“Black Mirror” is a science fiction series, even if you don’t notice it in every episode. Because some episodes take place in a future that doesn’t seem that far away or has (almost) been reached, while others take place in (a version of) the present. Which has rarely been the case (namely with the interactive movie “Bandersnatch”): an episode of “Black Mirror” set in the past. But Season 6 has three episodes set in the past. But why exactly?
“Beyond the Sea”
In the case of Beyond The Sea, stars Josh Hartnett and Kate Mara talked about the setting in 1969 is all about: how Mara told the American industry magazine explained that in her opinion it doesn’t really matter when the episode is played. Than: “The topic of connection is just as relevant today as it was in the 1960s. Human connection and how important it is to survive and love.”
However, her co-star Josh Hartnett thinks there’s a reason for the storyline year: “[Die Sünde der Hauptfiguren] is hope and optimism. Those are the things that are being destroyed by these Manson-esque killings,” Hartnett said. “Than [im Jahr 1969] the space program was the great hope of the American people and humanity. It was the technological pinnacle of the time. Traveling to the moon seemed to mean something, like we’re about to colonize the moon.”
Opposite Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker also revealed that he I was fascinated by the possibility of telling a “retrofuturistic” sci-fi story as it was from the 1960s, without “chrome, glass and holograms”.
“Mazey Day”
“Mazey Day” with Zazie Beetz isn’t set that far in the past, but still in the early 2000s. This is reflected in the old-fashioned mobile phones (which are not yet smartphones) and in the lack of ubiquity of the Internet. And that is exactly the reason for the setting:
Unlike Charlie Brooker explained, the episode’s werewolf twist in 2023 would barely work with Photoshop and AI image editing. “We are on the cusp of a terrifying future of disinformation and about to plunge into that abyss,” Brooker said. “[Die frühen 2000er] was the last moment before we all had a smartphone, before we were all paparazzi with a camera in our pocket.”
“Devil 79”
Unsurprisingly, Demon 79 takes place in 1979, and the reason is even simpler: one day Charlie Brooker once planned a spin-off series called “Red Mirror” that would consist of nothing but retro horror episodes. “Demon 79” would have been the first episode of “Red Mirror”.but was then unceremoniously integrated into “Black Mirror 6” because he wanted to break away from the already mentioned “chrome, glass and holograms” as he faced explained.
This origin story is still noticeable in “Dämon 79”, after all the episode is called “A Red Mirror Film” in the credits.