Values: reflection

The episode 4.6. differs enormously from all previous broadcasts. In Black Museum, the producers make a reflection on themselves, so a self-referential representation. The presentation will take place in a museum of the future. In particular, futuristic, technical props are shown. It is pointed to their not shown properties and relationships. So the museum director Rolo Haynes was exactly the developer who built all neural-digital devices, such as the Recaller from Episode 4.3. After all episodes found a dystopian negative end, the digital neurologist was terminated due to inability. He now has a job in the museum. In connection with his previous knowledge he can tell a lot about the exhibits.

The producers go into a loop and reflect on their own work. This reflection is also incorporated into a story. One day, Mrs. Nish shows up at the museum and gets a special tour from Rolo. The visitor does not come by, as she says, by chance, but completely deliberately. In some previous episode, her father suffered severe mental damage due to aberrations caused by Rolo. Now she wants to take revenge. How much in the world are we dealing with loop-like and back-related systems? Depending on the relationship, we distinguish the following loops:

Recursion: Repetitive operations in which the current result affects the subsequent run are called recursive. Here are some examples of recursions

• Endless: An insect flies against the glass until it is dead.
• Counted out: samples of blood cells.
• Conditional: Search in a database

Until episode 4.5, Black Mirror was a recursive, discounted TV series. The frame was always the same. A digital technique leads to a dystopian future. Variable were the respective technology and the everyday situation at the beginning / end of an episode.

San Jupernio –    Nursing Home vs Upload.

Metalhead –         Burglary vs Battle Robot.

Arkangel –           Worried mother vs brain interface

Reflection: With the episode 4.6 “Black Museum” the format changes and “Black Mirror” reflects on itself. For this purpose, digital artefacts from various episodes are exhibited in a museum. The guide, Mr. Rolo Haynes, played a role in each of the episodes. This was not to be seen in the series. Rolo was a neuroscientist who developed a variety of neuronal – digital devices in the background. Most did not go beyond the prototype stage. Which was ultimately the reason for the respective dystopian result. So now becomes of a recursive TV series a reflexive.

For the ecosystem “Black Mirror”, viewer ratings are the most important thing. Once these are down, this is an alarm signal for the producers and they need to make a change for the next episode. Changes can be made only very limited here. Not the whole format is replaceable, but only the two variables everyday situation and technology. So the scriptwriters have to come up with an even more banal everyday situation that leads to even more dystopian results.

The sequence of almost all series is recursive – means a basic concept is enforced with changing parameters. This gives you a recursive and reflexive process.

Remote: The TV seer is used to passivity. Once a channel is selected, you have to consume what is served. However, newer technologies give the viewer the opportunity to make decisions about the further course of the action in certain situations. The TV is remote controlled twice. Once with the remote control in the selection of the program and another time on the screen in the selection of the content. For very complex productions, there can be a variety of different paths in the plot. Although viewers watch the same series and episode, they probably do not see the same thing. To learn all that the episode offers, you have to look at it many times. Now we have a TV series that is recursively, reflexively and remotely controlled. In season 5 of Black Mirror is already a remote technology announced. Spectators are thus able to influence the production. That would actually make the reviews much better. Because a viewer probably does not rate his content negatively.

Self-referential: Such a behavior has so far only been attributed to biological creatures with sufficient self-confidence. Man certainly counts for it. In the future maybe AI systems. Essentially, this is the ability to assess one’s own actions and actions, at least in hindsight. Different schools of personality development call for a “Reaction in Action”. This refers to an extremely mindful life in which the current actions are constantly reflected and controlled. Not exactly, but something like that, the episode is 4.6. arranged. In retrospect, the producers reflect on their work and try to generate improvements for the next episode through self-knowledge. There is a long time between production and feedback. At Black Mirror it was at least four years from the first broadcast to the reflection in the Black Museum. Should it be possible to make the remote technology suitable for series production, the producers would have a very quick feedback. Still at the time of the first broadcast. You then always know how many viewers have chosen which path and could already include this in the next episode.

Reception: Everything that was described and analyzed above is consistent with my understanding of and about Black Mirror. Today, in Episode 6, this is certainly different than watching the first episode. My views on the series have changed with every blog. Of course, this has not changed the ecosystem Black Mirror itself, but only my attitude. To formulate everything is not objective, but always based on previous knowledge, previous actions and socialization. It could well be that artificial intelligences can carry out analyzes without this ballast in the future. But then this is not an end in itself, but to inform people and they also have their subjective filters. I stay in my bubb