I spent the entire Christmas holiday binge watching sci-fi  shows (and a couple Portlandia episodes here and there). Typically, when I’m on the hunt for a good sci-fi show, I shy away from anything featuring aliens, flying cars or robots. This is precisely why Black Mirror was perfect for me.

Black  Mirror is a Netflix sci-fi anthology series set in a dystopia that will have you hating yourself for becoming ‘woke.’ Each episode takes on a unique plot that oftentimes is only a barely-distorted reflection of society today. The concepts of each episode aren’t built from an unfathomable alternate universe, but one we are currently experiencing.  

Social issues like institutional oppression and the power of  social media are exaggerated just enough to make you question society but futuristic enough to leave you hoping for  a better future. I have always had a love–hate relationship with social media; sometimes loving it for allowing me to express myself,  but hating it because it had me caught up in this fake image.  

An episode entitled “Nosedive” was able to put these notions into perspective. In this episode, the audience follows  a woman named Lacie through her daily life, where she rates others both online and in person. Those ratings worked to  sort people into social and economic classes. People were more interested in enhancing their image than  creating relationships with true emotions and meaning.

Recent social media developments, like Snapchat, have already  started taking the experience out of life. Slowly, people are being drawn into experiencing life through phone screens. It’s as if many of these people live in this virtual world, void  of genuine human interaction and feeling. This episode was a glimpse into the near future; we’re truly  only a handful of years away.      

Our world will be the same if  people don’t possess true relationships anymore. Growing  up, many of us were told we had control over our future. It is crazy to think people may no longer have the power to be in charge of their lives; instead, other people could become  the dictators of how people should live. Black Mirror forces the audience to look deep, question their current lifestyle and urge them to do something about  it.

Black Mirror shouldn’t be viewed simply as a Netflix  series, but as a thought provoking piece of literature that  serves as a beacon of light.