"Black Mirror" Technologies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Men Against Fire

Based on the book of the same name, "Men Against Fire" shows warfare in Eastern Europe in which the protagonist's government is carrying out ethnic cleansing. However, soldiers are given an implant that presents this 'inferior' race as subhuman 'roaches'. The episode makes you question the role of your government in conflict and what you are told about other cultures, peoples, and races.

Most people think they would have stood up to the Nazis, maybe by housing refugees if they lived in France or refusing to serve in the army if they were German. The reality is that most people are wrong. They would have cooperated with or even joined the Nazis because many Germans did and many French did not risk their lives to save refugees.

The poet Martin Niemöller bravely dealt with this head-on, in his confession: "First they came for the communists. And I did not speak out. Because I was not a communist." And so forth. Martin Niemöller initially supported the Nazis before risking his life to oppose them. We could all do with asking ourselves earnestly and openly: am I on the right side of history?

Answer: Arkangel

Parents face difficult choices every day, whatever the age of their child. When should you let them make a mistake, and when should you stop them? You learn to be human through autonomy, through choices, and Sara has much of this taken away from her by Marie.

Conversely, a person can be scarred for life by a traumatic childhood incident. They can go down the wrong path very early in life - as we see from Trick - when they lack the ability to make an informed choice. And the human brain is so easily shaped in childhood, so your opportunities in life depend on whether you're shaped as a virtuoso, a thrill-seeker, or someone with high anxiety.

Ultimately, Marie does not manage to save her daughter from harm and prevents open communication between the pair of them through helicopter parenting. But where and why does she go wrong?

Answer: White Christmas

The idea of simulated realities recurs in "Black Mirror", including in "Playtest", "San Junipero", "USS Callister", "Hang the DJ", "Striking Vipers" and "Joan Is Awful". It was introduced in the last episode made for Channel 4, the 2014 special "White Christmas".

Across its three stories, "White Christmas" shows the following: predatory male behavior in a one-night stand with a vulnerable woman, women's bodily autonomy, abusive relationships, and a lack of closure after a break-up ("ghosting").

Its ending - paralleling that of the three-parter "Black Museum" - poses the question: what is 'justice'? Is it retribution and infliction of pain? Exiling somebody from society with no way for them to make amends? Or could it look any different?

Answer: Metalhead

Based quite directly on Boston Dynamics' robots which use dog-based names, the creature in "Metalhead" chases our main character Maxine until its eventual victory. In doing so, it showcases its use of laser vision (Lidar), logical processing, ability to adapt to sustaining damage, and use of trackers.

The episode shows the classic 'AI gone rogue' idea that is iconic within science fiction. The lack of explanation for the dogs or the off-screen apocalypse lets readers craft their own: are dogs controlled by humans? What was their initial purpose?

With the ending, that reveals Maxine knowingly risked (and lost) her life for a teddy bear, a new theme is raised: what makes life worth living?

Answer: The Entire History of You

A weaker memory technology is seen in "Crocodile", but in "The Entire History of You" you can record with perfect accuracy your audiovisual senses and replay them for yourself (immersively) or for others.

The underlying theme of this episode is trust and adultery. But through the details of the world we glimpse at other questions. Liam talks about a legal case involving parental rights, goes through an airport, and speaks to Hallam about her grain being stolen in an assault. Does airport security violate human dignity and privacy? Should a child be able to hold their parent legally accountable for negligence (and when/how)? How can you assert control over your data? When a technology that can violate your privacy is ubiquitous, does an individual still have the right to opt-out?

Answer: Be Right Back

Nine years before ChatGPT's release, "Be Right Back" imagines a world in which a woman uses a chatbot to process grief at the death of her boyfriend. It was inspired by creator Charlie Brooker looking at a dead friend's phone number in his contact list, and the emotions of deciding whether to delete it or keep it.

The episode asks: what are healthy ways to process grief? How can you remember a loved one while still being open to moving on? Before you judge Martha too quickly for her bad decisions, think about how suddenly her life plan changed. One day she was moving to the countryside with her boyfriend. The next she was left alone to mother his child.

Answer: Nosedive

It is easy, particularly the older you are, to treat the characters of "Nosedive" with contempt for their obsession with phones. But consider their social functions: to curate a public image of yourself that reflects the best parts of your life, and to improve your social capital.

These concepts existed long before Instagram. The saying "it's not what you know, it's who you know" has long been used in business for a reason. "Nosedive" segregates people by rating - they have different housing, different modes of transport, and different social occasions available to them. But is this so far removed from the role that money plays in capitalism?

Answer: Black Museum

This story, within the larger story of the episode, is called "Pain Addict" and was published by Penn Jillette in 1988. Dr. Peter Dawson starts with his empathic hairnet as an expert at diagnosing patients' injuries and saving lives that could not be saved. Many patients cannot communicate where and how something hurts, including babies, the comatose, and some disabled people.

A gruesome, sinister twist sees the doctor's pain and pleasure senses swapped, so empathy turns to masochism. The fetishism of near-death experiences or thrills from risk-taking are not unique to this story, which might make thrill-seekers question: when should you take a step back and make sure that your passions cannot lead you and others into genuine danger?

Answer: Joan Is Awful

Written before the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes over streaming service residuals and the use of automation to make jobs redundant, "Joan Is Awful" is a timely comedy that sees its protagonist's day play before her on the television screen, for millions to watch. Generated entirely by computer, the TV Joan is a caricature of the real Joan that makes her look awful.

Fears that automation will make workers redundant date back at least to the Luddites, 19th-century English citizens who smashed the new machinery of the Industrial Revolution. But is life not better than it was then for our advances in automation? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but no success has been found in trying to turn back the clock and return to an earlier society.

Our best bet may be to accept the new technology but make sure that it is put to good use. What are the potential benefits of ChatGPT if human need and not profit is the driving force? How can we redesign our society so that - unlike the automation of the past 150 years (since the eight-hour day's introduction) - new technology can reduce the working week, reduce domestic labor, and increase human happiness?

Answer: Fifteen Million Merits

The new world of "Fifteen Million Merits" sees most people pedaling bikes to generate 'merits', which they need for food, toothpaste, and anything else you'd need currency for - but with a heavy emphasis on digital assets, like a hat for your avatar.

Everything from the sexualization of women (Abi's fate) to the deliberate tampering of one's thoughts (you can buy something that rewires your brain to find apples tastier) is on show in this tremendous episode.

But the heart-breaking ending tells us something about consumerism and about capitalism's ability to incorporate dissent. Bing blasts talent show judges with both barrels about the pointless, inhuman conditions of most people - the cyclists - as a small number of people are rich and famous. Rather than letting him kill himself, the judges give him a TV program. Whether it's Che Guevara T-shirts for sale, the revolving door between politicians and the journalism industry that 'holds politicians to account', or the life of Charlie Brooker himself, this episode can make us question: how can we meaningfully change the system rather than becoming part of it?