Q

I finally got around to Black Mirror’s 2014 Christmas special yesterday, after putting it off in my reluctance to clean Black Mirror off my to-watch dock. It was – if i were to be succinct than loyal – disappointing. First things: I’m very new to (and very much in love with!) the Black Mirror universe. In fact, i started it because the release of White Christmas rejuvenated its fan base. Series 1 & 2 was completed within two weeks, so my inclination to compare runs rather high.

Even as the weakest BM episode, it was engaging enough for > 1 hour to feel much shorter than it was. Again, the actors were on point; i do have a penchant for british actors – there’s always a faint shadow of stage in their performance, which appeals to my early years in theatre. Jon Hamm worked in contrast to the cast, especially in context of his character – more offhand and quick charm.

Also, not sure if it’s just me, but little segments (technology, songs, dialogue, plot) reminiscent of past episodes. Perhaps hidden tributes?

That’s pretty much all for that was commendable though. The most glaring of its faults was its over-dependence on thought experiments. In previous BM episodes, i gave full pardon for leaps of logic – because it was psychologically water-tight. Meaning, the episodes often sliced off a narrow piece of universe on which the premise is centered, without considering possible external factors, or how this might work in context of the actual world (e.g. crime logic in National Anthem? what does everyone else do? in 15 Million Credits, governmental intervention in White Bear?). BUT, the courses of action taken within that assumed universe followed its rules, and closely mimicked what anyone would do in the situation. Given that the premises are primarily thought experiments, the external world doesn’t play as crucial a role.

In White Christmas however, even within the given universe, the plot is sketchy. Firstly, surely the cookie cannot be seen as viable. It’s unlikely that humans, with so much fear and desire for self-preservation, would willingly allow a copy of the consciousness – even if it were code – to be imprisoned. Even more unlikely is that they would use the technology to force confessions out of lower level crimes. It could only imply that the technology is widespread and inexpensive. If it were, it suggests that there should be more sophisticated methods available that could extract a consciousness that coded pure informational memory, taking away the whole imprisoned consciousness! conundrum.

The concept of blocking someone could also have been polished. It’s strange that blocking constitutes of making another a huge, conspicuous, static mess who still makes rather loud – albeit muffled – sounds. Isn’t it way easier to tune out another human being than something so unnatural and obviously distinct from everyone else!?

Charlie Brooker wrote this episode, like he did the other amazing ones. I can only guess that the pressure of an 80 minutes episode forced his hand at expanding the scope of his new tech theme. In almost all episodes there was a tight and elaborated focus on one technology (social media, memory chips, dead people imitator); in White Christmas it took on both in-person blocking devices and the cookie extractor. Perhaps it was this that muddied his ability to troubleshoot the viability of his tech creations. The moral implications of both technologies were also pretty divergent, without ever converging to deliver a singular message as happened in all other BM episodes. Given that this is the main factor for BM’s success, i’d say White Christmas failed its predecessors.

The last gripe i have is its predictability, which was so, so deliciously absent in all other episodes. Every past episode shocked me in ways my new-media sensation-craving being yearned for (okay yes, i double checked, at least one satiating surprise in each). This episode, however, i knew the kid was Tim’s. Even more offensively is perhaps that Tim wasn’t a casual Asian seamlessly folded into the plot – he wasn’t even a bloody token Asian. HE WAS THERE BECAUSE HIS ETHNICITY PROVIDED A PLOT DEVICE. So we could have Potter immediately recognize the Asian child and realize she’s not his. So: predictable + Asian as convenient plot device otherwise would not have been Asian.

TLDR: I loved Black Mirror series 1 and 2, but was quite disappointed with the Christmas special.