As Netflix gets more popular, more people are becoming aware of new, obscure and creative TV shows and movies. One of the most unique pieces of culture on Netflix right now is Black Mirror. Black Mirror is a British mini-series, in which every episode is in a new future, most center around a new form of Technology and what it has done to the society, often well making social commentary. Though all take place in a world slightly different than our own, Episode 2, Fifteen Million Merits, creates a very unique world. In this world, everyone must cycle on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings and generate currency called Merits. Everyday activities are constantly interrupted by advertisements that cannot be skipped or ignored without financial penalty. The only way to “escape” this world is go on a show, called Hot Shot, in the vain of X factor, the people go on and show a talent to try to escape there lives, but there is no real escape from this world. Through this world, Black Mirror reflects the way that media affects our view both women and men, and that there is escape from the media that we are constantly exposed to by wether that be in our society or Black Mirrors.
With in this world women have about the same role as in our society, through the show each women in the show exposes different stereotype or standard in our own society. One example of this are servants who wait on the people who are cycling. The Servants, especially the girl servants, are called such words as “Fat” and “Ugly”. The servants are treated like they do not matter, this displays the command tread in our society, that if women who do not fit the beauty standard, they will not achieve anything. Also throughout the episode, one of the Ads that pops up constantly is Wraith Babes, which is an Ad for porn that the people in the world can buy. These Ads always show a image of women doing some sexual act, the girls always are young and innocent, and they often looked forced into it. Throughout our society, women are often viewed as the intent sex object, this is constantly increasing in our world, from the easy accesses of porn through the internet to even just Superbowl commercials. During the show, the female protagonist with in this episode, Abi, experiences many of the same problems women in our society faces. Abi is very “pretty,” a quote of on the judges say on Hot Shot is “Men want you, Women all hate you.” This is show through the whole episode, because Abi is nice and pretty she gets what she wants, even though she is not try to be seductive, she ends up doing this. This relates to our own societies idea that female worth is from the outside not the inside. Black Mirror does a amazing job with showing standards of women and the affect media has on them.
Black Mirror does not only show the stereotypes of women, but also of men. The main character of this episode is Bing, Bing is a nice guy, who dislikes the overexposure to media. Yet by the end, he is forced in to the media. Bing is not the stereotypical objectifying male, which shows that the common thought in our society that men only think about sex is not true in many cases. Yet in this episode Black Mirror also shows objectifying male. Throughout the show Hammond treats any woman who isn’t “pretty” like they do not matter, and any woman who is “pretty” like an object. Hammond is always watching and enjoying some type of media which shows what being exposed to media can make people, because when the only standards people see are from a screen, people think that real people are like the ones on the TV. In our postmodern world, its becomes hard to separate the fiction from the reality. One of the Tv shows that makes Hammond another men like this is Hot Shot. When Abi comes on the show, the judges objectify her by saying they want to see her naked and that her looks are far better then her voice, as the judges do this all of the males watching begin to do this do. Which shows the domino effect from the TV screen to the real world. Black Mirror displays and breaks male stereotypes, throughout this episode.
The main message of this episode, and Black Mirror in general, is that there is no escape from media and technology. This is shown very clearly in this episode. In the episode, Bing hears Abi sing and thinks she is a amazing. He then gives up his Merits so that she can go on Hot Shot, to display her talent. When she performs they tell her she is an ok singer, but that her looks are even better and could have a great career as a star on Wraith Babes. Though she does not want to be a porn star, because of the pressure of the society she gives in. In our society people are often forced to give in to standards society creates. After the vents with Abi, Bing is very upset and because of this he makes a plan to hopefully stop all of this media. The He goes on Hot Shot, then take a piece of glass and threatens to cut himself unless they listen to him. Yet, this doesn't go as he plans, because the Hot Shot host then turn his rebellion into a show. Though Bing tries not give in, media still becomes apart of the system. Though this episode Black Mirror displays that media creates stereotypes that our society is constantly exposed to, and that now there is noway to escape the media induced would we live in.
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