Bandersnatch

[Hashi Lebwohl]

This latest standalone installment of the wonderful series Black Mirror (on Netflix) is, perhaps, its most interesting episode to date. The story is an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure type story where you, the viewer, has to choose what happens in the story. Some choices--which breakfast cereal to have--don't have any real impact on the story but other choices--no spoilers here--have major impact. Be aware that it is possible, like other nonlinear CYOA, to find a loop; also, because Mr. Booker could not afford to film hundreds of hours of video, shooting the same scenes over and over based on your choices, that some choices are forced.

The limitations of the format--being an extended television show rather than a video game--naturally limit some choices because no one is going to spend 8 hours watching the same scenes over and over just to make different choices and try to find all the paths. As an exercise in CYOA, though, it does its job well and that single fact makes this perhaps the best episode of Black Mirror to date. There is sufficient design space to advance this concept more but it cannot possibly translate to the large screen because there are too many viewers.

I tried a couple of times but I am uncertain if there is an "optimal" solution--in the world of Black Mirror, no one gets a happy ending.

Perhaps the most intersting aspects of the mini-movie are that it is not only self-referential but self-aware, but if tell you how that would be a spoiler.

It is not difficult to figure out the psychiatrist's office number but that choice raises a few more questions: are the results of getting the number correct or incorrect the same? is there a "secret" number which, when chosen, gives you a completely different result?

Anyway, if you like Black Mirror then you will like Bandersnatch.

[Cagliostro]

Didn't realize it was interactive. That might be just the hook I need to watch it, having watched the previous Black Mirror stuff. I like it, but it is hard to watch. And now I feel like a little escapism is more enjoyable of late.

[Zarathustra]

Sounds awesome!

[Cagliostro]

I finally tried it last weekend. There were a heap of choices I didn't really want to make, and felt annoyed that there wasn't a better choice, but they are guiding the story. There were some interesting things they did throughout it, but overall, I found it very uncomfortable with a capital UN. I think I tend to empathize more than I should with Black Mirror in general, and giving you control of the horrors wasn't exactly my cup of tea. But I worked toward an ending I was satisfied with, and stopped, which I think is the real win scenario - to quit.

Spoiler

I really like the Netflix option, and if you had not found that, I'd suggest trying to get to that as it was the more clever things, as well as what followed it.
I also like how the person felt like he was being manipulated by outside forces and the irony wasn't lost on me that we were also being manipulated by the creators in the limited choices we were given.
I don't think I'd go through it again, but it was definitely interesting and upsetting, like most Black Mirror episodes. I think the therapist summed it up best in that if this person controlling you is doing this for entertainment, and yet it isn't very entertaining, why do it (or something to that effect)? I almost turned it off right then, saying "too right."