Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and the Future of TV
This year, one of the most interesting and innovative mediums came right at the end of 2018. The highly coveted interactive film, presented under the Black Mirror brand, came Bandersnatch. Written by Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, viewers couldn’t wait to try out the shiny new thing – an episode that acts as a video game, a choose-your-own-adventure, and a live-action film. An ambitious piece, to say the least, I can honestly say that it was an experience to remember.
Now, you might be confused as to why I’ve classified this as “television”, and there are a multitude of reasons. Though it’s promoted as a film, I found that given its interactive nature and various endings, the genre of Bandersnatch is ambiguous. Plus, Black Mirror itself is a television series made up of anthologies. Thus, while each of those episodes serve as standalones, we are also given hints throughout the series that imply they are all living in the same universe. Bandersnatch is no exception: right off the bat, we are shown a game called “Metl Hedd”, referencing S4E5, and a game called “Nohzdyve”, referencing S3E1. As well, the symbol that haunts Stefan in multiple pathways is a reference to the symbol seen in the episode “White Bear” (S2E2). The list of Easter eggs from previous episodes goes on – and though Bandersnatch stands alone, I still consider it to be part of the Black Mirror anthology narrative.
I’ll be honest; I was a bit skeptical before watching/playing Bandersnatch. I’ve expressed before that, since Black Mirror’s first two seasons were so strong, I’ve been wary every time a new season after those comes out. However, I’ve always been pleasantly surprised, and this is because creator Charlie Brooker continues to write all of the episodes. Let’s be honest, Brooker is essentially a genius. The storylines he comes up with in collaboration with fellow showrunner Annabel Jones are of high caliber. There is nothing simple or sloppy about Black Mirror – everything is layered and well thought out. It has proven itself, time and time again, to be a high-concept show that continues to shock and innovate.
Bandersnatch is probably the most ambitious yet, due to the extensive filming process and game coding. If you’ve not yet played/watched it, just know that there are so many pathways in this episode that apparently even the creators can’t access all of them. This just goes to show how complicated this endeavour was. And of course, half the fun of this interactive experience is seeing what endings you can achieve based on each decision you make – ranging between choosing from two cereals to who jumps off a building. Some endings, in fact, are ones that you wouldn’t be able to achieve right away: you fully have to play out different scenarios before the screen takes you back to a previous decision, rather than to the credits. In fact, there are only a handful of endings that are truly “endings”, aka ones that take you to the end credits.
After watching/playing Bandersnatch, one can’t help but wonder – is this the future of television? Marrying the video game structure with live-action filming is a wonderful one, but not an easy task to accomplish. However, if the end result is going to be anything like Bandersnatch, then bring it on. The issue therein lies, though: if it’s not at the caliber of Bandersnatch, is it worth it? Some found that the structure of Bandersnatch was not engaging enough. Personally, I thought the very idea of having to find out how many endings I could encounter was incredibly fun. And while there may be moments where it gets frustrating or dull, I found the self-reflexivity, meta-narrative, and pathways that make characters literally interact with you as the viewer/player, made up for those moments. Plus, it’s incredibly Black Mirror to make you sit and reflect on what exactly you’re watching/doing, as you’re watching/doing it. It’s also incredibly Black Mirror to have a “choose your own adventure” within a “choose your own adventure”. At the end of the day, Bandersnatch so much more than a game: Black Mirror as a brand is always heavy-handed in its commentary on the way technology is shaping society, and the dark ways in which this path might take us. “Tech horror” seems to be the name of the genre that most people classify Black Mirror to be.
A shout out must be given to the actors in Bandersnatch. Fionn Whitehead, who plays our main character Stefan, is perhaps best known for being in the war drama Dunkirk. He did an excellent job, especially considering that the various endings call for varying personalities, and he conveyed all of them convincingly. Colin Ritman, the eccentric, enlightened and bizarre force-of-nature game designer, is played by the dynamic Will Poulter, whom you’ve seen in a variety of films (including We’re the Millers, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Maze Runner, and Son of Rambow). Craig Parkinson does a great job as Stefan’s overbearing, tragically widowed father, and Alice Lowe plays Stefan’s eerily calm therapist.
At the base of it, we are given a chilling commentary on the way our tech-obsessed generation employs free will, and whether or not we have any free will at all. After all, doesn’t it seem at times that we are at the mercy of the devices we use? Ultimately, some critics and fans have said that Bandersnatch seems campy or off-brand for the franchise. I respectfully disagree, though. Brooker and the creators of Black Mirror constantly push boundaries, and the very nature of Bandersnatch adheres to this.
It explores a relatively new structure of television while maintaining the disturbing, sci-fi, not-too-distant-future reality that is so telltale of Black Mirror. The addition of this interactive episode into the series really opens up an interesting conversation on the nature of television, and the direction in which technology is going. This is the first time that Black Mirror’s technology actually permeates into our real-time existence; thus making the gap between fiction and reality even smaller than usual. In playing Bandersnatch, we receive a metafictional commentary on streaming services, alternate realities, and the dogma of technology. No matter how unexciting one might find the actual storyline(s) of Stefan the game designer, the extensive structuring, planning, and coding behind this episode is nothing short of impressive. Television as we know it will never be the same, and that’s why Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is one of the best highlights of 2018. And maybe, just maybe, it will be also be one for the history books.
~ Z ~
Fun Fact: read all about one of the secret messages hidden in one of the bizarre, seemingly nonsensical endings here.
