![]() ![]() I think more and more people became aware that social media was starting to feel like a more toxic space. And I would say that probably around 2013, I was aware there was a general - I would say a change in mood online. So what's the most extreme sort of Twitter-shaming or Twitter attack that you've been witness to, that you were thinking about when you were writing this?īROOKER: Well, really, I mean, "Black Mirror" started in 2011. GROSS: In a grotesque way, which we won't give away. ![]() GROSS: So getting back to the premise of the episode "Hated In The Nation" - so the premise is that there's this new Twitter attack plan where they're like - somebody who's singled out every day with a #deathto hashtag, and then they're going to be, you know, killed basically. You know, I'm generally laughing while I'm doing that. So there's a lot more, you know, it's not just written by some angry guy waving his fist at the App Store. And quite often when we're having the initial ideas and I'm sort of talking it through, I'm really laughing a lot (laughter). Writing something like "Black Mirror" where you're examining worst case scenarios in a way isn't that different from thinking up sort of grotesque scenarios for comedy, you know, for sitcoms or sketches, really. And I think it's a similar - it uses a similar muscle. I'm probably better known as a comedy writer - or certainly that's my background is in writing comedy. I think it's - because you see in the U.K. It's everything that you're panicked about.īROOKER: I think it's - well, I think it's therapeutic. GROSS: Is that supposed to be reassuring? (Laughter). I could worry about pretty much anything you put in front of me, so I'm not actually sort of anti-technology. You know, I can pretty much - I could worry that I'm going to bleed to death, you know, from cutting my finger on a sandwich packet, you know, if I sort of open a sandwich. GROSS: I wouldn't have known that from the series.īROOKER: I mean, I can worry about anything. Generally, I'm a - I'm quite a paranoid and worried person. So in a way, I'm sort of - I tend to focus more on the - initially on the sort of more popcorn, what I see as the sort of popcorn, hooky sort of storytelling device rather than the real world sort of mirror to what I'm - to, you know, the subject of the episode. And then if it - if there's some technological means by which I can see that event happening, I'll sort of latch onto that if that makes sense, so I tend to work it round that way. What happens is often I'll be in conversation with somebody often Annabel Jones, who's the co-showrunner on the show, and I'll - often I'm just thinking of what strikes me as a fairly delicious what-if idea, basically. I suppose really, what I don't tend to do actually is kind of look at the news or look at technological developments and then try and think of a storyline based around those, generally. GROSS: So I imagine - I'm trying to imagine your writing process, and you being in front of your screen writing and thinking, how can I take trolling and Twitter lynch mobs to its ultimate extreme? (Laughter) What was your process like of coming up with that premise?īROOKER: Well, it's not a million miles away from that. GROSS: Charlie Brooker, welcome to FRESH AIR. MARSAY: (As Chloe Perrine) Yeah, and it's growing. MACDONALD: (As Karin Parke) Someone's holding a public ballot bumping off the top person. Three - most popular targets will be eliminated after 5 p.m. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Two - post their name and photo with hashtag #deathto. ![]() UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Game of consequences. Pick someone you don't like, and if enough other people choose the same name, then that's who gets targeted. MARSAY: (As Chloe Perrine) It's like an unpopularity contest. KELLY MACDONALD: (As Karin Parke) Game of consequences. specialist are investigating some unusual deaths that seem linked to a hashtag on Twitter that's targeting people for execution.įAYE MARSAY: (As Chloe Perrine) So each tweet have a sort of instruction video attached to it. Let's start with a scene from the new season of "Black Mirror." In this episode called "Hated In The Nation," a detective played by Kelly Macdonald and an I.T. Brooker started his career in comedy and has done several shows on British TV satirizing the news and the media. The series originated on the BBC, and season three will be up on Netflix tomorrow. My guest Charlie Brooker created "Black Mirror" and is the primary writer. It's a dystopian anthology series inspired by shows like "The Twilight Zone," but set in the digital era. If you've ever been a victim of malware, been shamed on Twitter, tried to secretly watch online pornography or just worried about the unintended consequences of the Internet, social media and artificial intelligence, well, the British series "Black Mirror" is for you. ![]()
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