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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 1, “Common People.”]
Black Mirror Season 7: A Startling Reflection on Technology and Humanity
The seventh season of Black Mirror opens on a hauntingly somber note with its episode titled “Common People.” The narrative follows a couple, Amanda (Rashida Jones) and Mike (Chris O’Dowd), from a lower-middle-class background, who are thrust into a nightmarish situation when Amanda is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. While she lies in a coma, Mike faces an agonizing choice: allow Amanda to pass away or enroll her in an experimental treatment where parts of her brain will be controlled by a subscription streaming service known as Rivermind.
Gaynor (Tracee Ellis Ross), a representative for Rivermind and an early adopter of the service, presents this chilling option. Initially priced at $300 per month, the service appears to be within the couple’s financial reach, albeit strained. However, as the limitations of the basic tier emerge, the couple’s predicament worsens. Amanda cannot leave town without slipping back into a coma, suffers from poor sleep as her brain operates like a server after hours, and starts delivering unwanted advertisements during her teaching sessions. To regain any semblance of normalcy, they must pay more for upgraded services. In desperation, Mike resorts to live streaming humiliating acts to solicit donations, yet the funds fall short of what they need.
In a gut-wrenching climax, Mike manages to purchase a short-lived upgrade to the “Luxe” tier, offering Amanda a brief respite from her agony. After experiencing moments of peace, she implores Mike to end her life once she returns to her former state and becomes another ad vehicle. In a heart-stopping act of mercy, Mike smothers her mid-commercial break before confronting his own devastation in a darkly poignant scene where he returns to work, revealing the lengths he has gone to for cash.
Exploration of Choice and Agency
In discussions following the episode, Rashida Jones reflected on whether Amanda’s choice to die was genuinely her own. “She makes this decision under the influence of Rivermind Luxe,” Jones noted, indicating that the debate on her agency could be complex. Ultimately, she chose to view Amanda’s decision as the ultimate expression of her true self freed from pain. “It’s extremely sad, but I think… it was actually a relief and actually the right thing to do,” Jones explained, emphasizing the character’s struggle with her reality.
For Mike, though left in the shadow of grief, Jones perceives his decision to follow Amanda into death as equally significant. “It’s probably the hardest thing he’s ever done,” she asserted, suggesting that the emotional turmoil of enduring such a harrowing experience may lead him to a similarly tragic conclusion.
A Dual Perspective on Rivermind
Tracee Ellis Ross offers a different view on her character, Gaynor, suggesting that she is neither a conventional villain nor entirely flawed. “She is preyed on, and then she became a perpetrator…,” Ross explained, highlighting Gaynor’s vulnerability as a reflection of societal greed and the pitfalls of capitalism. Her character’s complex nature raises questions of accountability within a system that can dehumanize individuals.
Reflecting on the broader implications of the episode, Ross speculates on the trajectory of capitalism, where unattainable products become accessible but often at detrimental costs. She imagines a future where services like Rivermind could evolve, offering promises of immortality or eternal youth, even as basic human needs remain inadequately addressed.
In this chilling episode, Black Mirror continues to scrutinize the intersections of technology, humanity, and the ethical dilemmas that arise, prompting viewers to consider the depths of emotional and moral sacrifice in the face of technologically-driven choices.
Black Mirror, Netflix
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