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Charlie Brooker Reveals The Dark Reason Why 'Black Mirror' Is Called Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker Reveals The Dark Reason Why 'Black Mirror' Is Called Black Mirror

The show's creator explains where his dark satirical series gets its name.

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Netflix has just announced that Charlie Brooker's dark satirical series Black Mirror will be returning to us very soon, with the fourth season launching on 29 December.

But did you know the reason behind the show's title? Sure, you may have made the link that Black Mirror implied some sort of dark reflection - on society or otherwise - but the more specific explanation that Brooker gives is absolutely genius.

"What I took it to mean was when a screen is off - when a screen is off it looks like a black mirror," Brooker told Channel 4.

"Because any TV, any LCD, any iPhone, any iPad - something like that - if you just stare at it, it looks like a black mirror, and there's something cold and horrifying about that.

"And it was such a fitting title for the show," he continues. "I mean I don't know what else we would've called it - Spooky Technology Time?! It would've been rubbish.

"I quite like the fact that people are watching it on their TV or on their laptop, or their smartphone or whatever," he continues, "and then as the end credits start running and the screen cuts to black, they see themselves reflected."

Mind. Blown.

This tweet sums it up pretty nicely:

We also love that Charlie starts off the explanation by saying 'What I took it to mean', which kind of implies there are no wrong answers - much to the delight of fans, who love to take a stab at it themselves.

Over on Reddit, one user, Jonue, theorises that Black Mirror works as a morbid reflection of society, referencing how a 'mirror cracks' - also adding: "But apparently I was overthinking it."

"It's a black mirror in that it's a dark reflection. Like all the best titles, though, it resonates on several levels," says another Redditor, TomViolence.

Credit: Black Mirror / Channel 4

Black Mirror - which won Emmy awards for series three's 'San Junipero' episode - will return with a new season of six episodes, titled 'Arkangel', 'Black Museum', 'Crocodile', 'Hang the DJ', 'Metalhead' and 'USS Callister'.

Across the series actors include the likes of Rosemarie Dewitt, Jesse Plemons, Maxine Peake and Aldis Hodge, and even boasts an episode directed by Jodie Foster.

Series four will premiere on Netflix on 29 December.

Featured Image Credit: Black Mirror / Netflix

Topics: Charlie Brooker, black mirror, TV and Film, UK Entertainment, Netflix, Channel 4