Nosedise : The satire of social networks

Black Mirror Analysis #1

Created by Charlie Brooker in 2011, Black Mirror is an anthology which deals with the social and socioeconomic identities.

Zoom on the episode that was a great success : Nosedive

Lacie, the main character, is the perfect example who illustrates the dehumanization we will live in the future because of the omnipresence of social networks in our lives.

Nosedive presents us a perfect world where there is no grey, but only, pastels colors, from clothes to furniture of dwellings. Everything seems to be wonderful and idyllic.

However, in the same way as the bottom social networks, this world hides a very bitter face.

In this society, people’s social identity is comprised of a profile that can be viewed by anyone, and an overall score based off of interactions with people.

If you post a nice photo on your social media account, you get rated. If you get 5 stars, your overall score increases.

Lacie was very upset by this, as she would love to have her friend’s approval. Her friend has extremely high socioeconomic status.

She is a pretty skinny white woman who lives a wealthy lifestyle with her husband, and friends with similar livelihoods and ratings to her. She has the ideal social media profile with several pictures that have received high ratings.

Lacie is jealous of this because she is very unsatisfied of her life. 

The purpose of this society is to encourage politeness and kindness, but also promotes extremely unrealistic expectations. Not everyone has a flawless social media account or fits into the unrealistic beauty standards that media promotes like Lacie’s friends.

This system is elitist because only those that fit the social norms of the society are able to succeed.

Throughout this episode, we understand that it is necessary to reflect on the trajectory that is taking the world since the emergence of social networks. It is in reality a satire of contemporary life.

Rafaëla