Analysis - Arkangel Black Mirror

Analysis of genre, themes and symbolism 

Black Mirror: Arkangel

Black Mirror: Arkangel

Analysis of genre, themes and symbolism

TV Series: Black Mirror 

Black Mirror (Channel 4, Netflix) is a science fiction anthology TV series, created by Charlie Brooker (Showrunner, Producer and writer) and Annabel Jones (executive producer). 

The series explores society's anxieties surrounding technology and how it is implemented into our daily lives, using dark satire to form an engaging social commentary.  

Each episode is a standalone story and can be watched in any order. Whilst most episodes are cautionary tales about the dangers of overreliance on technology, the series occasionally touches on the benefits of technology when it is used responsibly.

Near Future & Futuristic

Black Mirror (Chanel 4, Netflix) is primarily a science fiction, TV drama, often depicting 'dystopian' near-futures, highlighting the dangers of technology that can alter our minds, memories, bodies and mortality. 

This technology ranges from 'Near Future';  the internet, drones, smart toys, live streaming, reality TV shows, but can also lean into the more futuristic, such as clones, robots and true Virtual Reality.

Topics that are explored include: privacy, consumerism, surveillance and digital lives (virtual reality). Sometimes there are references to other episodes in the form of 'Easter eggs' which link occurrences in multiple episodes, creating a shared universe. 

 

ARKANGEL

Directed by Jodie Foster

A commentary on 'Helicopter Parenting' in a Dystopian Future

Intrusive Technology

Helicopter

Parenting

meets

THEME & TOPICS

'Arkangel' centres around a mother who, despite her good intentions, poisons her relationship with her daughter by being overprotective and using intrusive technology to parent her.

Possible Theme: Love between a parent and child requires trust and independence.

Topics: surveillance, privacy, helicopter parenting, coming-of-age etc. 

From the proposed theme, we can unpack topics such as mother-daughter relationships, love, and betrayal, privacy etc. On a basic level, love requires trust to thrive, which takes time to build, but a split second to destroy. Relationships also requires independence from one another, or else a parent could stifle their child's growth with their overprotectiveness and desire to control their lives.

CHARACTER ARC:

Love, Paranoia and Censorship

'Arkangel' is an implant device injected into 3 year old  Sara, allowing her mother to see and hear everything she experiences through a tablet device as well as censor anything she deems inappropriate or scary.

This betrayal is eventually exposed, planting a seed of mistrust between them that will destroy their relationship. The mother's inability to acknowledge her failures leads to her downfall. 

THEME & TOPICS

THEME (meaning, lessons, character arcs etc.) 

TOPICS (societal issues, debates, subjects etc.)

What do you think were the theme(s) and topics present explored in 'Arkangel'

SYMBOLISM: Sara & the Dog

Throughout the story, Sara encounters a dog, first as a child, then later as a teenager.

As a child, Sara is scared of her neighbour's dog, so her mother censors it from Sara's hearing and vision, so she'll no longer be afraid. 

As a consequence, as Sara grows up, her ability to perceive threats is compromised by her mother's censorship, affecting how Sara interacts with the world and eventually causing Sara to get hurt.

Later, when Sara is a teenager, she confronts her mother to turn off the censorship, thus enabling her to learn to interact with the dog and grow from the experience.

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS: Q

Signifier (Physical existence) 

Signified (Mental Concept)

Think of signifier and signified elements 

present in the scene from 'Arkangel'

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS: A

Signifier: (Physical existence)  

dog, animal, barking, fur, claws, teeth, fence, leash 

Signified: (Mental Concept)

anger, confusion, frustration, aggression, fear, imprisoned, desire, curiosity.

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

The Dog could represent Sara; her mum Marie has put her on a leash, like the dog,  by censoring aspects of her life.

The leash has made the dog aggressive which foreshadows  what will happen to Sara later in the story. Sara has grown frustrated with her mother's attempts to manipulate and control her life and lashes out at her mother.

BREAKING GENRE CODES

Horror/sci-fi undertones throughout the anthology TV series.

However, a unique approach to individual episodes, such as the blending of genres (horror, drama, comedy, thriller, romance) and different directors at the helm, allows for expectations and conventions to be challenged.

For example, 'San Junipero' (S3, E4 - Owen Harris) had a happier/ romantic ending which felt different from other episodes.  

CREATIVE VISION & INDIVUALITY

As 'auteurs', Brooker and Jones have much control over the overarching messages and tone of the series, such as the writing, casting and selecting directors. This ensures the show retains a strong sense of style and tone (darkly comic, dystopian satire).

However, by employing a different guest director for each episode, they allow the director to have more autonomy over creative decisions, such as selecting crew (DOP, CASTING & MUSIC etc.) This ensures that each episode does not feel too similar and keeps audiences engaged.

The pair discussed their approach at Edinburgh TV Festival, 2017.

 Watch an excerpt from the interview and then a trailer for 'Arkangel'