Into the Future - Video Distractions Friday by Mike N.

 Here we are, in the opening days of the year 2020! So, a theme of possible futures this week. Just a few items, but more than enough to consider.
  (I'm writing this on New Year's Day, as I'm expecting my Thursday and Friday - with restart of post-holiday, "normal" work days and some not only unwanted but dreaded challenges quickly overtaking me. My own terrible, possible future threatening me. As this bit of blogging preparation also suits my nature - to avoid the thing threatening me rather than confronting and preparing for it - it works out, at least as far as hitting a blog deadline.)
 Two streaming series, all dealing with wildly different visions of near-to-distant futures, usually turning on a pervasive tech innovation, are Black Mirror and Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams. Here in the U.S. they're available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, respectively.
  Black Mirror has been the standard-bearer for (mostly dystopic) stories set in either a possible future or a tech-differentiated, alternate present, since launching in December 2011.
 There are 22, stand-alone stories, plus an interactive film, Bandersnatch, that operates like a Choose Your Own Adventure story (note that as of my last check, Bandersnatch has to be looked up on its own, as it won't come back as part of the Black Mirror collection), allowing the viewer to make decisions at various junctures that alter the results. (Check your viewing device of choice to see if it supports the functions Bandersnatch is built on; I went through it using my Smartcast tv and it worked out; I imagine it might work best on a touchscreen device, but I haven't tried it on my tablet.)
  I want to underscore that this interactive element applies only to Bandersnatch, All of the other Black Mirror episodes are the normal, one-way, entertainment experience.
  Each of the stories is unrelated to the others, so viewers can pick one at random.
  In the case of Black Mirror, especially, I like to underscore that because I've seen more than a few people try the series with the first episode, The National Anthem - which involves a political figure, ransom and a televised deviant sexual act - and be less enthusiastic about watching any of the others.
  Certainly, in almost every case, Black Mirror isn't a collection of feel-good tales. The average theme is showing how tech can so easily either get us to new bad places, or simply get us to old ones much more quickly. Along the way, the human condition is explored, both as an individual and a member of society, warts and all.
  I'm reluctant to generically suggest specific episodes because so much depends on the viewer, and I'm also reluctant to potentially spoil stories by pointing out the couple of episodes which ultimately have an upbeat resolution.
  Several of the stories involve social media platforms run amok, so given where so many of us interact on an average day, maybe one of those is a good spot to sample. In that spirit, I'll suggest Nosedive, the first story of series 3, from 2016. It stars Bryce Dallas Howard and was directed by Joe Wright, and considers a society where social media identity has become the basis of one's socio-economic status. It explores what might happen if one's reputation, based mostly on the superficialities of appearance, are the coin of the realm. A life destroyed at the speed of social media.
  I'd also suggest you spread these out rather than binge one into the next. (Yes, do as I say, not as I do.) I make the suggestion in part because binging it means going to various dark places in rapid order, which likely isn't healthy, and also because I think most of these deserve a little stand-alone time for consideration.
  The Amazon Prime collection, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, is a group of ten, unrelated stories, all based on works, naturally, by Philip K. Dick.
  In watching Electric Dreams, I'll give two points of advice: First, don't let the often cheesy series opening sequence throw you; it looks very much like a cast-off variant of the Outer Limits series of the '90s, full of childish or at least unsophisticated pretense at "surprise" reveals. The episodes deserve a better intro. Second, in a quick look back over the synopses, Real Life and Kill All Others are the best two of the ten.
 Real Life deals with damaged people using immersive tech to take a themed vacation from their own lives, creating a situation where the main characters become unsure which life and identity is the real one. Anna Paquin and Terrence Howard star as a PTSD-suffering detective in a futuristic police department, and as the billionaire head of a tech company that creates immersive video game tech. Kill All Others considers the creeping influence of politics and society giving in to the urge to unify against the scapegoat of "others."
  I haven't rewatched these since when I viewed them as new arrivals almost two years ago, so it's very possible a second look will find me appreciating some of the other eight stories more the second time around -- if and when I take that second look.
  In the Amazon package they chose to make these the first and last of the ten, which struck me as a canny decision, opening and closing with the best material. In the UK, on Channel 4 (one of the original partners in this project), they were presented in a different order, with Real Life being the fifth story. I don't know enough about Channel 4's operations, particularly whether or not they have a digital platform for on-demand viewing that would keep this presentation order relevant.
  More fully reviewed back in the December 20th column, I wanted to give another recommendation to The Expanse (originally on SyFy, but since picked up by Amazon Prime).
  Part of New Year's Eve was spent getting to the close of season four, and as I watched it and thought back over the series, I have to say that so far it's been extremely high-end television. (Something I expect to revisit the way I have The Wire.) Intelligently written and well-performed, with nuanced characters facing the challenges and perils of truly interesting times. All four seasons of The Expanse are on Amazon Prime, and they committed to season 5 back in July, several months before season 4 premiered, so we will likely have that next season late this new year. I'm looking forward to it.
  If you happen to be reading this before this (Friday, Jan 3rd) evening, and you have Turner Classic Movies, I'll note that they're running the first three Planet of the Apes movies tonight into very early Saturday. (I don't think I need to be concerned that I'm spoiling the ending of a fifty one year old film by lumping it in with the visions of the future theme.) They also have the first film of the series on their Watch TCM website through Sunday, Jan 5th, which is accessible by anyone who has TCM as part of their cable package.
    Shows and movies about possible futures are legion, and even casually a great many more came to mind while doing this piece, but I had to severely rein it in to keep this manageable. I was repeatedly tempted to tap my childhood nostalgia for episodes of the original Outer Limits series, or to extol the virtues of Babylon 5, but there's only so much time and space for a single blog post. However, feel free to mention any of your go-to choices in the comments.
                              - Mike N.

Shows and movies hit on in previous posts:

 Sept. 20th: Mindhunter (Netflix)

     Sept. 27th: What's The Matter With Helen, The French Connection, and Frenzy. (Early '70s R-rated movies I saw with my mom)

     Oct. 3rd:    Preacher (AMC), Stumptown (ABC), Sunnyside (NBC), The Good Place (NBC), and Jack Ryan (Amazon Prime).

     Oct. 11th:  Joker (still in theaters), and In The Tall Grass (Netflix)

     Oct. 18th:  El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix)

     Oct. 25th: Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix)

     Nov. 1st:   Watchmen (HBO series), The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

     Nov. 8th:   Seconds (1966 movie, currently available as part of Amazon Prime)
     Nov. 15th: Dr. Sleep (current theatrical release, but probably not for long), Horace and Pete (2016 web-produced series, currently on Hulu)
     Nov. 22nd: NOS4A2 (AMC, now on Hulu) and Man In The High Castle (Amazon Prime)

     Nov. 29th: The Irishman (Netflix), The Mandalorian and The World According To Jeff Goldblum (both on Disney+), light touches on Watchmen (HBO) and Ray Donovan (Showtime)
  Dec, 6th: The Booth At the End (Amazon Prime), and Us (HBO).

Dec 13th:  Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime), The Feed (Amazon Prime), 6 Underground (Netflix movie).

  Dec 20th:A Christmas Carol (FX), The Expanse (Amazon Prime), Killing Eve (BBC America)
  Dec 27th: Lost In Space season 2, and first impressions of The Witcher, both on Netflix.

Go to next C7 post