Black
Mirror is a British produced Netflix Original television
show set in the near future. Each episode stands alone as an individual plot story
with new actors every time. Episodes serve to communicate the dangers of a
possible reality in which advanced technologies cause conflict when met with
human nature.
For
this assignment, I watched the pilot episode of Black Mirror, entitled “The National Anthem,”. The episode opens to
a dark bedroom where a man and a woman lie asleep in bed together. The couple’s
sleep is disturbed when the telephone rings. The man answers the call with a
gruff greeting of “hello,” and responds to the other end of the call by asking
to just be told what has happened quickly. The audience is unable to hear the
person speaking on the other end of the phone; however, the man in the scene’s
voice sounds confused and slightly annoyed to have been woken during the night.
This opening dialogue introduces the importance of communication between
characters in the episode and the difference between on-screen interaction and
face-to-face conversations. Through the episode it is revealed that
communication in circumstances without in person interaction lack emotion and substance.
The scene
directly following the title credits tells the audience that the man who had
received the phone call is the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Prime
Minister, named Michael Callow, is sat before a television screen watching an
abducted princess from the Royal Family recite a script given to her by her
captor. The princess tells the Prime Minister that he must have “sexual intercourse”
with a pig on live broadcast before she will be released. The connotation of
the princess’ declaration, which is written by her captor, is emotionally
distant, formal, and missing personality. The detached diction used in the
demand for the Prime Minister creates a sense of coldness behind the princess’ words;
this is used to critique online communication as a core means of interacting
with others. Legitimacy of any claims given when the dialogue excludes
passionate feelings needs to be evaluated, for distance evokes a feeling of
falsehood.
Michael
Callow responds to the princess’ demand in disbelief and anger to close members
of his office, stating that he is not going to be “fucking a pig,” like he has
been told to. The contrast between the princess’ and Michael’s statements are great
in tone, phrasing, and circumstance. Where the princess was aloof and
dispassionate, Michael is full of emotion. His inflection is audibly angry and
confused as he appears to attempt to understand what is going on. Additionally,
his fervent, vulgar diction relays a sense of shock and urgency. Michael may be
using uncouth language as a coping mechanism for being placed in a situation
over which he has no control. The word “fucking,” creates feelings of urgency
or desperation to be out of the unpleasant situation. While the language used
by Michael conveys an unfriendly environment due to hostile dialogue, the face-to-face
interaction between himself and his colleagues remains authentic. Michael’s anger
is real, and he expresses his emotions through in person dialogue which creates
legitimacy for his experience.
I
found this episode of Black Mirror
incredibly intriguing and thought provoking. The language used in the dialogue of
the show is interesting and significant. Specifically, the two main ways used
to express the act that Michael Callow must commit for the release of the
princess. The emotions, or lack thereof, present in the statements made by
Michael and the princess show the importance of diction and intonation. This
episode of Black Mirror suggests that
for communication to contain emotion and validity it must be in person, rather
than through a screen.
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