Charlie Brooker says Black Mirror is about how people ‘are f**ked up’ rather than ‘technology is bad’

Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has warned fans of the hit Netflix show not to write the series off as a warning against technology.

It's no secret that Black Mirror was named after the ominous reflection that peers back at a person from a blank screen on a phone, laptop, or another electronic device.

But, in an interview with GamesRadar+, the show's creator reminded audiences that the episodic allegories are designed to inspire people to look at themselves with a microscope, not technology.

"There was a slight danger... that people were bracketing [the series] as the 'tech is bad' show," Brooker said.

"I found that a bit frustrating partly because I always felt like, 'well, the show isn't saying tech is bad, the show is saying people are f**ked up'.

"So, you know, get it right."

If you haven't seen the show, then hurry up.

Basically, Black Mirror follows the story of a range of characters who, usually to their downfall, use technology in what is often a not-too-distant future world to our own.

Netflix

For example, one episode features tech that allows the bereaved to stay in touch with the deceased.

Another depicts a world where our lives are dictated by apps that publicly rank social status.

Another tells the uncomfortable tale of a romantic affair via VR.

So, as a result, it's not hard to see how the show has been seen as a critique of the darker sides of technology.

But Brooker has shaken up the series for season six by adding in some humour and a touch of horror to the line-up.

One episode doesn't feature any elaborate electronic gadgets at all in order to remind audiences who the real villain is here.

Which, if you've already forgotten, is us.

Brooker claimed it was a 'conscious decision' to 'slightly upend' the show with his writing for season six.

"On Netflix, they're in reverse order to the way they were written," he said.

Netflix

"It was interesting to kind of reset things in that way.

"It was a palate cleanser, and it means that you're then approaching all the other episodes from a slightly different perspective."

He added that the final episode, 'Demon 79', was written as 'a companion piece to Black Mirror'.

He also set a few episodes in the past in order to dispel the idea that Black Mirror looks at issues that may come to pass in our not-so-distant future.

'Demon 79' was set in the late 1970s.

Another grim episode, 'Beyond the Sea', takes place in an alternate version of the 1960s.

Topics: TV and Film, Black Mirror, Netflix

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist