Black Mirror: Common People
April 10, 2025 11:46 AM - Season 7, Episode 1 - Subscribe
When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive.
That was unpleasant. Which I guess makes sense; it's called Black Mirror for a reason. I think the "Dumb Dummies" subplot brought the story down. A Black Mirror episode satirizing streaming services and the general enshittification of everything was more like what I hoped for.
The "mood control" aspect of the Rivermind app might have been more worthy of exploration. If I'm feeling guilty, I can just dial down my empathy and I'm good to go! Send in the next client! There's no way that could be abused, right?
posted by SPrintF at 4:17 PM on April 10 [1 favorite]
The "mood control" aspect of the Rivermind app might have been more worthy of exploration. If I'm feeling guilty, I can just dial down my empathy and I'm good to go! Send in the next client! There's no way that could be abused, right?
posted by SPrintF at 4:17 PM on April 10 [1 favorite]
I'm halfway through this one now, and it's like...I get it? It's the same feeling I had watching Funny Games; I get the joke, is it okay to just fastforward to the end.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:53 PM on April 10 [3 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:53 PM on April 10 [3 favorites]
Yeah, fuck that shit, lol. I'll check out some reviews and see if these get better, but honestly, life is too short for this.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:00 PM on April 10
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:00 PM on April 10
Ever changing basic subscriptions, upgrade packages, booster levels; feels like dating apps.
But yeah, could have been a 30 minuter instead of 45. But I like Jones and O'Dowd a lot.
posted by porpoise at 5:57 PM on April 10
But yeah, could have been a 30 minuter instead of 45. But I like Jones and O'Dowd a lot.
posted by porpoise at 5:57 PM on April 10
Seemed like classic Black Mirror to me *shrugs* There’s no bottom to the horrors of enshittification, whatever your worst fears, they’ll find ways to exceed them with a sterile smile.
posted by Claude Hoeper at 6:02 PM on April 10 [3 favorites]
posted by Claude Hoeper at 6:02 PM on April 10 [3 favorites]
It honestly seemed like an SNL sketch about Black Mirror to me, but that was probably in part Rashida Jones. (And Chris O'Dowd, for that matter. Wonderful actors, but actors who I associate closely with comedy.) Very predictable, basic misery porn.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:27 PM on April 10
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:27 PM on April 10
"Black Mirror" reflects on itself - Charlie Brooker’s once-prescient show feels creatively stagnant and outpaced by pop culture
posted by growabrain at 9:28 PM on April 10
posted by growabrain at 9:28 PM on April 10
I'm going to go against everyone here. As a disabled person, I watched this episode with another disabled friend of mine, and we both felt this episode hit home. In fact what we didn't like was the "dialing up" of senses which we felt was going to lead into an addiction arc, which would also be realistic. We both agreed that was part of the story that could have been left out.
But if you think this is misery porn, maybe understand that this is more people's actual existence than you'd care to think about right now. That a lot of us have to weigh quality of life against cost and what we're willing to do to get that money.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:12 PM on April 10 [12 favorites]
But if you think this is misery porn, maybe understand that this is more people's actual existence than you'd care to think about right now. That a lot of us have to weigh quality of life against cost and what we're willing to do to get that money.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:12 PM on April 10 [12 favorites]
I thought this one was super bleak, but also a super scathing and effective critique of profit-driven healthcare, enshittification, and gig economy exploitation.
The mood-control app felt like a nod to the mood organs from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", which I found pleasing.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 6:44 PM on April 11 [4 favorites]
The mood-control app felt like a nod to the mood organs from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", which I found pleasing.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 6:44 PM on April 11 [4 favorites]
This is the first time I literally couldn't take parts of a Black Mirror episode. Brooker said in an interview he initially thought of this as a comedy - Amanda randomly babbling out an advertising message struck him funny - but it was so utterly horrific that I had to skip over some of those scenes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:52 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:52 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
I wanted this to go in the direction of the mounting costs leading to Mike and Amanda looking into jailbreaking Amanda's Rivermind system - exploring the consequences could have been interesting. Instead it's doom spiral from the start to the end.
posted by Molesome at 6:56 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Molesome at 6:56 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
I've been thinking about this (a lot) and I think the predictability of the doom spiral is what upset me, and made it feel almost like this episode was just a self-parody. I of course am very upset when Chris O'Dowd hurts himself or when Rashida Jones begins babbling nonsense, because I come to the show liking these people; I don't think it's a particular achievement of the show to affect me emotionally by torturing them so much as it is the show capitalizing on the work these familiar actors have done in other venues. And the show just hitting every rung as it falls down the ladder it set up in the first act feels, honestly, low effort and lazy. There are certainly things it could have done to make it all seem less pat. It might have been interesting to see Amanda reprogrammed as a salesperson for Rivermind when Mike ran out of money, or Mike himself "resurrected" after his apparent suicide to do a similar job for the company, continuing to pay off his debts to them even after death. I could even see Rivermind deciding this cute couple would work best as people they could use in ads, and suddenly Amanda and Mike would find themselves in the position of the privileged, watching helplessly as others suffer. I realize if anything ideas like this would make the episode even grimmer, but I think a level of irony would at least make this all seem less...obvious.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:00 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:00 AM on April 12 [4 favorites]
For sure, not every episode can be this linear, but for me that was the gotcha with this one, that there was no hoped-for redemption for our couple despite some brief early winks that maybe they'd prevail. Nope, just worser and worser rentier degradation. I recall we did see a brief lapse in the salesperson's own programming, so who knows how many everyday people were under the spell and might find a way out.
Re the involuntary advertisements, and this is probably too on-the-nose, but we can obviously be concerned about how much of our own psychology is actually "ours" vs how much are we reflexively, perhaps neurotically parroting any given message. How much are we ever truly "free-thinking" and acting with agency? Can we inoculate against and circumvent propaganda with other emotional repertoire instead?
posted by Claude Hoeper at 1:12 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]
Re the involuntary advertisements, and this is probably too on-the-nose, but we can obviously be concerned about how much of our own psychology is actually "ours" vs how much are we reflexively, perhaps neurotically parroting any given message. How much are we ever truly "free-thinking" and acting with agency? Can we inoculate against and circumvent propaganda with other emotional repertoire instead?
posted by Claude Hoeper at 1:12 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]
I am also a fan of this episode and it gave me a lot to think about. Rashida Jones can do no wrong and Chris Dowd just melts the heart. I love the question of how much are we all parroting messages?
posted by berkshiredogs at 5:26 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]
posted by berkshiredogs at 5:26 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]
I agree that this episode could've been watched at 1.5x speed like it was a podcast, but Tracee Ellis Ross slam-dunks it with how she portrays Gaynor.
Every scene with Gaynor in it is designed to be infuriating. You end up wondering whether she has a soul, or is actually just some sort of husk or vessel or a corporation’s “core values” molded into clay and then breathed into life, like Natalie in Severance.
I said out loud “Tracee Ellis Ross is really good at making me absolutely hate her right now” because I understand how tall of a task that was. Left in the wrong hands, with a different actor and some subtly different script choices, we’d be talking about how she was the most evil person in the entire Black Mirror universe, even considering that fucker who runs the “Black Museum” roadside sideshow.
To avoid that pitfall, they get a good veteran actor to play Gaynor… and they make her a fellow brain-trauma victim. I was actually on the fence about whether she'd told Mike the truth about that or was just trying to make a sale… until the scene at the end where she turns her Nonchalance up to max and you realize how she's been coping with these increasingly monstrous acts.
Imagine if you were working at Groupon and you had pitch the shit out of daily deals to small businesses because, if Groupon goes under, your brain stops working right. Those are the stakes for Gaynor. She's indentured. She's still complicit, but I like villains with understandable motives, even if you wish they'd made better decisions.
miss-lapin: "But if you think this is misery porn, maybe understand that this is more people's actual existence than you'd care to think about right now. That a lot of us have to weigh quality of life against cost and what we're willing to do to get that money."
I don't mean for a second to compare ADHD to physical disabilities, but I do think this rhymes with some of my own thought patterns. I am neurotic about getting my medication — because I need the pills to be good at my job, and I need my job so I can have insurance that's good enough that I can afford the pills.
I'm 42 and am not truly at risk of being flung into the void anymore, but there were times in my 20s when it would've been really hard to catch up if I'd had the wrong setbacks. The processes of finding a psychiatrist, applying for jobs, and jumping through the hoops of a new health insurance policy are like cruel, ironic jokes for someone who has executive dysfunction and a short attention span. Now imagine they're happening all at once!
In particular, the month-to-month down-to-the-wire stress — will Mike be able to afford another month of Rivermind Plus™? — scratches some of my anxious itches. Your refill date is approaching! Your regular pharmacy better have your pills in stock… or you're digging out the big spreadsheet and making a couple dozen calls until you hit the lottery. And then they can't just transfer your Rx, so your doctor has to send it in to that specific pharmacy, and they say they've only got 60 left, so you'd better hope she replies to your email today…
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:02 AM on April 13 [6 favorites]
Every scene with Gaynor in it is designed to be infuriating. You end up wondering whether she has a soul, or is actually just some sort of husk or vessel or a corporation’s “core values” molded into clay and then breathed into life, like Natalie in Severance.
I said out loud “Tracee Ellis Ross is really good at making me absolutely hate her right now” because I understand how tall of a task that was. Left in the wrong hands, with a different actor and some subtly different script choices, we’d be talking about how she was the most evil person in the entire Black Mirror universe, even considering that fucker who runs the “Black Museum” roadside sideshow.
To avoid that pitfall, they get a good veteran actor to play Gaynor… and they make her a fellow brain-trauma victim. I was actually on the fence about whether she'd told Mike the truth about that or was just trying to make a sale… until the scene at the end where she turns her Nonchalance up to max and you realize how she's been coping with these increasingly monstrous acts.
Imagine if you were working at Groupon and you had pitch the shit out of daily deals to small businesses because, if Groupon goes under, your brain stops working right. Those are the stakes for Gaynor. She's indentured. She's still complicit, but I like villains with understandable motives, even if you wish they'd made better decisions.
miss-lapin: "But if you think this is misery porn, maybe understand that this is more people's actual existence than you'd care to think about right now. That a lot of us have to weigh quality of life against cost and what we're willing to do to get that money."
I don't mean for a second to compare ADHD to physical disabilities, but I do think this rhymes with some of my own thought patterns. I am neurotic about getting my medication — because I need the pills to be good at my job, and I need my job so I can have insurance that's good enough that I can afford the pills.
I'm 42 and am not truly at risk of being flung into the void anymore, but there were times in my 20s when it would've been really hard to catch up if I'd had the wrong setbacks. The processes of finding a psychiatrist, applying for jobs, and jumping through the hoops of a new health insurance policy are like cruel, ironic jokes for someone who has executive dysfunction and a short attention span. Now imagine they're happening all at once!
In particular, the month-to-month down-to-the-wire stress — will Mike be able to afford another month of Rivermind Plus™? — scratches some of my anxious itches. Your refill date is approaching! Your regular pharmacy better have your pills in stock… or you're digging out the big spreadsheet and making a couple dozen calls until you hit the lottery. And then they can't just transfer your Rx, so your doctor has to send it in to that specific pharmacy, and they say they've only got 60 left, so you'd better hope she replies to your email today…
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:02 AM on April 13 [6 favorites]
Kind of a misbegotten episode to lead with. For people in kfb's shoes who might be reading this, FWIW I found the next two to be much better.
Re this one: It's already so close to disability/medical horror stories so I felt like it wasn't doing service to those. The "money horror" part kind of took over, mostly focused on O'Dowd, mostly represented by calendar full of overtime. Where was panic, where was becoming a little domain expert, where was trying to find info and talk to other people going through it, etc. There is so much horror and awfulness in this real life that already has nothing to do with technology. The "DumDummies" thing felt really tacked on, a bit prudish/juvenile, not really even believable (like there's just no way he could be doing enough of that to put a dent in $1800 a month?), and somehow just not like horrible enough either to count as horror.
posted by fleacircus at 2:48 PM on April 13 [2 favorites]
Re this one: It's already so close to disability/medical horror stories so I felt like it wasn't doing service to those. The "money horror" part kind of took over, mostly focused on O'Dowd, mostly represented by calendar full of overtime. Where was panic, where was becoming a little domain expert, where was trying to find info and talk to other people going through it, etc. There is so much horror and awfulness in this real life that already has nothing to do with technology. The "DumDummies" thing felt really tacked on, a bit prudish/juvenile, not really even believable (like there's just no way he could be doing enough of that to put a dent in $1800 a month?), and somehow just not like horrible enough either to count as horror.
posted by fleacircus at 2:48 PM on April 13 [2 favorites]
Where was panic, where was becoming a little domain expert, where was trying to find info and talk to other people going through it, etc
Right. I just don't really believe this setup, because it doesn't track with my experience of life, which, and I'm being very honest here, is full of extraordinarily negative experiences. The only nod toward reality here is that Mike's family literally lives in another country, and he only mentions his dad, so maybe he has no one else; otherwise it's impossible for me to believe that these people wouldn't even try to reach out to their friends and family. And to be really real, a beautiful young school teacher would have GoFundMe type funding out the wazoo, like are you familiar with the internet at all.
The believable version of this episode would star conventionally unattractive people who worked at, like, Arby's and Dollar General. But no one would watch that.
I don't mean to threadsit on this, but I've been really troubled by this episode ever since I watched it. I think it's cruel, but I also think it's not very honest. I'm sure Charlie Brooker is extraordinarily wealthy, and while it's nice that he cares about the plight of the uninsured (or people who can't afford to subscribe to Netflix without commercials), I think he'd be doing everyone a favor to start a charity or something instead of simply unleashing massive bummer time upon an unsuspecting...well...kind of suspecting populace.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:30 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
Right. I just don't really believe this setup, because it doesn't track with my experience of life, which, and I'm being very honest here, is full of extraordinarily negative experiences. The only nod toward reality here is that Mike's family literally lives in another country, and he only mentions his dad, so maybe he has no one else; otherwise it's impossible for me to believe that these people wouldn't even try to reach out to their friends and family. And to be really real, a beautiful young school teacher would have GoFundMe type funding out the wazoo, like are you familiar with the internet at all.
The believable version of this episode would star conventionally unattractive people who worked at, like, Arby's and Dollar General. But no one would watch that.
I don't mean to threadsit on this, but I've been really troubled by this episode ever since I watched it. I think it's cruel, but I also think it's not very honest. I'm sure Charlie Brooker is extraordinarily wealthy, and while it's nice that he cares about the plight of the uninsured (or people who can't afford to subscribe to Netflix without commercials), I think he'd be doing everyone a favor to start a charity or something instead of simply unleashing massive bummer time upon an unsuspecting...well...kind of suspecting populace.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:30 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
Representation matters. Most of the representations of illness and disability even in sci-fi often run towards inspo porn. And I can't help but feel like a lot of people objecting to this episode are objecting to Black Mirror holding up the reality of what a lot of disabled and/or chronically ill people deal with on the daily, which is that often the technology to help exists but has been priced out to be unaffordable or our insurance tells us we don't need it even though we pretty clearly so. Having our reality represented in sci fi also matters because it reveals an unfortunate truth: medical technology quite often it isn't accessible to those who need it.
But also you're really complaining that BM is depressing?! Smithereens, Black Museum, Shut Up and Dance, The Entire History of You, White Christmas, Be Right Back etc. There are plenty of depressing episodes many of them considered some of the best the series has to offer. But somehow this depressing episode is a huge problem.
What's bringing me down is seeing how the comments go when it comes to the disabled because it seems very different than when BM holds up a mirror to other social issues. And that's very consistent with my lifelong experience as a disabled woman.
And really "Oh just form a charity?" Jesus. Would you say that about the social commentary in any other episode? Or is just because this one deals with disability/chronic illness, which, as this episode makes clear doesn't have to be depressing. The ability to make things more accessible exists.We could work together to make things more accessible. But clearly not because just thinking about it is too much of a bummer. And THAT is what is truly depressing.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:23 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
But also you're really complaining that BM is depressing?! Smithereens, Black Museum, Shut Up and Dance, The Entire History of You, White Christmas, Be Right Back etc. There are plenty of depressing episodes many of them considered some of the best the series has to offer. But somehow this depressing episode is a huge problem.
What's bringing me down is seeing how the comments go when it comes to the disabled because it seems very different than when BM holds up a mirror to other social issues. And that's very consistent with my lifelong experience as a disabled woman.
And really "Oh just form a charity?" Jesus. Would you say that about the social commentary in any other episode? Or is just because this one deals with disability/chronic illness, which, as this episode makes clear doesn't have to be depressing. The ability to make things more accessible exists.We could work together to make things more accessible. But clearly not because just thinking about it is too much of a bummer. And THAT is what is truly depressing.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:23 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
I just don't think it works. It may be well-intentioned, although it seems very demoralizing to me, but also in a way where it just doesn't ring true...for me. I'm glad that you got more out of it than I did, and maybe this is a blind spot for me, I don't know.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:42 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:42 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
You've stated that opinion multiple times now. But you're also saying dismissive things like "he'd be doing everyone a favor to start a charity." And if social commentary can't be written by someone whose rich than an awful lot of it ends up in the trash even if it captures some people's truth. just not yours.
But I absolutely get how much you didn't like it. It hasn't been a subtle point of ANY of your comments.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:54 PM on April 13
But I absolutely get how much you didn't like it. It hasn't been a subtle point of ANY of your comments.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:54 PM on April 13
I have to say my least favourite episodes of Black Mirror are the miserable ones. I think Brooker can sink into the misanthropic mode which I dont enjoy.
I think I'd like this a lot more without the streaming satire thing, mainly because practically speaking it wouldn't earn that much money: the lived reality is that most people humiliating themselves right now earn next to nothing. But because the episode needed it to actually work it had to be somewhat lucrative.
Yeah for me the inevitability of it all was just wearing. I saw where this was going and didn't get any light on the way there.
I think I would like it more if the characters actually tried more things and got shot down: they spoke to their congress person, they asked friends and family, they tried fund raising, and none of it worked. I feel like that would be more realistic: maybe they get some initial fund raising but the fees keep getting hire and life keeps getting bleaker.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 5:12 AM on April 14 [1 favorite]
I think I'd like this a lot more without the streaming satire thing, mainly because practically speaking it wouldn't earn that much money: the lived reality is that most people humiliating themselves right now earn next to nothing. But because the episode needed it to actually work it had to be somewhat lucrative.
Yeah for me the inevitability of it all was just wearing. I saw where this was going and didn't get any light on the way there.
I think I would like it more if the characters actually tried more things and got shot down: they spoke to their congress person, they asked friends and family, they tried fund raising, and none of it worked. I feel like that would be more realistic: maybe they get some initial fund raising but the fees keep getting hire and life keeps getting bleaker.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 5:12 AM on April 14 [1 favorite]
I kept waiting for the twist that O'Dowd was a writer, trapped in a VR session he entered when he tried to escape the medical reality that his hands had turned to ham, only to realize that he had himself written the VR script.
posted by FatherDagon at 4:29 PM on April 14
posted by FatherDagon at 4:29 PM on April 14
Too predictable, too on the nose. Wasted a lot of setup. The overtime calendar was so obvious and it just dragged. The point it's making is fine, but man, the execution sucked.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:09 PM on April 15
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:09 PM on April 15
I have thoughts!
My guess for the twist/conflict would be that Dowd would end up using it against her. Like they would get in a fight and he would threaten to turn her off. You know it would have to more than a few people, but not this marriage. No this is much bleaker.
I also wondered if she didn’t have any friends. Like when he killed her* they would have a funeral and he would be like “I couldn’t afford the 500/1500 extra dollars, where were yall if you’re so sad she’s gone now?” And like ugh that would be our lives then. Constantly paying to keep other people alive.
What kind of brain injuries/ deaths can be undone with this procedure? Brain tumor market is kind of niche. Will people be able to live forever?
*(that’s murder though what if he just turned her off by not paying anymore? How long will they keep your body alive while your bill is unpaid?)
posted by LizBoBiz at 2:08 AM on April 20
My guess for the twist/conflict would be that Dowd would end up using it against her. Like they would get in a fight and he would threaten to turn her off. You know it would have to more than a few people, but not this marriage. No this is much bleaker.
I also wondered if she didn’t have any friends. Like when he killed her* they would have a funeral and he would be like “I couldn’t afford the 500/1500 extra dollars, where were yall if you’re so sad she’s gone now?” And like ugh that would be our lives then. Constantly paying to keep other people alive.
What kind of brain injuries/ deaths can be undone with this procedure? Brain tumor market is kind of niche. Will people be able to live forever?
*(that’s murder though what if he just turned her off by not paying anymore? How long will they keep your body alive while your bill is unpaid?)
posted by LizBoBiz at 2:08 AM on April 20
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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:47 AM on April 10 [1 favorite]