This post contains spoilers For the "black mirror" season 3 "Men Against Fire".

Although "Men Against Fire" has released two seasons (and five years) After the "Black Mirror" for the first time premieredIt was actually the first episode Showerer Charlie Brooker. Well, kind of; In its early draft, the episode was called "input", and it was not similar to what would become "men against fire". In 2018 book "Inside Black Mirror", Brooker explained:

The "Entrance", the first episode of the black mirror "completely written, but was never made, based on a real, disturbing story. There was a long sequence that followed as she was about, in which "her family was killed.

The "war you don't see" was so busy because it refused to repair the consequences of the Iraq war, something most media were lucky enough to do. The invasion of Iraq was easier to support when people were thinking about it in more abstract terms, but this documentary never withdrew from the personal destruction that the war was made. If the media coverage of the war had done this from the beginning, perhaps fewer members of the public would support it in the first place.

The connection between the documentary and the "Men Against Fire" is clear. Comic (Malachi Kirby) is an enthusiastic participant in the vaguely defined war in which he is fighting-as long as his perception filter was damaged and he could see the true damage he caused. The manipulation of his perception of the government can be exaggerated, with civilians being shown by the filter as blood monsters or "Rosie", but the basic idea is the same.

Although the spark behind the "Men Against Fire" was returned in 2010, the early draft of the episode of Brooker was still difficult to recognize from what it would become. "In this story, you thought that foreign force was attacking the UK, but it turned out that they were Norwegian," Blacker explained. "As he once said (Channel 4 Collector 4) Jayei Hunt, it was all a little tough and too serious, as well as quite humorous, given the case."

The concept has been polymen for several years, but Brooke and producer Anabell Onesons has never ceased to be captivated by that basic idea of ​​digital desensitization. As Onesons said, "there was definitely something interesting in the way military footage was now constantly aired in our country and as a result of desensitization, but we could not find the story to do more than that. Later, the idea became more about the future of war and military editing."

The decision to make the enemies of the soldiers be displayed as Rockes, meanwhile, does not come from the documentary, but by controversial British columnist Katie Hopkins. In response to the refugee crisis in the mid-2010s, Hopkins had They have been made to refugees from the Middle East as "cockroaches". It was a dehumanized rhetorical tactic from which Brooker was appalled and fascinated by.

"I have definitely been looking for a word that can be used as a racist or dehumanized term to describe a whole group of people," Bruker told "Men Against Fire". "At that time, I thought it was incredibly far -reaching, the idea that the future fascist government could get in and demonize a large part of society. And then subsequently, it feels closer to home."

Despite the scientific premise of "Men Against Fire" to be both attractive and socially relevant, the episode has never been accepted by much of the fans. It's often considered a weak link of otherwise strong season 3Partly because the dynamics between Malachi and the villain Arquette (Michael Kelly) is too simple. Since other protagonists of the "black mirror" are condemned to condemnation thanks to their own inherent obsessions or disadvantages, Malachi basically has zero chance here. Arquette explains the wicked technology, forces him to adhere to and that is the end of it. You may claim that Malachi is guilty of agreeing to erase the memory, but let's be real: no one actually thought he would choose life in prison. Other episodes, such as "15 million merits", gave their protagonist real heart choices; Malachi's dilemma was simple and predictable.

However, there is a lot to like fully in the episode. Although most of the "black mirror" is cynical in connection with human nature, the main premise behind the great bad technology in "Fire Men" is surprisingly optimistic. Human beings, Arquette reveals, do not want to kill each other even during the war. The military's decision to install perception filters in their soldiers' brains had to overcome the innate compassion for the average person for those around him. Of course, the episode of Season 3 ends in a total reduction (with the hero forced to erase his memory and return to the murder of innocent civilians), but I think it is sweet for the "black mirror" to point out that the unwillingness of killing is a deep -rooted part of human nature. It's a nice contrast with Episodes like "Bella Bear" orBlack Museum"What claims we are all basically sadists deeply.