Summary

• Black Mirror's premiere episode, "The National Anthem," explores a terrorist's plot to manipulate Great Britain's prime minister into committing unspeakable acts to save Princess Susannah.
• The episode highlights how society loves humiliation and spectacle, as seen by the public's rapt attention to the terrorist's plot.
• "The National Anthem" sets the tone for Black Mirror and its investigation of social issues through the lens of technology throughout the seasons.

The following article contains mentions of suicide and a graphic sexual incident.

When Black Mirror debuted on Channel 4 in the UK, it made quite a shocking impact. The first episode, "The National Anthem," remains one of the most memorable and highly disturbing episodes in TV history. The episode focuses on an unknown terrorist kidnapping Princess Susannah and forcing the British Prime Minister, Michael Callow, to rape a pig on live television.

Many considered the ultimatum cruel given that Prime Minister Callow wasn't seen as an evil politician. Unfortunately for Callow, the terrorist's violent threats eventually forced him into compliance, effectively creating one of Black Mirror's darkest episodes. While both the episode's characters and audience members found the pig incident revolting, there's a deeper, harrowing message baked into the story that reflects a dark truth about society itself.

Updated December 23, 2023, by Joshua M. Patton: The series, created by satirist and political commentator Charlie Brooker, is a darker, more cynical take on The Twilight Zone. However, it's also the kind of anthology series fans seem to enjoy, since Black Mirror has been renewed for Season 7 by Netflix. Yet, leading off with an episode like its series premiere, the producers made it clear they weren't interested in the type of straightforward morality plays Rod Serling was known for. As interesting as the episode itself are fans' reactions to it, revealing the darkness in humanity the show's creators wanted to shine a spotlight on.

'The National Anthem' Shows How Terror Controls the Government

Interrogation of the idea of democracy and how much power politicians possess have always been a a matter of study and concern. In "The National Anthem," the terrorist offered criticism of politics, art, and rebellion that aren't on their face irrational. This stands in juxtaposition to kidnapping and truamatizing a child, royal or not. While Callow did his best to avoid the demands and rescue Susannah, the terrorist sent a severed finger and a video of himself seemingly amputating the princess' finger to a local news station. This is the violent act that ultimately forced Callow to comply with the terrorist's demands and copulate with a pig on live television, much to the horror of his wife, Jane.

Shockingly, the princess was released half an hour before the publicized event. She was unharmed. As the episode later revealed, the terrorist severed his own finger and later hanged himself. This could be seen as another way he makes his point, but he also avoids the consequences of his actions. In this case, the terrorist showed violence was an effective way of forcing governments to act on civilian demands. However, the politicians in the episode aren't the typically corrupt or amoral figures as usually played in stories like these. The audience may find themselves empathizing with Callow instead of taking glee in his morbid, disgusting comeuppance.

The terrorist specifically played on politicians' fear of hostage situations, and on the whole, shook their sense of security and ability to maintain control. This presented the terrorist as a far more chilling villain than Mia from "Crocodile" or Kenny from "Shut Up and Dance." Kidnapping the Princess was meant to show how some Britons are more important than others. He wanted to remind the world how ineffective governments could be, but that wasn't the only point the terrorist made -- his actions also revealed a darker truth.

'The National Anthem' Throws Shade at Humanity's Fickle Moral Standards

The most telling thing about Princess Susannah being released unharmed was the fact she roamed London's streets unnoticed for a full half hour. Everyone was glued to their TV screens -- including the authorities -- waiting for the infamous main event to begin. This was the other point the terrorist was making: people love a good spectacle, regardless of their own moral standing. Watching the British Prime Minister violatee a pig was a repulsive act. But no one could look away from their televisions, so much so the missing child went unseen. This very much played into one of Black Mirror's recurring themes about humanity's love of spectacle -- something that's easily observed in real life with reality TV, graphic online death videos and social media.

To that point, the terrorist spotlighted human morality as a farce. When conditions are "normal" and lives are not threatened, people more easily maintain an image of moral superiority. Once a crisis unfolds, however, humanity's so-called moral compass doesn't make them turn away from something vile. They stare at it with even more curosity and, in some cases, joy. More specifically, the terrorist showed how easily people could remove their masks of self-righteousness to reveal the depths of their own depravity. In this case, the willingness of the human spectators to participate in the Prime Minister's public humiliation by watching the live broadcast was not consistent with their moral belief that the whole event was wrong.

The Making of Black Mirror's "The National Anthem"

The book Inside Black Mirror features an in-conversation segment on "The National Anthem," where the production team share their insights on the episode. It makes for an interesting read, revealing how the story came about. "I'd had the idea before [making "The National Anthem"] that it would be a very funny episode of 24 if Jack Bauer was presented with a dilemma of having to fuck a pig," says writer and executive producer Charlie Brooker. He continued by saying, "And then I thought that if you played that totally straight it would be hilarious. But while working out the beats of the actual story, you realise that it wouldn't be very funny."

Charlie Brooker and Annabelle Jones both cited the reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! as an influence for the episode. The reality show involves celebrities staying in a jungle and carrying out extreme challenges in order to win food prizes for their group. The series is arguably infamous for its eating trials, which in the past have involved consuming the genitals of various animals.

"The National Anthem" undoubtedly builds on the idea of these embarrassing challenges with its central concept. "The National Anthem was about humiliation and the public's appetite for humiliation," as executive producer Annabelle Jones notes. "The public will celebrate anyone if they are prepared to humiliate themselves for the public's entertainment."

"The National Anthem"'s Legacy in the Black Mirror Universe

Taking everything into account, "The National Anthem" was such a bold way to begin the Black Mirror series. It holds an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews. The critics' consensus provides an astute summary of the episode, noting, "This inaugural tale of political machinations and elite perversions works as a scalding satire and a nightmare of burgeoning technology gone awry, making it a perfect sampler for viewers seeking to step through the looking glass."

The episode truly set the tone for the series going forward, establishing that the show could tackle any subject matter, no matter how dark. Perhaps most importantly, "The National Anthem" introduced the social commentary aspect of Black Mirror, filtering society's flaws through a technological lens. Like The Twilight Zone, the episode also highlighted how the "villain" of their stories aren't always who audiences expect. The terrorist, Callow and the government agents have nothing on the larger society who gathered to watch the violent, cruel drama unfold as a day's entertainment.

Black Mirror Seasons 1 through 6 are available to stream on Netflix.