The Adventures of Danny.
Throughout the entire course, we have watched TV episodes, read articles and books, and discussed specific topics and executed projects relating to those particular pieces of media. Like a lot of people in the class, my main attraction to it was when I saw that “Black Mirror” was in the title of the course and that it was a first year seminar. Black Mirror is my favorite show on Netflix and I wanted to talk about it with my peers and watch it with them to see their reactions. This did not disappoint. We watched a lot of Black Mirror Episodes including some of my favorites, however, we did not watch the episode that I 100% thought we would watch. This episode is “Shut Up and Dance”. “Shut Up and Dance” is my favorite episode of the Black Mirror series and the one which, in my opinion, pertains most to modern day society.
“Shut Up and Dance”, like most Black Mirror episodes, explores the horrors that come with the advancement of technology. The basic overview of the plot is that the camera in a boy’s computer records him doing something illegal without him realizing it. The computer (an unknown person) then proceeds to use that footage to black mail him and force him to execute crazy tasks which spiral crazily. I think this episode should be added to the current Black Mirror episodes that are already watched because it is easily relatable to modern day and also really messes with your mind. The episode explores how it can happen to any person not just celebrities and how much control a person can have over you. It is applicable to society currently because this has already happened several times. Celebrities and other people have been black mailed to do certain tasks they don’t want to just because people have some sort of leverage over them. This has included personal information, nude pictures, authority at work, and much more. Also, we have talked in class about data being collected to use against us even when we don’t even realize. In the New York Times article (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics/mark-zuckerberg-testimony.html) about Zuckerberg’s testimony, it analyzes Cambridge Analytica and how it was gathering data to help sway the election in a specific way. Like we talked about in class, how do we know the news we are looking about is true and not bias? In addition, this brings up the theme of what pieces of technology are watching and listening to us when we least expect it. How do we know that our computer camera isn’t recording us right now? I have several friends who have covered their computer cameras just because they have watched this one episode. This also doesn’t stop at our computer cameras because how do we now know that other pieces of technology aren’t recording us to? Is there ever a way we’ll always know when we’re being watched?
An assignment I would assign with it is the same as the other Black Mirror episodes which would be to watch it for homework and come prepared to discuss it during class. However, a project could also be implemented in where there are groups that have to research specific cases where there have been black mail incidents involving technology that could be presented to the class. This could help dive a little more into this specific theme so the class can be more aware of how they are being monitored. This also relates to “doxing” that we discussed briefly that I think would be more interesting to dive in. Both topics analyze the issue of black mailing in relation to technology that is already a problem and that will continue to grow. It would also help implement a Black Mirror episode in a bigger way then just a class discussion where students really have to dive deep into one specific episode.
