Shut Up and Dance (Black Mirror)

“Shut Up and Dance” is the third episode in the third series of Black Mirror. It was written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and William Bridges. It premiered on Netflix on 21 October 2016, together with the rest of series three. The episode tells the story of a teenage boy who is blackmailed into committing bizarre and criminal acts. It received mixed reviews from film critics and critics alike.

About Shut Up and Dance (Black Mirror) in brief

“Shut Up and Dance” is the third episode in the third series of Black Mirror. It was written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and William Bridges. It premiered on Netflix on 21 October 2016, together with the rest of series three. The episode tells the story of a teenage boy who is blackmailed into committing bizarre and criminal acts by a mysterious hacker possessing a video of him masturbating. It is similar to previous Black Mirror episodes, particularly ‘White Bear’, and is dark in tone. Critics praised Lawther and Flynn’s acting, but were polarised as to whether the episode’s tone was effective, whether the plot twist was good and whether it had interesting themes. It ranked poorly in critics’ lists of Black mirror instalments by quality, and received mixed reviews from film critics and critics alike. The National Anthem is absent from the episode, noting that science fiction is also absent from one episode of the series and two from the next. The episodes are set in a contemporary nightmare set in London, with no science fiction elements. The titles of the six episodes that make up series 3 were announced in July 2016, along with the release date. A trailer for series three, featuring an amalgamation of clips and sound bites, was released on 7 October 2016. Netflix! published an interview with Brooker in which he hinted that the episode is ‘a grimy, contemporary nightmare’ The episode was co-written by series co-writer William Bridges, who was new to the television industry and pitched three ideas to Brooker, although none of them were developed further, although Brooker sent a draft script of the episode to him for further work on.

The final episode of series 3, ‘The National Anthem’, is released on 26 October 2016 at 9pm on Netflix. It follows a middle-aged man, whom the same hacker is blackmailing over infidelity. The man is told to fight to the death whilst being filmed through a camera-equipped drone; the money goes to the winner. After the fight, an injured Kenny staggers from the woodland. He receives a distraught call from his mother, as Lindsay saw the video of he masturbating to child pornography, and ends the call as the police arrive. Kenny is instructed to deliver the cake to a hotel room, where he finds Hector. Hector receives blackmail messages of his own; he was about to commit adultery with a sex worker, and fears he will lose custody of his children if his wife finds out. Kenny and Hector are instructed to drive to a set of coordinates. At a stop for petrol they meet Karen, a friend of Hector’s wife, who asks for a lift home. Hector drives recklessly to get her there before continuing to their destination. They are told to use a gun concealed in a cake to rob a bank. Kenny urinates out of fear, and manages to get a bag of cash and flee the scene with Hector. The two begin to fight, but find the gun is empty.

Related posts:

Lloyd Bridges Dorothy Bridges Mirror symmetry (string theory) Ice dance