Summary
- Black Mirror Season 7 delves into the dangers of cutting-edge technology, portraying the manipulative effects on individuals.
- The first episode, Common People, exposes the dark side of a medical tech company's greed, leading to dire consequences.
- Ellis Ross' portrayal of Gaynor symbolizes the vicious cycle of capitalism, where she became a perpetrator for survival.
The sixth season of Black Mirror was released in 2023, and now fans of the mind-bending dystopian Netflix series are treated once again to another batch of episodes in Season 7 as more individuals witness the manipulative effects of cutting-edge technology. Episode One of Black Mirror, titled Common People, stars Rashida Jones, Ellis Ross, and Chris O'Dowd, which tells the story of Amanda and Mike, who look to start a family, but tragedy strikes as Amanda falls into a coma due to a brain tumor, leaving her distraught husband, Mike, nowhere to turn but to an apparent life-saving experimental procedure that sounds too good to be true.
Gaynor, a representative for Rivermind, a start-up medical tech company, offers to help the couple by promising to restore Amanda’s cognitive function by removing the damaged part of her brain and replacing it with a backup clone on Rivermind's server. Hearing that the surgery is free, Mike jumps at the offer, even if the monthly subscription to stay on the servers costs a “reasonable” $300. However, even though the surgery is a success, Amanda later begins to spout random commercial advertisements mid-conversation unknowingly, and to stop these ads, the couple must 'upgrade' their sub to get rid of them, leaving Mike and Amanda in dire straits financially as the monthly costs keep rising. As Gaynor repeatedly sells Amanda and Mike "updates" to their subscription, the situation takes an even darker and more sinister turn than anyone could expect.
Black Mirror Season 7 Main Characters and Cast List
There are many familiar faces in Season 7 of Black Mirror, although some viewers might have trouble figuring out where they've seen them before.
Black Mirror’s Ellis Ross Believes Gaynor Is a “Representation of Greed” in a Broken System
In an interview with Decider, Ellis Ross, who plays Gaynor, breaks down the Rivermind rep's relationship with the company and how she went from being just like Amanda to becoming a major pusher of the subscription service. Ross, who also happens to be Diana Ross' daughter and is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends and Black-ish, says that Gaynor is not only a perpetrator of Rivermind, she is also a victim of it.
"I don’t think she thought she was evil. I think that’s the way it comes across, but she is a person who was perpetrated on in her own vulnerability and now she’s the one doing the perpetrating."
Gaynor's survival, since she has to rely on Rivermind's subscription too, due to her own previous procedure, depends on maintaining the monthly costs to the company, so her role as a representative isn't just a job, it's a way to sustain her life. Ross said that Gaynor's morality is a "representation of greed" and that Rivermind's subscription service has "warped" Gaynor's outlook on life. "And she’s a representation of greed, but I don’t think anyone sets out to be a bad person. I think most people have a lot of, whether they’re warped ideas or not, think they’re doing the right thing, even if it turns out being on the wrong side."
Rashida Jones, who plays Amanda, said that Gaynor and Amanda are very similar, and they have both been sucked into a broken system of capitalism, playing into a never-ending whirlwind where there's no apparent way out. "That’s the thing, the cycle is really hard to break on both sides. If there’s a way to make money and save yourself, you’re gonna do it. It’s capitalism." Said Jones. Although both women's experiences are different, they both need to pay Rivermind to stay alive.
Black Mirror's first episode ends with Amanda and Mike's story taking a dark and sad turn as Amanda's health worsens, leaving Mike with some terrible decisions on his hands. Common People's final thoughts highlight how Rivermind's greed got the better of them and how the company couldn't put the people it tried to help before financial gain.
Fans of the anthology series can watch Black Mirror Season 7, which includes six episodes, on Netflix right now.
5 Lingering Questions We Have After The End Of Black Mirror Season 7
Fans may have to wait a while to get answers to these six episodes -- or the questions that Black Mirror posed may remain forever unanswered.
- Release Date
- December 4, 2011
- Network
- Channel 4, Netflix
- Showrunner
- Charlie Brooker
- Directors
- Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh
- Writers
- Jesse Armstrong
Cast
-
Cristin MiliotiNanette Cole -
Jimmi SimpsonWalton
WHERE TO WATCH
Source: Decider