Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, described by the Guardian as the “TV of tomorrow” and described by myself as the perfect emotional minefield. A piece of art work directed by David Slade. It’s a shocking edition to Netflix that requires participation from views in the unconventional narrative. I (foolishly) sought the movie out for entertainment, however was left on edge. The episodes are presented in a “choose your own adventure” format with 10 seconds to select an option, if you refuse, the system selects for you. There are an abundance of story lines and intriguingly it is the first media format aside of video games where the actions of the audience have direct consequences. As an audience member myself there was excitement and excessive engagement and, although I personally hated being involved in this moral philosophy simulation and became very stressed from a fictional situation, I was compelled to see it through as I felt a responsibility especially when the main character started to directly address me.
This kind of high level engagement forces us to analyse the themes presented by the producer and make our own comments on issues such as free will and technological responsibility. We become an active audience and this is of the utmost importance. We are constantly absorbing and sometimes manifesting elements of information subconsciously. Advertisements, propaganda, films and news articles, we are always an audience to something. The access we have to knowledge in the technological era is now at the touch of our fingertips. However dare I suggest this accessibility is a leading factor in our complacency and lack of critique. The movie/ episode of Bandersnatch is a good reminder of the necessity to practice critical thinking and engagement in order to gain depth, perspective and insight without being manipulated.
“You know what Pac stands for? PAC. Program and Control. He’s Program and Control Man. The whole thing’s a metaphor. All he can do is consume…”
Colin, Bandersnatch
LAURA 
Love the way this blog post is written, you can see that you have a natural “bloggers voice” and it makes the post a lot easier to read. Using the example of Bandersnatch is really interesting, because it shows that although you are viewing it as an audience you can still have a completely different experience, depending on the path you take. I think it would be a good addition to add a link to a post about the full number of possibilities you can take in Bandersnatch, this might help people who have never seen the show to understand the pathways. Overall a really well-written post.
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I also watched/participated in Bandersnatch as the global phenomenon it was and remains to be, I felt connected to the main character because I saw some of myself in him, the acting was always amazing I remember spending 3 days trying to get different story ending the movie really left you on the edge. I’m so glad that Netflix has announced more interactive series are in development, as I’m sure you are Laura. I personally loved all the conspiracy theory and dark topics that Bandersnatch covered such as P.A.C and mental health. An brilliant blog post Laura, looking forward to many more
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