TV Drama Still Analysis

Black Mirror- Fifteen Million Credits

This still is from Black Mirror. The still connotes the main premise of humans being controlled by their own creation, technology along with its sub-genres: sci-fi, thriller and utopian, dystopian futures.

The still is a wide shot where the protagonist is lying on a bed in the center of the room. The room is cell like which matches his grey prison like outfit that seems mass produced. He is focused on the walls of his "room" which is made up of screens and is the only source of colour in the still and also takes up most of the still. It draws your eye and makes the protagonist seem unimportant and bland. We presume that this is a sci-fi futuristic society which is massively reliant on technology because of how much of a presence the screens are in the still. The light calm colours on the screens and the mans relaxed nature suggests a sort of utopia but because the protagonist  seems irrelevant when compared to the never ending sky displayed on the screen we begin to doubt if it is dystopia or utopia. Along with the prison like room and clothes and his seemingly lack of individuality we see he is selecting an avatar from a selection, all wearing interesting and different clothes. This suggests that he sees what his avatar looks like is more important than what he looks like. This raises the question about how much control and freedom he really has and if the technology that man created is in turn controlling him and in turn making him lose all individuality,freedom and imagination which is what some might say makes us human. This is where the thriller sub-genre comes into play. The show dives into many peoples fears over technology and its current advancements and how it may not always be us in control of who we are.