I read many reviews complaining about this episode not being "Black Mirror", but this show is about thinking about our relationship with technology and media, and always have. This episode is just like S01E01, when the PM is expected to make out with a pig, there was no technology but media influencing the story itself. The fact that this is so "not Sci Fi" doesn't make it an unrealistic future, but a close one : this could happen tomorrow and everything will go the exact same way. Actually, it kinda already happened, as said in other reviews.
Here, the story is revolving around this poor guy, that doesn't really want to do sensational content, but ends up being the center of the story.
He lives outside of this town, doesn't know his father that well... He kinda have nothing to do with this part of his life, even the connection with his mother doesn't feel that strong.
In the end, the documentary helps him reach his dream (getting a prize, as Pia implied earlier), but in a very twisted way : he is absolutely miserable.
Around him, nobody cares that he lost absolutely everything (his father, his mother, his girlfriend, the innocent image of his whole childhood -even his rental!).
All the people around him are so self-centered on their own benefits (money for the producer, tourists for the pub, entertainment....) that you can't see any compassion from anybody. Even the award being a mask seems like a reminder that this creep show is now all that he has left in his life.
And the final touch is about making it about the "evil streaming service" Streamberry that is the second shot at Netflix itself, and at us at the same time : we're actually paying for a service that produces this kind of content. Can this be more of a mirror?
Here, the story is revolving around this poor guy, that doesn't really want to do sensational content, but ends up being the center of the story.
He lives outside of this town, doesn't know his father that well... He kinda have nothing to do with this part of his life, even the connection with his mother doesn't feel that strong.
In the end, the documentary helps him reach his dream (getting a prize, as Pia implied earlier), but in a very twisted way : he is absolutely miserable.
Around him, nobody cares that he lost absolutely everything (his father, his mother, his girlfriend, the innocent image of his whole childhood -even his rental!).
All the people around him are so self-centered on their own benefits (money for the producer, tourists for the pub, entertainment....) that you can't see any compassion from anybody. Even the award being a mask seems like a reminder that this creep show is now all that he has left in his life.
And the final touch is about making it about the "evil streaming service" Streamberry that is the second shot at Netflix itself, and at us at the same time : we're actually paying for a service that produces this kind of content. Can this be more of a mirror?