This is the second instalment looking at Black Mirror. Recently, Facebook status' have be rammed with OMGCharlie Brooker updates. And since social networking is the one of the only important things in the entire world, it'd be rude not to. Again, may contain spoilers.
Black Mirror: Fifteen Million Merits
Fifteen Million Merits is the second instalment of Charlie Brooker's 'Black Mirror' series. The premise of Black Mirror is to warp, subvert, and add a sprinkle of surrealism to things that are already in the public consciousness. Probably for the purposes of entertainment. Probably. It might have a more philosophical slant, or it might just be Charlie's way of playing a massive joke on everyone. And unfortunately, that's what the Fifteen Million Merits feels like. It's not unenjoyable, it just hits a certain nerve.
Fifteen Million Merits is set in some sort of high tech facility, presumably in the future. It is implied that the entire world lives in these sort of places, reduced to app-buying, TV watching drones without tangible personal possessions. Each person has their own room, complete with wall to wall visuals that are a bit like telescreens from 1984. They have a certain amount of 'merits', earned by pedalling on bikes for hours a day.
These merits are exchanged for anything - new clothes for their X-Box/Wii style avatar, skipping TV commercials, food, toothpaste ect. If someone was to earn 15 million merits - apparently about 6 months hard work - they could spend it all on a ticket to audition on the show 'Hot Shots'.The first section of Fifteen Million Merits basically tells you all this, without a great deal of plot going on.
The lead character - Bing - begins to fall for new girl Abi when he hears singing. Inspired by her voice, friendliness and general aura of being too good for this sinful earth. Using his entire collection of merits - including those passed to him from a dead relative - he pays for her to have a ticket to sing on Hot Shots. Unfortunately, it all goes wrong. She is described as a good but average singer, but instead offered a slot on the rolling porn channel called Wraithgirls. While thousands of Wii avatars chant "Do it! Do it! Do it!", and a harsh speech from the judges, Abi breaks down crying while Bing screams from the sidelines.
Bing, depressed after Abi's departure, does not put much effort into pedalling. His merits, already diminished after buying the golden ticket, dwindle to nothing. Suddenly he is locked in his room and beset by adverts for Wraithgirls, featuring Abi. With not enough merits to skip the pornvertising, he is forced to watch her perform. As he screams to be let out he shatters a TV monitor, leaving jagged glass on the floor.
In the final part of Fifteen Million Merits, Bing busts his sorry ass to earn back his merits. He steals leftover food, consumes less of just about everything, and in a quick montage he manages to get enough wealth to apply for a trial on Hot Shots. He practises dancing in his cell, and finally goes to the audition, taking the jagged glass with him.
After saying in a rather sinister manner that hes an 'Entertainer', Bing dances before a panel of judges. He draws the glass and holds it to his throat, threatening to kill himself unless they let him say his piece. Cue a large rant with gratuitous amounts of swearing, about how unreal and fake life is. Impressed, the judges offer him a job as a commentator twice a week on a streaming feed. The episode ends with Bing in his new job, still talking about how fake and unreal life is. Back in the facility, someone buys a piece of jagged glass for their cartoon avatar to wield.
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Fifteen Million Merits is a difficult one. The point about consumerism, reality TV talent shows and technology fused with advertising is well made. Perhaps too well made, to the point of being an obvious slap in the face to today's youth. Substitute cycling on a bike for 7 hours with 'working for Tesco', replace merits with money and you've basically got present day life. People pay real money to buy Microsoft points, that they can then spend in a variety of ways on Xbox live. Some of this includes buying new stuff for your avatar. Your online presence. Your fake self.
But the problem with Fifteen Million Merits for me is not the parallels to real life, but to 1984. And not just the telescreens and the dystopian bleakness. The characters are one dimensional and difficult to connect with. The setting is alien and not explained particularly well. And finally, the sneaking suspicion that we’ve somehow all missed the point. The biggest issue is that Fifteen Million Merits is too clever. Somehow, it’s laughing at the viewer.
The episode illustrates our constant need for distraction, our rampant consumerism, and our insatiable narcissism. During an ad break, I tripped over my own shoes trying to get out of the door for a cigarette, and then the guilt kicked in. I needed to watch Black Mirror. I enjoyed it. I did not want to miss it. That’s the worst point. The bit when you feel really clever, philosophically deconstructing this critique of modern life, and then you realize all the points it makes are self fulfilling. You are being distracted. Every ten to fifteen minutes, you’re bombarded by advertising, and all the while you’re thinking of intelligent things to bring up when you talk about it with your friends.
Somehow, it’s become a weird Catch 22. The thing you are watching is criticising the things that you watch. The things that you do. The things that you are. Somewhere, Charlie Brooker is chuckling to himself.
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