" Fifteen Million Benefits " is the second episode of the first series of the English science fiction anthology series Black Mirror . It was written by the creator of the series and showcased Charlie Brooker and his wife Konnie Huq (credited as Kanak Huq) and directed by Euros Lyn, and first aired on Channel 4 on December 11, 2011.
In a world where the majority of people have to bike on exercise bikes to move their environments and earn a currency called "Privileges", this episode tells the story of Bing (Daniel Kaluuya), who meets Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) and convinces him to participate in the event game of talent to escape from the world like slaves around them. This episode is a science fiction dystopia featuring parallels with reality shows and figures such as The X Factor and Simon Cowell.
This episode received positive reviews. Some reviewers praised the visual style of episodes and natural thoughts, along with actor performances, and believed it was superior to the previous episode "The National Anthem"; other commentators have criticized the episode for being unoriginal.
Video Fifteen Million Merits
Plot
People living in enclosed spaces and automated, with virtually every surface of the video screen with personalized entertainment and often advertise. They make a living by riding a stationary bike to generate power in return for "reward", a form of currency used to buy food, goods, virtual goods for their doppel, and for entertainment. The public avoids overweight people, who are tasked with manual labor, hygiene and are subjected to humiliation through gaming performances, Botherguts.
Bingham "Bing" Madsen (Daniel Kaluuya) recently inherited millions of rewards from his deceased brother. She meets Abi Khan (Jessica Brown Findlay) while exercising one day, and develops a crush on her. Later, after hearing Abi singing in the lavatory, he pushed her into the Hot Shot, a reality contest where the winner could move to a more luxurious room and forget about cycling. However, admission costs 15 million benefits. Bing, feeling nothing is worth buying, Abi's admission ticket, and joining him for his audition. Abi was asked to drink psychotropic drinks labeled "Cuppliance" from the stage hands, before he came out to sing "Who Knows What Love is" for Judges, Hope, Charity and Wraith (Rupert Everett, Julia Davis, Ashley Thomas, respectively ). While they were impressed by the singing, they admitted they did not have more room for the singers, but Wraith suggested he was more suited to the pornography show, WraithBabes . Although Bing protested from the wing, Abi was too pressured by the crowd and judges, and in his volatile state, he received with tears.
Bing returned to his routine without passion. One day, while watching entertainment in his personal cell, an advertisement for an episode of WraithBabes featuring Abi appeared. Bing did not have the advantage of passing the ad, and could not turn away without an automatic system waiting for him to return to watch, and he angrily wounded one of the screens, destroying the glass. He looked at one of the larger parts. Cutting his Hot Shot tattoo, he got the idea. He hides the shards under his bed, along with the waste container from the Cuppliance drink that Abi has. He spent the next few months aggressively earning a reward on the bike and scrimping with all other purchases to get back 15 million benefits and buy another Hot Shot admission ticket.
Before trying it, Bing hid the shards of glass in his pants, and pretended to stage hands that he had drunk his Cuppliance by showing them empty containers. To the jury, he started with a dance number that impressed them and the audience, when he suddenly pulled out the shards and threatened to cut his throat. Wraith suggested he do it, but the other judges listened. Bing angrily babbled about the system, talking about the cold, his annoyance and how things were made and without emotion. After some discussion, Hope offers Bing her own regular show on one of their channels.
Some time later, Bing is shown recording his show, which consists of him holding a broken glass to his neck for babbling before it is finished with the ad placement. Bing now lives in a much bigger place, and the episode ends with him looking out through his side of the room into a green forest stretching into the distance.
Maps Fifteen Million Merits
Production
This episode was the first episode of Black Mirror written, though it was aired both. It was written by Charlie Brooker and Konnie Huq; Brooker described it as "some sort of idea", because he once said that he "would basically be happy in a room where every wall is [the iPad screen]". Brooker compared it to the "1984" ad produced by Apple, Inc. for Apple Macintosh computers.
In addition, this episode is based on a "narrative in the show of talent", where "there are many people who do jobs they hate for small gifts, and one of the main means of delayed safety is to become a star overnight." According to Brooker, the feature set screen work because it was decided that using visual effects would not be possible.
David Lewis of Cultbox compared to Botherguts , one of the fictitious entertainment shows that make fun of the overweight people in the community, to Brooker's previous work TVGoHome >.
The scene of "Fifteen Million Benefits" is displayed at the Barbican Center exhibition entitled "Into the Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction". The entrance contains a 6ft (1.8m) tall installation containing extracts from episodes on multiple screens.
Analysis
This episode is under the genre of dystopia, science fiction, and drama. Lambie compared it to the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Brave New World and Our , because of the plot that revolves around the "damned relationship". Bing is a tragic hero according to Wallaston. In terms of tempo, Sims writes that the episode is "economical [...] with the information it provides to you".
Richards notes that Hot Shot is "a hot satire on TV talent shows"; it is widely considered to be based on The X Factor, with Judge Hope in the role of Simon Cowell. Wollaston notes that "Fifteen Million Benefits" aired on the final night of 2011 X Factor, calling it "not coincidental". Reviewer has also made comparisons with American Idol .
Sims uses the metaphor that Bing is "trapped in the phone", and that his life is a game of Candy Crush. Connolly calls Bing's cell "a small tomb made of iPads equipped with Kinect". Sims notes that everyone's doppel is similar to Mii avatar. Surette commented that the episode showed a "class system", with unworthy job assigned janitor - a lower position than working on an exercise bike. He also notes that one can compare the world with dull office work.
Bing can be seen as Brooker's own insinuation, as both can be described as "TV critics turned into TV presenter". Her character spoke very little for most of the episodes before her stream of conscience grumbled at the judges. Howard says the storyline Abi "rings true in Instamodels world and our reality star", gives Kim Kardashian an example, and argues "Fame, for women, the equivalent of sexual objectivity - is unavoidable". Surette writes that the episode gives "a look ahead into our celebrity obsessed culture".
The forest seen from the Bing window at the end of the episode can be interpreted as a real landscape or computer. Sims wrote, "It can not be [real], is it?"
Reception
"Fifteen Million Benefits" aired on Channel 4 on December 11, 2011 at 9:30 pm, where, according to a 7-day number from the Board of audiences, this episode was watched by 1.52 million viewers.
This episode received positive reviews. Many critics agree that this episode is better than before, "The National Anthem". Sims argues that it is "magnificent work in everything", while Wollaston calls it "much better", "more artful" and "moving".
Writing for The A.V. Club, David Sims delivers episode A, describes it as "seamless visual" and "a stunning piece of science fiction that builds its world slowly but perfectly for an hour". He calls Bing "probably too magical" but says his ending is "crushing and smart". Surette's team from TV.com says that this episode is "one of the most beautiful and haunting hours of science fiction television you'll see". Surette thinks that, "Full of beautiful visuals, moving scores, and a fully realized future that may not be too far away, there is never a moment where '15 Million Benefits' is anything less than gripping, frightening, and thoughtful. [...] '15 Million Merits' wants you to look in the mirror and do something about it. "Sam Wollaston of The Guardian describes this episode as" original, thoughtful, and thoughtful television. " Wollaston says that "all shows are good" and that the world is "conspicuous to behold and beautiful".
Ryan Lambie of Den of Geek rambles that "Fifteen Million Benefits" contains "some of the best production, music, and acting designs [that he's seen on a genre television show all year". Criticizing that "some aspects of [...] are a bit too shrill", referring to Dustier's rudeness and clear Hope's cave from Cowell, Lambie gives a remarkable positive review, criticizing that "Bing's warmth and romance are short on contrast to the coldness of the TV screen , scoffing avatars and reality show of manipulative judges, is one of the most moving moments I've come across for a while, and the main reason why Fifteen Million Benefits is a very charming genre. Alexandra Howard of The 405 writes that the episode was one that "stuck with [him]", because of his comments on women's objectification; Howard commented that "Black Mirror" makes you contemplate the world and realize that you are also part of the problem. "
Sam Richards of The Telegraph gave the episode four of five stars in a review stating that the episode explores the "familiar metaphor" with "stylish, intelligent, and glamorous spicy humor". David Lewis of Cultbox ranked in episodes three out of five, remarking that "morals are farther than subtle" but the hands of Bing and Abi holding hands are "cute" and golden tickets appear with Bing doppel on Abi screen " touching sincerely "; Lewis called the episode "very sad - very easy to watch, but really wretched".
Brendan Connolly of Cooling Cooler "disappointed" with the episode, because it was "a pretty tedious story that lies in an intimate, semi-fraught world of futures". The review criticized the "few jumps" needed to accept that Abi would "choose a life of television sexual harassment over rough working life". However, Connolly stated that "the show really came out through the screen and hit it" in the last scene, because the ambiguity of whether the forest is real, and the uncertainty of how Bing sees the situation.
References
External links
- "Fifteen Million Benefits" in IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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