starred Arnold Schwarzenneger and took place in a dystopian future in which the mindless masses were kept entertained with programs featuring blood and violence. You have pretty much the same thing here except the violence has been replaced by celebrity sex by players who pay their dues on the way to becoming the next 'Hot Shot'. All throughout, the story hints at the idea that the principal characters Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) won't succumb to the relentless pressure of achieving that status, knowing that the only thing they each want to do is what makes them happy. But that choice is made impossible by celebrity judges Wraith, Hope, and Charity, who promise to send the fan favorites back to their lives of daily boredom scoring points while creating energy for the State and watching mind numbing programs of questionable value. An alternate ending in which Bing slashes his throat would have been considered more acceptable to this viewer, in as much as he seemed to be fiercely opposed to the choice he was offered, but in the end he too failed to deliver on his principles. Not that he had to be that drastic, he could simply have returned to his previous status. As Rod Serling once posited in one his more memorable Twilight Zone episodes, I guess it's all in the 'Eye of The Beholder'.

I watch many movies from many different genres,so when I saw this I was intrigued. So I began this episode and watched as a future which does not seem that far fetched loomed onto the screen. We see a future where if you do not watch the screen then you are inundated with this screeching siren of a noise. Then your eyes open and it stops while you are in a tiny prison riding a bicycle for power while sitting next to people that you would never ordinarily socialize with. Yet this is what you see and a screen so your avatar can buy accoutrements to make it look more unique. Yet you physically remain on a bicycle watching television until seemingly your eyes would bleed.

Then you watch as this relationship develops and in it's simplicity and fragile nature it is beautiful actually. In a world where there seemed to be little lingering spirituality or soul there came a voice and he heard it and fell in love. Possibly for the first time. He saw another being and loved and suddenly. So to inspire others and to get her out of prison he was willing to allow himself to remain in his prison to give her wings to fly.

Then well you can watch what they do to her a little later however he gains a determination and a care for nothing anymore and goes on that stage raw and spectacularly displays the rage for the whole population of the slaves on bicycles.

Within those few minutes i witnessed more talent coming from Daniel Kaluuya than I have in a very long time from Hollywood. His heart was right there screaming those lines as if it were the last thing ever performed. I was absolutely stunned watching him act.

This show is worth every second. Go watch it now and ask yourself what are you doing to possibly contribute to a world such as this? What could you change to help avoid or at least not contribute to this and do it.

I remember watching this episode and from what i recall it changed my perception of the world as i knew it completely, however I found the part where Abi is persuaded into joining the porn industry a bit over the top.

I rewatched it today due to Netflix skipping over this specific episode after watching "The Entire History Of You" and I can confidently say that this fit the bill more than ever.

Anyone and everyone is making money through OnlyFans and honest work is completely buried in fabricated half-measures, quantity over quality.

As the lines between the two gets all the more blurred.

The acting is superb, this is too real and I actually feel ill as I'm watching this, the sense of impending doom is all the more prevalent as i feel smaller when the thought hits me this is me, I am Bing.

We all are.

This week's Black Mirror is, again, brilliant. Epicurus would have approved of the mirror it holds to modern corruption.

Perfectly portrayed parody, portraying the pustulating, pestilential, purgatory of perpetual, pervasive, plebvision puerility - pandering, pathetically, to perverse passions - producing pure pornography *.

A dystopian present all too real to some already. The only real objection that I have to my iPad is that it makes it more difficult to turn off the advertisements - no doubt, as 15 Million Merits so marvelously makes clear, the intention is to make them compulsory.

If the writers of Black Mirror aren't on my exact wavelength, they're certainly absolutely in phase with my prejudices.

['pornography' is, originally, defined by the authors, not the subject matter]

This review contains spoilers for the second episode of Black Mirror entitled "Fifteen Million Merits."

The episode focuses on a society that is enclosed and automated Citizens here are frequently bombarded with advertisements. The most fit members of society that have not been elevated to the television generate power on stationary bikes for merit points. These merit points are used as currency.

The episode focuses on Bingham "Bing" Madsen played by Daniel Kaluuya. The audience follows Bing as he navigates this strange world. The only way of elevating one's standing in the society is a ticket to being a hotshot where one performs in front of judges.

This is a well written, well shot, and well edited episode. The episode flowed the freely and showed a dystopian society that had influences from Brave New World. Even the ending with a disillusioned Bing joining the very system he disagreed with is good writing.

I highly recommend the second episode of Black Mirror.

Grade: A

1. Bing falls in love 2. Bing bikes 3. Bing does a speech

This episode features a dystopian world where people are just caged in a room covered by screens and generates electricity by pedaling on the cycle. One way out of this mindless life is to win a talent show.

I thought this was a fun episode and it takes on a different style than the first episode as it's clearly dystopian. I enjoyed Daniel Kaluuya's performance with his speech scene being quite powerful. His bit about how we are so desensitized to artificial media that often involves mindless sexuality and violence, which makes us not be able to feel anything real, was relatable and relevant. Its commentary on what fame means for women and the pressure to express their sexuality against their will was something too. Its conclusion seemed to suggest that even Bing, who passionately hate the system, has conformed and chose the cushiony life. It shows that it's often very difficult to escape the system and takes more than courage.

While it was interesting, I thought it could have been done better. There were some slow parts and the script could have been tighter. For example, the love triangle issues were never necessary and didn't add much to the show's drama. I wish that it focused less on the romantic nature of things and tightened it up for a more platonic motivation. The message it portrays is also a bit repetitive - the dangers of capitalistic world we live in. I am often tired of these kind of media because it often offers no alternative and describes the same issue. I don't think this episode was particularly creative in doing that. With that being said, it was still definitely fun and set the tone for this anthology series.