this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2025
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69
Black Mirror’s pessimism porn won’t lead us to a better future | Louis Anslow (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 2 days ago by Womble@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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A new progressivism, one that embraces construction over obstruction, must find new allegories to think about technology and the future

Black Mirror fails to consistently explore the duality of technology and our reactions to it. It is a critical deficit. The show mimics the folly of Icarus and Daedalus – the original tech bros – and the hubris of Jurassic Park’s Dr Hammond. Missing are the lessons of the Prometheus myth, which shows fire as a boon for humanity, not doom, though its democratization angered benevolent gods. Absent is the plot twist of Pandora’s box that made it philosophically useful: the box also contained hope and opportunity that new knowledge brings. While Black Mirror explores how humans react to technology, it too often does so in service of a dystopian narrative, ignoring Isaac Asimov’s observation: that humans are prone to irrationally fear or resist technology.

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[–] Infynis@midwest.social 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't like Black Mirror. I think it's generally lazy and sensational. But what this person is saying is not a valid criticism, it's like saying the Bee Movie would have been better if there had been an extended car chase. Louis doesn't want to improve the show, they want something else entirely.

If you want a contemporary forward-thinking scifi, check out author Becky Chambers!

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't think he's proposing changing Black Mirror itself, he's saying the same thing you're saying - that it's just not a good show.

Like, if I was writing an article criticizing the prevalence of torture porn in modern entertainment, I wouldn't say "they should release a Saw movie where Jigsaw forces his victims to undergo nonviolent counselling." That wouldn't be a Saw movie, it'd be a weird parody of one. I'd just say "Saw is an example of the sort of thing I'm complaining about."

[–] Infynis@midwest.social 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It definitely reads like a criticism of Black Mirror to me

Black Mirror fails to consistently explore the duality of technology and our reactions to it.

Absent is the plot twist of Pandora’s box that made it philosophically useful: the box also contained hope and opportunity that new knowledge brings.

Black Mirror didn't fail to do those things, it wasn't interested in them

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The issue I'm taking is with:

Louis doesn't want to improve the show, they want something else entirely.

I don't think he's trying to "improve the show." He's saying the same thing you are, that he just doesn't think Black Mirror is a good show.

[–] Infynis@midwest.social 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

If he's not arguing to improve it, he's arguing that it shouldn't exist at all, which is worse.

We must move away from binary tales of catastrophe, not towards naive utopianism that ignores problems and risks that comes with change, but hopeful solutionism that reminds us we can solve and mitigate them...

I don't like Black Mirror, but I would never say that there's no place for it. It obviously resonated with a lot of people, and it was probably an entry into the genre for a lot of new sci-fi fans. Very 'Old Man Yells At Cloud'

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 2 points 2 days ago

It is possible to dislike something without believing it should be erased from existence. This is really extreme black-and-white thinking that isn't remotely realistic.