Black Mirror and iBoy: If Only Tom Were There

Tom, I'm not sure if you've ever heard of the Netflix show Black Mirror, but I bet you'd be itching to jump through the screen and help. I watched the first episode because I thought it looked "techy" and relatable to you. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into, but while I was watching I tried to pay attention to one thing that I knew would be comparable to your film, iBoy, which was elements of technology and how they are portrayed compared to the iBoy universe from which you dwell. What I found out was quite interesting: technology is portrayed as a MEGA disadvantage and various elements help to heighten that disadvantage throughout the episode.

"Well, if there are hacks sniffing' around, shut them down. Bright red D NOTICE. Super-fucking Godzilla injunction with ten-inch Whitehall fangs" is what the Prime Minister is quoted in reply to one of his team members when he learns that the kidnapping video of Princess Suzana has gone virtually viral. Boom. Right away there's a sense of, in a very British accent, utter annoyance with the technology brutes. Furthermore, in the background of nearly every shot there are phones ringing and cell phone buttons being pressed to blanket the subconscious into thinking that the source of the anxiety is coming from the phones, i.e. technology. Additionally, the premise of the episode is set around media coverage, so naturally there are many shots of televisions all over the UK as well. The Prime Minister does NOT want the press or public to learn of the video, however, it is totally out of his hands and, thus, something that exasperates the hell out of him and his whole team.

Tom, I feel like you can sort of relate to this premature annoyance, as you did not ask to be shot in the head and have permanent phone fragments take over your life, however your take is quite different than that of Black Mirror. Any time the phone beeps, buzzes, or rings creates a certain unspoken tension. For example, at one point in the show the Prime Minister receives a phone call from the Queen. His immediate response is to have someone stall her while he frantically figures out his plan. Later, his wife calls as he is in route to... Meet the kidnapper's demands (I'm choosing not to state what the demands are; you'll have to watch and find out!) and after a brief handful of seconds he decides to send her to voicemail, most likely because he is ashamed of what he's about to do. Again, that evokes a sense of disappointment on both ends of the phone line.

This is the case for this show, but in iBoy you take advantage of your situation and make it an advantage rather than the opposite. By turning it into a sort of superpower, you use your tech-brain to help people and solve problems that seem impossible. They sure could've used you in Black Mirror, Tom.

iBoy

After Tom got a shot in his head, some of his smart phone fragments have been embedded in his head. This gave him the ability of hacking any electron simply by his thought. He could not live in a normal way again, and his decided to be a hacker named iBoy, who tried to carry out revenge and end the crime.

The director set up the film with a proper environment. Characters lived in old blocks. Old blocks was a symbol of poor and crimes in many movies. There was noisy and screaming when the main character Tom was sitting in front of his laptop at the very beginning of the film. This shadowed the unpeaceful of the block.

The main actor acted pretty well to portray Tom’s character. In the beginning, Tom always walked with his head down, which indicated he was not strong and kind of coward. When he came to visit Lucy, the girl who he liked, he found someone was carrying out a crime on her. He choice to leave, which might be a correct decision when facing with criminals with gun.

After he recovered from the gunshot, he came to visit Lucy. In the elevator, he met with his classmate Eugene. Eugene was chewing gum and holding a toothpick in his mouth.He leaked his back on the wall with his head aslant and mouth up. He talked to Tom with a tone of sarcasm and smile unkindly. Eugene had an unfriendly appearance which was a reflection of his inner side.  Tom was not dare to say much whenever he met with Eugene and other people who raped Lucy. His speechless reflected his cowardice.

Lucy was a nice and kind girl in the movie. She had a confident and happy smile before she was raped. She conveyed a outgoing school girls to the audience. Even after the crime, she still presented her beautiful smile to Tom and never blamed for Tom’s leaving . But her eyes were not as bright as they used to be. She used her eyes to deliver her sadness to the audience. When she was carrying a gun against rapers, who grew up with her, she changed her facial expression to a determined looking. But her kindness stopped her from killing these people.  

The director used low angles and high angles shot throughout the movie to depict the character. The director used low angles shot when Tom was standing in somewhere, watching the criminals, and using his special ability. The low angle shot made Tom strong and powerful. Eugene had supervisors. In his supervisor's’ house, Tom found a lot of drug. Tom hided these drugs in rapers’ house and called the police. In the scenes of catching people who had drugs in house, the director used high angles shot. Shooting from the sky, Eugene and other people ran like rat in the street. The high angles shot made them weaker.

In all, I think this movie was a good example for me to study the acting. These characters were vivid, and the performers’ performances were good.