Black Mirror: What The Show’s Ominous Title Really Means

The Netflix original series Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker, was named after the ominous reflection that peers back at an individual from a blank screen. It is known for its intricately weaving contemporary fears of technological advances with the possibility of future dystopia as a result of these advancements. While this is the main premise of the show, the overarching theme of Black Mirror is the dependency society has on social media, cellphones, the internet, and various forms of multimedia technology. When the power goes out on these devices, people are faced with their reflections in a black mirror.

When Black Mirror premiered in 2011, it immediately caught the attention of fans of horror, science-fiction, and thriller genres. Its season 1, episode 1, “National Anthem” notably went above and beyond in its depiction of the prime minister being blackmailed into having intercourse with a pig. Brooker immediately introduced the brutality of the internet as a major theme of the series. As Black Mirror expanded, season 3, episode 1, “Nosedive” provided a glimpse of the horrifying advancements that could occur based on how social media is utilized at this very moment. Each episode pushes the envelope of what technology will do to destroy fragments of humanity.

From “National Anthem” all the way to its most recent installment, season 5, episode 3, “Striking Vipers”, Black Mirror ensures that each character displays some form of dependency, fear, or unquestionable trust in some form of technology. The series speaks to the larger contemporary issues of the constantly increasing dependency society has on it. Its title perfectly encapsulates its commentary.

Why Charlie Brooker Chose The Title Black Mirror

When Brooker conceived of the idea of a television series that captures the complex relationship between humanity and technology, he spoke with The Guardian in 2011 to explain the title and concept. He stated “The ‘black mirror’ of the title is the one you’ll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone“. Brooker explains that there is no escaping a black mirror now that it has permeated throughout nearly every home across the globe. The uncertain trajectory of technologies advances is what set Black Mirror in motion and is the reasoning behind having stand-alone episodes, which have the ability to intersect while retaining their own, individual stories.

Brooker wanted Black Mirror to capture the absurdity of how technology has become apart of everyday life while highlighting the possibility of it creating a dystopia by being mishandled. When the series moved from Channel 4 to Netflix for season 3 and beyond, the conversation on the title sparked new interest among fans. As a result, Brooker discussed it once more in 2014 with The Guardian by stating that “any TV, any LCD, any iPhone any iPad – something like that – if you just stare at it, it looks like a black mirror, and there’s something cold and horrifying about that, and it was such a fitting title for the show”. Ultimately, it forces an individual to face the reality of how long they’ve been staring at a screen, what they were doing for hours on end without realizing it, and why they feel so connected to a cold piece of metal or glass.

The meaning behind the title of Black Mirror is most obvious when considering not only the context of the series, but also Brooker’s discussion of it in interviews. It’s not solely about the black mirror of a screen, but a larger reference to and commentary on society’s dependency on technology and the forced realization of this fact upon staring into a blank screen.

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