A crack or a smear,
Can darken or blur the image in the mirror.
Can you see past the problems?
Or are you relying on that ruined image,
To be the real you?
There are more choices,
Than what is given.
All it takes is your initiative,
To clear away the dirt.
Black Mirror episodes have always been known to make the audience to question and perhaps even fear the reliance on technology. But in some various overlooked aspects, it can be observed that the thing we should be wary of is the people who use the technology in the first place.
Technology has a function and a mindset that is like a machine. It calculates with the code engrained in its system. You couldn’t say the same for a person; humans are more emotionally charged, unpredictable, prone to bursts of feeling that can either help or hinder their behaviour.
Therefore, for a moment, I wish to analyse an episode of Black Mirror to capture the aspect of technology and what the people do with it.
This is Two Takes. And this is ‘One Shot’. An analysis of the episode ‘Shut Up and Dance’ in the Black Mirror universe.
Be warned, there will be spoilers throughout.
We find a young part time worker, living with his parents and sister, essentially being a little awkward but an okay lad. What happens is when Kenny, the main protagonist, downloads a free anti-malware program off of the internet after his sister stole his laptop to try and illegally watch a movie online. Kenny then decides to masturbate and then gets caught, with an anonymous user emailing him that they know what Kenny has done, attaching a movie of Kenny, and they demand his mobile number for a set of instructions.
And hence, his world is set on a twisted angle, and he runs around trying to do the jobs whilst questioning it all throughout.
From attempting to get to a certain location with less time than possible to get there via bike, to accepting a delivery of a parcel and being asked to not look at it; to even taking a horribly crafted disguise of a hat and slightly tinted spectacles to rob a bank; Kenny, at this point, is essentially accepting everything that is happening around him. Until the last text demands that he fights to the death with another person in the midsts of the woods in another random location; all videoed on a massive go-pro camera flying on a drone a few metres from them.
Why these demands? And why these things, such as a cake?
Let’s have a look.
Even from the very beginning, it feels like an aspect of technology, an AI of sorts is controlling the situation; the very language of how they begin the instructions, of how Kenny in the near future will be ‘activated’ emphasises a sense of foreboding for a human, but for an AI, a patient period of buffering before working.
It seems that everything that is demanded of him is essentially a test. In a small way.
Kenny has to bike ride to a specific location with a very small window of success. In the end, the location is the top of a car park, meaning obstacles such as access and steep inclines decreases the chances. But he makes it. A small victory, but nonetheless, it is one. Kenny was presented with the first test of reliance and punctuality, whereas, compared to a computer, would have no problem with calculating the distance. And perhaps with less panicking. With a human, being rushed leads to mistakes that could potentially be made.
The next part? Kenny receives the cake from a courier on a motorbike. He takes Kenny’s picture and sends it to the anonymous people. For further clarification, they ask for the code on the cake. Almost like a fail-safe access point for a password. And the cake? Almost like a bittersweet reminder of what is happening. The fear of what is in the parcel, the unknown, is the first aspect. But when Kenny takes a peek and realises that its just a cake, his fear dissolves. Perhaps ensuring the idea that not everything is what is seems. And fear can be another thing that is monitored, and in this instance, perhaps even laughed at.
But perhaps the more metaphorical aspect of the cake is that looks can be deceiving; and like anything on the internet, especially in this case, Kenny’s downloading of anti-malware, this has come true.
The cake then is taken to a random hotel room to a man named Hector. Hector does not believe this is happening, giving a more realistic and emotional reaction between himself and Kenny. But this is short lived as a few more texts has Hector becoming speechless and expressing the urgency of doing what they say, repeatedly saying throughout their time together, that he is not a bad guy, trying to justify what he has done.
And in a way, Kenny is perhaps attempting to do the same thing, but not verbally.
They are then sent a message to tell him to find a car ready to be driven, the keys hiding near the back wheel.
Hector is the driver as Kenny cannot drive. And then its the case of two strangers having to collaborate and help each other by one being the driver and another being the robber. Kenny is unfortunately the robber, realising again, that the cake is not what is being delivered, but what is inside of it. The worst disguise in the word with the demand for them to rob a small bank. A hat, tinted glasses and a gun.
Therefore, the behaviour patterns change again, with the fear of the parcel beforehand, to be eclipsed by the fear of having to do something illegal, in the heightened state of desperation. The cake was a folly, a farce, a trap of establishing a false sense of security.
Hector, the driver, is not there to begin with when Kenny runs out of the bank with a rucksack of money.
But he pulls through, explaining his actions again as he suddenly drives up, expressing a paranoia about a guy just standing around the street.
There, we are shown outside factors that could possibly get in the way of their success.
So now, with the sense of security gone, paranoia setting in, and the judgements from each other with what they have done, Hector and Kenny travel in the car to another disclosed location at the edge of some woods.
Hector has to get rid of the car, leaving Kenny with the money to venture into the woods alone.
And it is here that it’s Kenny’s final test. He is met with another male stranger, who, demanding a moment to set up a massive gro-pro camera on a drone that flies a few metres above them, they both get a text.
They must fight to the death, winner to get the big rucksack of money.
A little bit of a conversation ensues that the stranger Kenny encounters tries to empathise with his situation, explaining that ‘sure it was a few pictures, right?’ but him refusing for this to be his end. This entails a brutal battle to which we do not see. However, understanding that the stranger hit first, this is making the very concept of fighting to the death a very real thing.
If one person believes in something so desperately, that would perhaps make things alright again for their situation, they will essentially ‘fight to the death’ as the saying goes. This can be presented as a metaphorical battle that becomes very real very quickly.
We then see what every other person who was sent messages from the anon people were really driven by.
The car Hector and Kenny used was set up from an elderly woman, fearfully seen at the beginning of the episode to get it ready in the parking lot. Her reason? Because of her racist rants that were then exposed to the internet.
She gets a text of a trollface picture. She got dragged into this because of her hate speech and thoughts.
The courier is aggressively arguing with his family about what his computer has. He gets a text containing a trollface picture. It is not very clear what he was doing that made he be a part of this, but it was bad nonetheless.
Hector comes home to realise his wife is reading emails that he had with a supposed appropriately aged prostitute, about their wanting to have sex and how they are going to meet. So he is dragged in this mess for the act of infidelity.
He gets a text containing a trollface.
Before we forget, the stranger in the woods, he was dragged into this because of his actions against children, made obvious by the short but revealing conversation he has with Kenny before he attacks. It’s also hinted in his remarks, that because he was older, there was a possibly he had done more than look at pictures of children.
And lastly, Kenny. Seen walking back out of the woods, looking abused, beaten up and hopeless. As he wanders with the rucksack, he gets a call from him mum crying about what his sister has seen on his computer, whilst the police turn up.
And then he gets a text containing a trollface.
The last scene, beautifully portrayed with Radiohead’s ‘Exit Music (for a film)’ in the background, expressing the inescapable claustrophobia of each person’s situation, does its own justice by the lyrics. Some lyrics are as follows:
“Breathe
Keep breathing
Don’t loose
Your nerve
Breathe
Keep breathing
I can’t do this
Alone”
These lyrics and that song play on the absolute hopelessness the protagonist has, even when he has help in another kindred spirit, Hector, when undertaking these seemingly unconnected tasks to the very end. Those under the influence of the trollfaces, especially Kenny, emphasise the song because of the very thing they lack: control of the situation.
Kenny’s shame and fear is undeniably heightened with the anxiety of being caught. Throughout the episode, we were questioning this thought process; until all of the cards were placed on the table. Kenny did not want a video of himself masturbating to become public knowledge, and for the most part, we were on his side, perhaps feeling horrible for the terrible acts he would have to commit.
But placing all of the pieces together, the audience realises that he was looking at children and getting off on it. The scene of him working in a fast food restaurant and helping a little girl with a figurine that she had left behind shows many things; that Kenny is a kind and considerate person; that he wants to help those who present innocence; and that perhaps he is naive and child-like himself. But it all boils down to the attraction that he has for children, and how he is not interested in people, even his female supervisor who is approachable, or his male co-workers, who take an instant dislike of him because he is not expressing the same sort of interest or interaction that they have. Kenny is seen as different, and finally, at the end, we understand why.
Did you notice that every main character within the episode is male? The courier, Hector, the stranger in the woods and, of course, Kenny. Not forgetting the elderly woman that was racist sorting out the car, with that included to perhaps indicate that this could happen to anyone. However, neglecting her involvement, it can almost be seen, especially for the main characters both being male, that it’s on the basis of ‘revenge porn’. Both protagonists are placed in this situation through the lust of things that are forbidden to them. Revenge porn so often focuses on the degradation and blackmail of women, but seeing it from this point of view, it looks like the tables have turned. Blackmail in the form of something unknown is a scary thought. They cannot even place a face to ones that hold all of the cards.
This whole episode can be placed as a cautionary tale about placing oneself in precarious positions on the internet however if you think about it, Kenny did have a warning at the very beginning.
The anti-malware software he downloaded was called ‘Shrive’. ‘Shrive’ is actually the an archaic term meaning to either confess your sins to a priest or to be absolved by them.
True, the ‘Shrive’ download is there for the freedom of all, and it was unfortunate that Kenny had downloaded it, but it can also be seen as the people behind the trollface just simply fishing the internet for troublemakers, finding Kenny doing something he shouldn’t have. This can be seen as many different things: that the trollfaces were essentially trying to weed out the wicked from the flock, or they were wanting people, anyone really, to do their bidding.
In this case, for them, this can all be seen as a game. And the sins of the people unfortunate to be tied to this type of joke are the ones taking the blame. And what’s worse is there is not a notion of any kind of forgiveness.
An unknown force manipulating you to accept the consequences of your sins…Karma can be a bitch.
The story arc of a faceless force hiding behind the internet demanding a load of strangers to do what they say or they will leak their secrets unto the internet plays the confusion on who is the victim very well. The audience is not really shown what each person has done until the trollfaces lie and leak their secrets anyway. Therefore, who is the real victim? And is there a lesson to be told here on the aspect of expecting people to do what they say? Even on the internet? And where does that leave the audience?
There is an uncomfortableness about the whole scenario, placing the action and the consequence out in the open for you to decide who is the bad guy, knowing full well that some have gotten off fairly lightly than others.
In a way, the various things that have been discussed before, delves deeper into what people are doing on the internet in this day and age. Hiding behind a meme (the trollfaces) so that they can act out and say anything to anyone without any consequence…The consequence of downloading unknown things off of the internet that leaks a hidden virus unto your computer…The collectiveness of the internet and mobile phones for the access of information and the aspect of taking over devices…The inhumane demands from a faceless technology towards people who had felt themselves innocent and more importantly safe…
Even the episode’s name ‘Shut Up and Dance’ indicates the viciousness of a demand. Of how the trollfaces want all of their victims to be like their performing monkeys and do as they say. The concept of finding the one thing people want to hide and using it against them for the feeling of ultimate control.
It’s almost as if the unknown of the trollfaces are the technology and they are fighting back against the chosen disgusting nature of humans through the very thing we had invented. But perhaps I’m going too far.
What do you think?
This is the written script for the podcast Two Takes. The decision to put the script online is for those hard of hearing. And for those who like to read.
If you prefer to listen, go to https://anchor.fm/twotakespodcast for the newest episode.
These words are copyrighted to Two Takes Podcast.
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