An Analysis Of Black Mirror

In the book The importance of Television (1982 Kelner quoted by Abercrombie 1996) states that: “Today Television is the dominant producer of cultural symbolism. Its imagery is prescriptive as well as descriptive, and not only pictures what is happening in society, but also shows how one adjusts to the social order. ’Kelners discusses that television defines our world in particular ways, drawing upon contemporary society to provide a prescriptive ideology to its viewers.

Social critique is found within television dating back to the 1960’s with the acclaimed American television show East Side/West Side (1963) exploring the issues prevalent within an urban New York. Cicely’s Tyson’s character specifically became a series regular while being shown with her natural hair which was a prominent defiance in a tense period of civil right movements within America.

In a less cluttered media landscape, television was seen as a formidable weapon that’s responsibility was to address societal issues. Over the past decade the medium of television has evolved from the linear means of pre-scheduled television dominating the domestic sphere, allowing the audience to tap into a constant array of outlets.

With such a mass influx of content available in modern society, the emergence of holiday style dating shows such as Love Island (2015) and Ex on the Beach (2014) evidences that societal issues are no longer imperative to the production of television. This paper will focus on the use of social critique within the current televisual climate of contemporary drama, defining and exploring its application. Black Mirror (2011) is a British science fiction anthology television series that observes the area between pleasure and discomfort in the highly saturated age of technology.