Black Mirror "High" Concept

Ever see Black Mirror? If not, check it out. The first two seasons are old by today's standards, being a mere cult show until about a year ago when Netflix bought the rights and ordered more episodes. Now the show is quite popular and you can easily watch the original two seasons, the Christmas special, and the two Netflix series back-to-back to catch up.

Essentially, Black Mirror is a modern Twilight Zone. Sort of. The name refers to the black screen on most electronic devices we use in the modern day. All of the episodes revolve around realistic and futuristic technology run amok, so the settings for the episodes can be a little limited compared to other anthology shows with broader concepts like Tales from the Crypt and The Outer Limits. However, the themes and twists of Black Mirror are quite prophetic for our technology-addicted modern day and, sometimes, they can be a total punch in the gut.

It could be argued Black Mirror is what's called a "high concept" program as well. Like many other anthology shows, the writers tend to come up a brief concept for an episode and then write around that. Something that is high concept means the premise for the media can be explained, and understood, in a brief sentence or two. You could say, for example, Planet of the Apes is a high concept film. "Guy crash lands on a planet, finds out it's ruled by apes, twist ending." Everybody would understand what the movie is about from that line alone. Similarly, Black Mirror episodes can be summarized in quick snippets: "Woman is hunted by people who keep filming her on cell phones, but there's a twist"; "A mother abuses nanny apps to be the ultimate helicopter parent to her growing daughter and pays the price"; "The British Prime Minister is blackmailed by the media into having sex with a pig and his life ruined because of it." You get the idea.

So, while binging the newest season with some friends, we decided to do a little "high" concept writing ourselves (hehe). Some of these are meant to be ridiculous, some of these had thought put into them, and some of these are just ripoffs of episode ideas from other anthology shows. The titles I added myself for laughs. Now, here's our list of potential Black Mirror episodes you could very well see in the near future....

20 "High" Concepts for Black Mirror

1.  "Everybody can get plastic surgery to look however the want. Trans character gets surgery to change sex and finds out it's not all it's cracked up to be." (Title: Lipstick)
2. "In a world littered with noise pollution, a deaf man gets futuristic hearing aids that play a strange message, which only he can hear, telling him to go somewhere." (Title: Whalesong)
3. "A racist bigot is forced to experience various hate crimes through the eyes of the victims, and he sees himself as the perpretrator every time. Turns out he's in prison for something racist." (Title: Race Riot)
4. "A guy has sex with his exact twin, then they get into a fight and one of them kills the other. Guy clones himself to replace the twin, the clone kills him, makes another clone, and then it turns out this has been the vicious cycle of a narcisist with a cloning machine." (Title: Oh Brother!)
5. "An obese woman takes a diet pill filled with nanobots that will help keep her health in check but she has no intention of changing her lifestyle, so the nanobots adapt and force her to be healthy on their own terms." (Title: I Have a Robot in my Colon)
6. "Teenagers use simulations to cram for an exam about Medieval History, but their poor knowledge of history starts to warp the simulation, revealing their darkest secrets." (Title: Black Knight)
7. "Jurassic Park but with animals that are going extinct in present day like polar bears, told from the perspective of two humans with the twist that they're actually on exhibit. Set in the future after climate change because duh." (Title: Don't Mess with Nature, you dick)
8. "A childless couple buys a virtual pet to take care of instead of having real children, but the pet has access to all their dirty secrets, plays the two off one another, and slowly starts to consume their lives." (Title: Fur Baby)
9. "Technology is so advanced we can now speak with holographic projections of dead relatives and historical figures. A woman starts getting suspicious mail from many different time periods and is asked to deliver it." (Title: Snail Mail)
10.  "A new illegal drug gives its user eternal youth, but at what cost? Something something vampires, bacterial plague and killing babies." (Title: Little Stick) 
11. "A TV show becomes a ratings slayer when it starts posting and criticizing photos from anonymous viewers' instagrams, snapchats, and so on. Turns into controvery when an internet celebrity turns up dead." (Title: Filter)
12. "A Harvey Weinstein-like figure is fired for harassment and forced to go through radical, tortuous sex addiction therapy. Turns out he's the President of the United States." (Title: Big Cheese)
13. "A group of lonely virgins use VR to become closer to their favorite pop star, getting to the point of wanting to become her. Has mind-hijacking and a be careful what you wish for message." (Title: Starstruck)
14. "That Disney movie, Smart House, but edgier." (Title: Home and Hearth) 
15. "Self-driving cars are everywhere, but terrorists can hack them and one terrorist holds a cab full of passengers hostage in order to commit crimes against the populace." (Title: We Swear This Isn't Speed)
16. "In a future where having emotions is passe, humans narrowly communicate their moods through emoji. In this world, one man refuses to be defined by these rules." (Title: This is literally the Emoji Movie)
17. "A family addicted to technology decides to take a break from technology for one month. They head to a cabin in the woods and bond, but end up missing the apocalypse happening around them." (Title: Screen Free Weekend)
18. "In a similar modern world, everyone has information overload and people are held accountable for what they share on social media, making unpopular or dangerous opinions a criminal offense. One politican takes advantage of the public outcry and becomes a folk hero for the masses swearing he will fix the system, but he has much darker aspirations." (Title: Fake News)
19. "Implants let people experience what their pet is sensing. A family man discovers something sinister about his home when he starts living life through his dog's eyes." (Title: Dog Whistle)
20. "The President of the United States gets into a social media pissing contest with a foreign dictator, resulting in nuclear war." (Title: 2018)