Netflix's Black Mirror has never pulled any punches with its views on how technology would affect us, sending humanity on a downward spiral. Tech and science has been the series' through line, showing that while mankind should be using these tools for better, the conceit, arrogance and need for approval will always make us antagonists. Season 3's "Nosedive" gave us a scary reality check as it showed how social media would destroy us in the years to come.
"Nosedive" focused on Bryce Dallas Howard's Lacie in a world where people constantly had to be on their phones approving folks' images and rating their social interactions a la Instagram. If high-ranking folks -- usually the elites in this popularity contest -- ranked you high based on a pleasant experience, your ranking would exponentially increase. If they downvoted you, it'd drop even more. However, the increases and drops weren't as significant for lower-ranking folks, which meant society treated them like scum, leaving them mentally despaired.
Lacie was trying desperately to get her score up from 4.2 so she could gain credit approval for a house in a posh area, while also finally fitting into the elite circle. As such, she tried hard to get to her friend's wedding where she was supposed to deliver the speech as the maid of honor, which once approved would see the elites sending her ranking through the roof.
However, it cut a sad picture of the world today as Lacie began ignoring people she deemed unworthy, sucking up to snobs and simply driven by the social media façade. It was a dark reflection of 2016, but looking back now, it's even more grim as we see how society has been divided in a COVID-19 era where certain people benefit faster than others.
People were denied entry to restaurants, jobs and so on in Lacie's world; a degree of classism that sadly permeated from "Nosedive" into the real world based on favoritism and aspiration. More so, Lacie became a user and abuser, in what's clearly a shot at mankind's caste system with the haves being valued above the have-nots.
Lacie didn't even wake up from the brainwashing when a trucker told her that her husband was denied cancer treatment for being a 4.5, not a 4.6. The trucker hit out at society thereafter, tanking her ranking but making her truly happy. Lacie didn't grasp this until she arrived at the wedding, tired and dirty.
Her friend only wanted her as Maid of Honor because a medium-score speechwriter would work better for the elites' rankings, yet Lacie was able to say her piece. Sadly, everyone looked at her as insane and she was ultimately arrested. It ended with her and a cellmate cussing each other out, knowing they were finally happy and free, which is a price many people sacrifice to build fake personas and lives on social media.
All five seasons of Black Mirror are available on Netflix.