Society's dark reflection

"If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side-effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. 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." — Charlie Brooker, creator of "Black Mirror"

Of all the shocking, thought-provoking things that have made their way to TV in America in 2013, "Black Mirror" is the one that sticks with you. It's not an American product — it was created in England in 2011 — but it has come to our shores this fall. The series — which has six episodes total — is nothing short of shocking.

I wrote about the series' first episode before, so I won't re-hash the plot — except to say six weeks later I still haven't stopped thinking about it. I will say that the rest of the episodes are similarly eerie and thought-provoking. And that's the point.

This is an anthology series that has been compared to "The Twilight Zone," but I think it's more a negative commentary on where we're headed as a society. In that way I think it's a cautionary science-ficition tale, similar to what I feel about "The Hunger Games." None of these stories seem beyond the realm of possibility in the next 20 years, and given where we're going as a society, that should give us a moment of pause.

The series has attacked the way social media is swaying public opinion and, worse yet, real life decisions in government, reality TV, our fixation with social media, our fixation with technology, and many more. Each is completely different, but startling in their own way.

This isn't the easiest series to find — episodes aired on the Audience Channel for DirecTV and are available in other streaming formats — but it is worth checking out. If you want want something out of the ordinary that will make you take a hard look at where we're going as a society, look no further than "Black Mirror."