No.13776
I watched that stand alone Black Mirror film two days back so I think I'm ready to culminate my little review of the series. So, without further ado…
Black Mirror: Obunglersnatch
First, I think I should state that I obviously watched a pirated 90min "packed" version. And to be honest I believe this made for a better experiance. Because in the end I think the "Choose your own story" is inherintly more entertainment than art. Also the fact that YOU are responsible screws up the story, as I believe here it works better when observed from the side.
So next question. What is the film actually about. I offer three possibilities. I'll present them in terms of likelyness.
1st. Its another Black Mirror meh tier shit of "wot if your Netflix was real peepo?". Its just more of the same, correct, but at this point just boring, comodification of man and missery. However, there is more than that. Themes that don't connect and details that point to something more.
2nd. Its a tortured artist story, how pressure, management, trauma fuck up a man, and, eventually, make him stare at the abyss and being noticed back. This leads to the confrontation of ones free will, or more precisely, the lack there of. However this is unacceptable to the artist. He MUST be controlled, he can't just not have free will naturally, right? And this leads, eventually, to insanity, letting the voices, ones uncontrolled ID for the lack of a better term, take the vengeance and desire it wants. But there is still more. Something stays the same in all the insane, paranoid fantasies - the fathers room.
3rd. Its all MKUltra. I love this twist. It makes sense, there is enough to see it coming, its a topic that is woefully underused. It makes sense as well. The guy was literally fed LSD and other test drugs daily for entire childhood. His life is a fucking lie, put together from missremembered false memories. And of course he goes mental eventually, especially when he finds the truth. All his insane alternate paths, all other possibilities - just retroactive false memories trying to recontextualize the truth. Yes, he has no free will - not just in the actual philosophical sense, but in his basic life.
So, in the end. Obunglersnatch… its great! Its interesting, it makes sense, it has layers, its fun to watch along and its deffinetly not just "le epic exsperimental film for vuewer choice". Probably the best the series was outside the insane trekie episode.