The series by Charlie Brooker for channel 4 is an incredibly
astute insight into the realities of modern life. The episode 15 Million Merits
in particular, I feel, really exhibits how the media is currently being thrown
at us constantly. It is set in a world where virtuality is the new reality,
everyone has a virtual self in the virtual world which they can buy new
clothing, hairstyles and accessories for. People are forced to ride exercise
bikes every day whilst playing virtual games in order to power some external
world that is never really seen. It is their duty to do so, as well as their
source of income (credits) which are charged for the most simple of tasks such
as cleaning one's hands. Their rooms are cubes constructed from monitors which
ceaselessly play adverts, varying from items which they can now purchase
(materialism and mass marketing at its most grotesque) for their virtual self,
to porn channels exploiting new young meat. Brooker’s creation is definitely
worth watching and I believe illustrates Adorno’s and Baudrilard’s prophetic
views that media is a malevolent controller of the masses, as well as the
detrimental effects of consumerism. Full episode - Black Mirror - 15 Million
Credits. The relevance of Brooker's artistic social commentary is suppported by
Snipp-Walmsley's statement "Through internet chat rooms and discussion
groups, we can create and remould our virtual selves, promoting an image that
frequently has little basis in reality; through twenty-four hour news services
we are bombarded with information to the point where the representation becomes
more important than the events being represented" (Simulations and the
loss of the 'real' In Waugh 2006:413).
LINK
LINK
Comments
Post a Comment