Black Mirror interacts with the users

Black Mirror launches on the channel Netflix a new astonishing episode: the viewer interacts with the figure. The user can change the development of the story by deciding between two different options about what the figure will have to do, everything in 10 seconds.

This revolution of the concept of tv serie is called Bandersnatch. The new episode of Black Mirror is visible only through Netflix, through devices that support this new mode of video’s viewing.

Black Mirror

Black Mirror is a serie produced by Charlie Brooker for Endemol. The serie has the peculiarity to be made in seasons (four for the moment) composed by indipendent episodes.

It is possible to see the whole serie of Black Mirror in a not chronological way but seeing random episodes, even from different seasons.

Every episode of Black Mirror so has its own story and its average time is one hour. In general the episodes matches for some characteristics:

• future location,
• problems of current interest,
• technologies’ exasperation,
• really strong introspective and psychological stories.

Bandersnatch

The revolutionary episode of Black Mirror was released the 28th of December of the 2018 written by Charlie Brooker and directed by David Slade. This time, the only point that characterizes the serie but that doesn’t seem to be in Bandersnatch is the future location.

Infact, the story takes place in the 1984 and has as protagonist Stefan Butler. Stefan is a really young programmer and the episode tells his way toward the creation of his first videogame.

Bandersnatch is right the title of the videogame but even the title of the book from which Stefan Butler takes inspiration.

Without creating spoiler, because the last masterpiece of Black Mirror really deserves your view, during the view it is possible to see that there is a common thread inside this story: the choice.

The choice because basically, the user that sees Bandersnatch, through the appear of two options on the bottom of the screen, chooses what Stefan Butler will do in some crucial moments.

The choice though isn’t represent only by the interactivity of the users’ view but even by the meaning of the same story. Both the young programmer Stefan Butler, the game and so the book Bandersnatch, are fully represented by the attitude of choose.

In this way, even the user that sees this new idea of Black Mirror, will find out to play Bandersnatch, the Stefan’s videogame.

Bandersnatch divides the Netflix’s audience

From the web we can notice that Bandersnatch was commented, debated, argued and studied by many. Probably the new of genre drawn much attention and we can notice between the lines how the audience of Netflix is basically divided in two.

From one side, Bandersnatch is considered a genial and psychological idea. From the other side, Bandersnatch, results without meaning and far away from the really high standards of the serie Black Mirror.

“A big experiment that was able to bring great results, letting the viewer believes to have the full control on the told events, creating a well done illusion. We can just congratulate with them about the simplicity and the prompty with which the idea is proposed. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is a great product, which is able to remind all the models and the atmosphers that characterize the serie.”

“The episodes of Black Mirror that we often mentioned – San Junipero, Black Museum, U.S.S. Callister, and the brilliantly dark, White Bear, the best of the serie – go on showing us new readings every time that we see them. This instead donates us a really unique experience, but it doesn’t have to much later. It can’t even match up the quality fixed by the same show. What’s the point of an interactive narrative if the story isn’t important? Bandersnatch though leaves us with a feeling in line with Black Mirror: be careful about what you wish.”

This post is also available in: Italiano