Bandersnatch (2018): The Consumerist Paradox

When reflecting on films, audiences will often find portions of a movie that they would have changed or done differently but lack the power and control to make these changes. Some filmgoers will rewrite the ending in their own words so that they can be satisfied, while others make the decision to write the film off completely. The power that spectators hold has always been in relation to the reception of the film, rather than the production, but with the new age of digital media, this has begun to change. Audiences now are believed to be more in charge of the media that they consume than they ever have been, not only with the format of films but also with the film content itself. As Casetti explains in “Cinema Lost and Found: Trajectories of Relocation",

“The cinema is relocated because it makes what I want to watch available somewhere else, or because it recreates somewhere else the best conditions for watching it. In the first case, I am dealing with the film object of viewing that is presented to me where I am now; in the second, with a viewing environment that is reproduced where it is possible. On the one hand, a conveyance occurs: a delivery; on the other, a reorganisation of the space: a setting.” (Casetti, 2011).

One of the best examples of this is Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) as it provides not only an innovative platform to distribute the film on but also an immersive choose-your-own-storyline feature that gives all control of the film to the viewer. However, due to the nature of the relationship between digital media and audiences, the power that is placed upon spectators only attributes more to digital media‘s control.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) was released on Netflix as a special in relation to its hit show, Black Mirror. The show had gained the attention of many with its horrifying depictions of futuristic situations in relation to digital media and technology developing too far for humans to be able to control it. This is a common theme found within almost every episode and doesn’t fail to show its face in Bandersnatch as well. The most ironic part of the situation is the fact that Netflix is a continuously developing platform of digital media, which audiences are using to watch shows about developing platforms that begin to destroy certain aspects of humanity. However, Black Mirror is very aware of this paradox and chooses to highlight this in their introduction sequence with the cracking of what looks like the audience’s TV screen before cutting to the beginning shot of each episode. It’s interesting that audiences do not relate this to their reality, as we are now living in a time where the intake of digital media is at such an extreme that we are no longer aware of its presence, or of the lies, it tells us and the control that it has. For many audience members, there was a time they could remember where they couldn’t avoid commercials and be able to rewind at any point, much like we are able to do now with the platform Netflix. Not only have spectators been granted this privilege, but many others including the accessibility to large collections of filmic material much like Netflix provides. There are hundreds of accessible films, all of which are able to be viewed within the comfort of the spectator’s house. This film collection also periodically rotates as well, making it much like a library of filming material rather than a digital platform. As Casetti states, “This look backwards reveals how the operations of both delivery and setting have accompanied the cinema for a good part of its most recent life: it has been able to make films accessible for a long time, and at the same it has been able to find suitable spaces for viewing, even outside the theatre.”

Audience members have been able to access copious amounts of filmic content at the stretch of their fingertips, as well as also being able to find power in the viewing of the film as well. Bandersnatch gained popularity with its promotion of being an interactive films experience and still reigns as one of the most immersive films within the past few years to be released on a digital platform. This title originates from the format in which the movie is played, where spectators are able to provide answers to decisions that the characters face, in turn creating different scenarios for each choice that is made. As this choose-your-own-adventure story progresses, audience members are led to five different endings, which is both limiting and ambitious for the writers of the show. While many writers only need to focus on one ending, writer Charlie Brooker was able to construct several, all while maintaining the continuity of the overall film. This is similar to other forms of digital media, much like the increase in this form of storytelling found in more recent video games like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, where the player is able to direct the narrative and in turn be led to different situations. However, since Bandersnatch is constructed like a film on a video platform, it was the first to pave the way for this newly born form of digital storytelling in a filmic realm.

Bandersnatch (2018). Courtesy of Netflix.

Having the opportunity to deconstruct a story and build one in the way that the audience has with Bandersnatch has provided spectators with a power that had only been seen before in the rise of the VCR. As Casetti explains, “The VCR originated as a device to tape-record television transmissions so they could be saved for future viewing, but it quickly proved its worth as a tool for reproducing pre-recorded works: this led to a widespread trade in films on videocassette, which could be purchased or hired from specialised shops and then taken home to watch whenever one wanted—with options to select particular scenes, to speed up or slow down the tape, to reverse, or to advance frame by frame.” This device allowed audiences to possess the tools to become video editors themselves and is credited as being one of the first tools to do so. This manipulation of the filmic material can also be attributed to the rise of this change in digital media and has progressed far enough to lead us full circle to films like Bandersnatch. However, instead of being the video editor for the film, audiences are now also the writers of their media intake as well, putting all the control of the film into the spectator’s hands.

It is extremely important to remember that while audience members believe the power is in their hands that this is just a façade, and instead only generates more power to digital media platforms like Netflix. When reflecting on the introduction to the VCR, we not only saw a boost in spectator ownership but in media sales as well. The media industry is a machine needing to be fed by these sales, so that in turn there can be other forms of media developed, like compact discs, which then guided technology towards the development of the digital media age. This relationship isn’t necessarily forgotten, but important to note when referring to the relationship between media and the audience.

A specific hierarchy is set into place where digital media consumption is continuously controlling mass audiences, which then controls the media, and the cycle continues without fail. Therefore, when new digital media is developed and released to the public for viewing, this cycle only intensifies, much like how Bandersnatch managed to gain its success. As Jesse Damiani further explains in the article titled, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Could Become Netflix’s Secret Marketing Weapon, “It paves the way for a new revenue stream that could be a lifeline for the streaming giant and a natural extension of its existing infrastructure. The interactive format offers Netflix some clear benefits: it’s more difficult to pirate than linear films or TV episodes, and its nature as a puzzle encourages more active fan engagement than most projects. But the greatest advantage lies in the data Netflix can gather from user participation and the ways that data could be used to create an internal programmatic marketing infrastructure.” (Damiani 2019). Damiani then goes on to explain that with a film like Bandersnatch being on a digital platform like it is, Netflix is then able to analyze the data and trends of the decision-making process from users’ viewings, and in turn create future films with similar narrative plot points utilizing the findings and the averages of those results. This is a perfect example of the structure of the cyclical relationship between consumerism and digital media, as they are completely dependent on one another, both negatively and positively. While the film could have made history as being a failure, that potential failure still would have benefitted Netflix, as it would have generated publicity. Digital media has the ability to place a veil of power in spectators’ hands, while remaining the variable that is in control of the relationship, making it one of the most powerful forms of media that we have had in filmic history.

When reflecting on the relationship between digital media and the spectator, it is important to notice the power dynamics that are in play with each of the variables. Spectators will continuously be led to believe that they are in control of their own media, which they are to some extent with platforms like Netflix, and films like Bandersnatch. However, it is also important to remember that this is a farce, and the true power and control continue to lie in the digital media itself, as it creates an addiction-like experience for consumers to continuously develop and engage in this relationship. The film industry is beginning to make a major note of this relationship, and they are now using it to their advantage to gain more access to audiences. Had Bandersnatch not been an interactive film, it may not have received the same attention that it did with its immersive capabilities. To think about the future of the film industry, it is almost intimidating. Will digital media be able to keep up with the power that it holds and engage in audiences simultaneously? Or on the opposite end, will digital media see a decline and have more traditional media such as DVDs come back into popularity due to the awareness that spectators are gaining of this relationship? Due to the success of Bandersnatch, it can easily be believed that films will try and incorporate a more immersive element into movies so that audiences will continuously be entertained by new forms of content. There are many other examples of immersive films, starting with the introduction of 3-D films in the early 2000s, and even the more recent development of first-person point-of-view films, an example of which being Hardcore Henry (2015). With the film industry taking a new direction in creating inclusive contact for audiences to be part of as well as enjoy, it is hard to say where the film will end up in the next few decades.

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References

Casetti, Francesco. “Screening the Past-Cinema Lost and Found: Trajectories of Relocation.” Screening the Past, 12 Dec. 2011, www.screeningthepast.com/issue-32-screen-attachment/cinema-lost-and-found-trajectories-of-relocation/.

Damiani, Jesse. “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Could Become Netfix's Secret Marketing Weapon .” The Verge, 2 Jan. 2019, www.theverge.com/2019/1/2/18165182/black-mirror-bandersnatch-netflix-interactive-strategy-marketing.