Fifteen Million Merits

"Fifteen Million Merits" is the second episode of the first series of British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and his wife Kanak Huq and directed by Euros Lyn, and first aired on Channel 4 on 11 December 2011.

Set in a dystopian future where most of society must cycle on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings and earn currency called "Merits", the episode tells the story of Bing (Daniel Kaluuya), whose life changes when he meets Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay). Convinced that Abi has a unique talent for singing, he convinces her and helps her to participate to a talent game show so she might escape the slave-like world around them.

The episode was critically acclaimed.

Plot

The episode is a satire on entertainment shows and insatiable thirst for distraction set in a satirical future dystopia. In this world, everyone must cycle on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings and generate currency called Merits. Everyday activities are constantly interrupted by advertisements that cannot be skipped or ignored without financial penalty. Obese people are considered to be second-class citizens, and either work as cleaners around the machines (where they are verbally abused, especially from a fellow cyclist named Dustin) or are humiliated on game shows.

Bingham "Bing" Madsen (Daniel Kaluuya) has inherited 15 million merits from his dead brother and thus has the luxury of skipping advertisements as often as he likes. In the toilet he overhears Abi Khan (Jessica Brown Findlay) singing and encourages her to enter an X-Factor style game show called Hot Shot, which offers a chance for people to get out of the slave-like world around them. Bing persuades her and, feeling there is nothing "real" worth buying, purchases the ticket for her, costing him nearly his entire balance of just more than 15 million merits. The judges (Rupert Everett, Julia Davis, Ashley Thomas) and the crowd enjoy her cover of "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is", but they state there is no room for an 'Above Average Singer' and instead give her the chance to become an adult actress on a pornographic TV station. After goading from the judges and the crowd, and drugged on a substance called "cuppliance" (compliance in a cup), Abi reluctantly agrees.

Bing returns to his cell without Abi or any Merits. When an advert showing Abi performing a sexual act appears on the screen, he can't skip it (as he doesn't have enough Merits) and desperately tries to escape his cell, ramming the door until the glass breaks. He hides a shard of glass under his bed. Over some time he leads a frugal lifestyle and is shown cycling harder than anyone else, saving up 15 million merits to buy another competition ticket. He patiently waits in the Hot Shot room until he is called to compete.

On stage he interrupts his dance performance, draws the shard of glass, and threatens to kill himself live on the show. He tearfully rants about how unfair the system is and how heartless people have become, and expresses his anger for how the judges took away, corrupted, and sold the only thing he found that was real. The judges, instead of taking his words into consideration, are impressed by his 'performance' and offer him his own show, where he can rant about the system all he likes. While he originally had come onto the show to express his anger and frustration, Bing gives in to greed and accepts the judges' offer, even though he hadn't been drugged with the "cuppliance" and made the decision entirely on his will.

Later, Bing is shown finishing one of his streams in his penthouse, still holding the shard of glass to his neck. He pours himself a fresh orange juice and stands staring through a wall-length screen at an image of a vast green forest stretching to the horizon, in a cell much larger than his original.

Production

This episode was the first Black Mirror episode to be written, though it aired second.^[1] It was written by Charlie Brooker and Konnie Huq; Brooker described it as "sort of her idea", as she once remarked that he would "basically be happy in a room where every wall was [an iPad screen]".^[2] Additionally, it is based on the "narrative in talent shows", where "there are a lot of people who do a job they hate for little reward, and one of the main means of salvation that's held up is to become an overnight star."^[1] According to Brooker, the sets feature working screens as it was decided that using visual effects would not really be possible.^[2]

Critical reception

"But 'Fifteen Million Merits' is a grander work in every way to 'The National Anthem', a dazzling piece of science fiction that builds its world out slowly but perfectly over the course of an hour—and packs an emotional wallop along with the '15 minutes into the future' warning you already expect. 'The National Anthem' was grey and grim, tough to watch, but 'Fifteen Million Merits' is actually frightening to contemplate, and that's how good dystopian sci-fi should feel."

— David Sims, Review: Black Mirror: Fifteen Million Merits^[3]

"Brimming with gorgeous visuals, a moving score, and a fully realized future that might not be too far off, there's never a moment where '15 Million Merits' is anything less than gripping, scary, and thought-provoking. It may make you want to hang yourself, it may make you want to throw your computer out of the window, it may make you want to quit your job, it may make you ponder the meaning of life, but its goal is simply to make you aware of such things so that we may avoid such an awful future. '15 Million Merits' wants you to look in the mirror and do something about it. "

— Tim Surette, Black Mirror's "15 Million Merits" Is One of TV's Best Sci-fi Episodes That You'll Probably Never See^[4]

"[t]he warmth of Bing and Abi's brief romance, contrasted against the coldness of TV screens, jeering avatars and manipulative reality show judges, is among the most moving I've seen in for a while, and the main reason why Fifteen Million Merits is such a captivating piece of genre television."

— Ryan Lambie, Black Mirror episode two spoiler-filled review: Fifteen Million Merits^[5]

"[t]he tone was very different compared to last week and there was more of an emotional connection to the characters. Kaluuya and Brown Findlay were excellent as the central protagonists Bing and Abi. Therefore, the way in which they met their respective fates was sad because there was no sense of hope. Additionally, the aesthetic quality of the world of black mirrors was fantastic and looked plausible."

— Independent, Review of Black Mirror – '15 Million Merits'^[6]

"Sure, these were all familiar tropes, but they were explored with style, savvy and lashings of acerbic humour."

— Sam Richards, Black Mirror: 15 Million Merits, Channel 4, review^[7]

"[t]his is more artful [than "The National Anthem"]. It's striking to look at and beautiful – the virtual reality, the interactiveness, all the screens. Well, beautiful in a stifling, suffocating way that has you gasping for an open window, a plant, an emotion, something real. None of it feels too far-fetched, though. It's not much of a leap from what we have already with videogames, our reliance on screens, everyone an avatar, social media, talent shows..."

— Sam Wollaston, TV review: Black Mirror; Piers Morgan's Life Stories: Peter Andre; This is Justin Bieber^[8]

References

External links

• "Fifteen Million Merits" on IMDb