Black Mirror covers a wide range of sci-fi subgenres with its diverse set of episodes, but quite a few of its installments fall under the cyberpunk umbrella. Among its best cyberpunk offerings, though, there is one episode that is often touted as one of the greatest Black Mirror episodes of all time. While the episode in question is rather linear with its storytelling, it is thematically as hard-hitting as The Matrix (if not more).
If one had to rank Black Mirror‘s cyberpunk episodes in tiers, perhaps “Playtest” and “Striking Vipers” would be “B Tier.” Both explore the possibility of digitally “jacking in,” which is reminiscent of foundational cyberpunk stories like William Gibson’s Neuromancer. “White Christmas” and “San Junipero” are one level above with their portrayal of everything from digital enslavement to simulated afterlife.
“Men Against Fire” is another episode in the Netflix sci-fi show that truly embraces some of the best cyberpunk tropes. However, the one Black Mirror episode that truly captures the “high-tech, low-life” essence of cyberpunk sci-fi is “Fifteen Million Merits.” While the episode does not have slam-bang bullet time action scenes, its thematic elements hit hard and feel more relevant than ever.
Black Mirror’s “Fifteen Million Merits” Has A Grittier Take On Human Commodification Than The Matrix
In The Matrix, humanity is reduced to copper tops in a power plant. It shows how humans have been turned into literal physical batteries, with their bodies harvested by machines to generate the energy needed to sustain their artificial reality. The franchise’s portrayal of humanity’s control feels industrial and externalized.
Black Mirror season 1’s episode 2, “Fifteen Million Merits,” unfolds a story that highlights a similar sense of control over humanity. However, in the highly-acclaimed episode, humans are not merely deluded by an artificial reality. Instead, they are portrayed as active, miserable participants of their own commodification.
The episode captures a dystopian system where most humans are forced to ride bikes to generate electricity and earn superficial currency. Unlike some of the most ambitious cyberpunk movies and shows out there, it does unfold in sprawling cities with neon-soaked billboards and towering skyscrapers.
However, it shows how capitalism and commercialization have reached a stage where, for the lower classes, the world is nothing but an endless maze of work, distraction, and competition. Its central character is initially featured as “the chosen one,” who, like The Matrix‘s Neo, attempts to escape the proverbial “matrix.“
Unfortunately, instead of getting the “Red Pill” like Neo, the character only meets an even bleaker fate than before.
Fifteen Million Merits Offers No Red Pill With Its Bleak Ending
In an act of rebellion against the overarching system that forces him and several others to endure endless labor, Daniel Kaluuya’s main character in “Fifteen Million Merits” holds a shard of glass to his neck. However, instead of setting him free, his rebellion is instantly packaged and sold back to the viewers as content. This becomes a solid reminder of one of the greatest quotes from Disco Elysium:
“Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would critique capital end up reinforcing it instead.”
The episode ends with the main character earning an illusion of freedom where he graduates to a better room with bigger screens and better facilities. Instead of escaping “the matrix,” though, he finds himself deeper in its cahoots. Unlike Neo, he never gets the choice between the blue and red pills. The blue pill is his only option, and the overarching system is designed to keep the ones like him in control.
From a visual standpoint, Black Mirror‘s “Fifteen Million Merits” may not be as spectacular and ambitious as The Matrix. However, it shows how some of the best cyberpunk stories are less about visuals and more about the depiction of real-world anxieties surrounding unchecked development of technology and corporate control. Put simply, unlike most mainstream cyberpunk shows and movies, it seems to get what William Gibson once famously quoted:
“The social and political naivete of modern corporate boffins is frightening, they read me and just take bits, all the cute technology, and miss about fifteen levels of irony.”
