I watched an episode of Black Mirror called “White Bear”. I have watched a couple of episodes of Black Mirror before, so I knew the baseline plot of most of the episodes were trippy, futuristic, had some major plot twist, as well as some message about society. This episode had my jaw dropped as I did not expect the plot twist ending.

Summary

The episode opens with the main character, Victoria, waking up in a strange house with no memory of who she is or how she got there. As she stumbles outside, she notices that people are silently filming her on their phones, showing no response to her confusion or pleas for help. Suddenly, masked individuals begin hunting her, attempting to kill her with firearms and other weapons. As they navigate through the dangerous town, a plot twist ending is revealed, and it truly astounds viewers and leaves them questions their own morals.

How It Connects to Tech Noir

Black Mirror tends to take the route with it’s episodes to explore some potential new technology, its benefits, as well as its downsides. Specifically, in the episode White Bear, it doesn’t showcase much new technology, it showcases some advanced tech with how they handle punishment in the U.S. Also, with the dark aesthetics and sort of dystopian society it portrays.

When asking Dr. Oblivion, he said the episode “White Bear” has the similar themes of tech noir and cyberpunk, with the “dark, twisted reality” due to the “bleak future dominated by sinister technological advancements.” The new and advanced technology is used to control and punish people who do not follow what they want.